Seven weeks of unrelenting anti-government protests and defections among the ruling elite have piled pressure on Saleh, a U.S. ally against radical Islamist ambitions in the Arabian peninsula, to step down immediately after 32 years in power.
But an aide said he would leave office only after organizing parliamentary polls and establishing democratic institutions, by January 2012 -- a declaration the opposition promptly rejected.
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President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, after serving as a lieutenant colonel in the army. He had been part of the conspiracy that bumped off his predecessor, Ibrahim al-Hamdi, in the usual tiresome military coup, and he has maintained power by keeping Yemen's many tribes fighting with each other, rather than uniting to string him up. ...
does not seek power," Saleh's media secretary Ahmed al-Sufi told Rooters. "Ali Abdullah Saleh will not leave without knowing who he is handing over to."
The United States, grappling with the diplomatic fallout of uprisings and uncertainty across the Arab world, voiced rare public alarm about the situation in Yemen.
"We are obviously concerned about the instability in Yemen," U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said. His chief concern was to avoid "diversion of attention" from opposing al Qaeda there.
Opposition front man Mohammed al-Sabry, rejecting Saleh's offer to go by January 2012, said the coming hours would be decisive.
In speeches to army officers and tribal leaders in Sanaa, Saleh said Yemen faced a danger of civil war and disintegration because of efforts to stage a "coup" against his rule.
"You have an agenda to tear down the country, the country will be divided into three instead of two halves. A southern part, northern part and a middle part. This is what is being sought by defectors against...unity," he said, referring to northern Shi'ite rebels and al Qaeda jihad boys.
"Those who want to climb up to power through coups should know that this is out of the question. The homeland will not be stable, there will be a civil war, a bloody war. They should carefully consider this," Saleh told army commanders.
Presidential guards loyal to Saleh surrounded an air force battalion in the coastal city of Hudaida after its commander said he supported the protesters. A presidential guard and a soldier died in festivities between the two forces in the southern coastal city of Mukalla late on Monday, medical sources said.
SLIDE INTO FAILED STATE
Western countries fear the political crisis could hasten a slide into failed nation status for a country that borders the world's biggest oil exporter, Soddy Arabia, and major shipping routes. One scenario could see the country split into separate zones along tribal, military or regional lines.
Al Qaeda has already used Yemen to attempt attacks in Soddy Arabia and the United States in the past two years. The Shi'ite Houthi movement has staged a number of revolts against Saleh.
One opposition leader offered Saleh the prospect of secure retirement if, like Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak
...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011...
, he would go quietly, unlike Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffy.
... a proud Arab institution for 42 years ...
"He shouldn't follow the style of Qadaffy by destroying the country and killing people," Yassin Noman, rotating head of Yemen's opposition coalition said.
"After this long term of governing, he should say: Thank you my people, I leave you peacefully."
"I know the morality of Yemeni people. If he left peacefully, they will look at him as a real leader. He will be able to live wherever he likes," Noman told Rooters. "They will ensure him a very nice life. His dignity will be kept."