Yemen Post surveyed hundreds in the countrys six main provinces asking them to grade President Abdurabu Hadi’s first year in power. A slight step backwards was the result as Hadi’s grade was better six months ago. 

As an American citizen residing in Yemen I here give my condolences to the loved ones of innocent women and children killed in Yemen by misdirected US drone strikes in 2012.

In the skies of the Arab desert nation of Yemen, drones are more common than rain. Nine US drone strikes were conducted in a span of two weeks killing at least 31.

Six Months have passed since Yemen voted for President Abdurabu Hadi, and he is standing strong.  Some did not expect Hadi to go this far.

Last February, Yemen applauded newly elected President Abdurabu Hadi. After the fall of the 33 year Ali Saleh regime, reformists saw hope for change.

The road ahead does not look easy for a country that has suffered longer than any in the region over the last five decades.
Yemen’s year long uprising left nearly a million people unemployed.

Politics is failing again in Yemen. Three weeks have passed since President Abdurabu Hadi ordered the removal of Mohammed Saleh from commander of the air force; while he refuses to step down. Saleh, who is the brother of ousted President Ali Saleh, is still in control of the air force headquarters and dares anyone to enter the base without his permission.

A new president in Yemen raises hopes of change, but also worries and fears that President Abdurabu Hadi will not live up to the expectations of the people.

With the historical presidential elections only days away, President Saleh is still hoping the ball of luck turns in his favor. His goal now: work on canceling the February 21 presidential elections.

When President last met with Saudi King Abdullah in November, Saleh informed him that he hates rule, and compared ruling Yemen to wearing dirty shoes. Abdullah smiled and replied, “Then take them off,” referring to Saleh to step dowm from power. Saleh stood in silence finally knowing that everyone was fed up with his lies and dirty tricks, even his closest allies.

One year ago today, Yemen saw it’s first call demanding the ouster of longtime ruler, Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Living in Yemen, you will easily notice that the revolution is far from over. Millions continue to march rejecting the immunity that President Saleh was given. Though he is stepping down from power, Saleh will be forced to live outside Yemen, fearing the worst-case scenario.

The revolution was never against President Saleh or his family. It was against all those who stood in the way of a nation that should be ruled by the people. Removing Saleh was a key piece for change that is why it was vital that he goes, but other obstacles remain.

Though more than a million jobs have been lost and thousands were killed this year, Yemen has not seen anything yet. The worse is nearing for Yemen as President Saleh will soon be forced to sign the Gulf Cooperative Council power transfer proposal.

Yemen's ruler Ali Saleh is trying to use the latest US attacks on terror suspects in Yemen to prolong his stay in power. His opponents know that, and is working in not allowing it to happen.

With the Yemeni revolution entering its ninth months, no solution is in the air, and the world is lost on how to rid the country from exploding.

With Vice President Abdu Rabu Manssor Hadi making it clear that Yemen’s ruling party will not have serious negotiations with any faction until President Saleh comes back to Yemen, the winds of a long war is slowly covering the skies of Yemen.

Concerns of a civil war are increasing in Yemen while youth protesters continue asking themselves why the Yemeni revolution is taking more than 100 days. Numerous reasons stand behind the delay most Yemenis await.

Protesters nationwide are for the first time seriously considering marching to the Presidential Palace of President Saleh, feeling that it is the only option left after negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have stalled.

Already given the guarantees Mubarak and Ben Ali only wished they could have had before leaving power, President Saleh insists on staying in rule as millions have continue protesting for demanding he steps down.

President Saleh was lucky enough to have Mubarak and Bin Ali kicked out of rule before him and is now learning lessons on how to leave power.

For one month now opposition parties in Yemen represented in the Joint Meeting Parties JMP, have been demanding that President Saleh must step down from power

According to officials familiar with the negotiations, Saleh has lied three times after agreeing to leave power in favor of the people.

Who will be able to rule Yemen if President Saleh steps down? This is the rumor of fear pro Saleh followers are spreading among the people, therefore, warning that no one else would be able to rule the country after Saleh, and that chaos will follow his departure.

With all opposition forces in Yemen united to oust President Saleh, none of them have a clear vision of what will happen after Saleh leaves.

With days of the current regime limited, corrupt opposition officials must not be allowed to rise after the fall of the Saleh regime.

With all the advice President Saleh was given to avoid his regime fall, Saleh insisted on following the same tactics his fallen friends Mubarak and Bin Ali thought were correct.

Presiden Saleh in a speech this week denounced the attacks on journalist who were covering the protests demanding the fall of this regime.

The waves of change is flying over the sky of Yemen, with President Ali Saleh knowing that he is playing his last deck of cards.

According to international experts, the Middle East is the only region in the world where the more education a person gets, the less of chances that he becomes employed.

Over the last month, the Middle East has witnessed the biggest crises since the 1950’s. One country saw separation (Sudan), another saw a revolution (Tunisia), a third saw a complete change in government (Lebanon), and Egypt saw an entire government forced to resign.

The current crisis the country is facing only shows the international community that this regime is not able to stabilize one of the most strategic countries in the world, Yemen.

Tunisian people shocked the world this week by forcing their corrupt leader to run and hide. No country wanted to accept him, until Saudi Arabia had mercy on him and accepted him on its land.

With the controversy over the amendments the ruling party wants to pass, which will surely devastate the opposition as it will be a clear message that they are not wanted in the Yemeni political arena, the country seems to be falling apart.

Entering the qat shop, one would see around 4-5 Yemenis crowding the qat seller asking for qat, but this time it’s not in Sana’a, it’s in America!

Yemen witnessed a catastrophic 2010 with growing Al-Qaeda presence, Houthi rebellion, southern separatists, political crises, and an economic downfall among other matters.

Working in the Yemeni media for the last nine years, the most shocking aspect to believe is that 99% of Yemeni media outlets in Yemen give great attention to analyzing, while giving little attention to investigations.

In an interview this week, I was asked if the Yemeni people were shocked by the WikiLeaks reports. I said that most of what was revealed was expected, and people already know that its government does not have a---

Over the last year of observation, I am convinced that a Sunni-Zaidi war is what some (outsiders) are hoping to happen in Yemen, not now, but in the long run.

Strides and success, faster than any in the history of Yemen’s recent media, is what Yemen Post was able to reach in four years. This is proudly said by us, as we have become the source of news from Yemen for the biggest international media outlets in the world. Yemen Post is the most trusted news source for over 155 international media outlets. We will not stop there, rather we will continue to grow locally and internationally, while others only focus on local growth.

Over the last ten years, most lucrative governmental business contracts were given to the inner circle of the ruling government. When I say the inner circle, I don’t directly mean the ruling family, but rather them, along with those who work under their umbrella.

Meeting with international terror experts over the last two weeks, most of them expected one thing for sure: A massive Al-Qaeda attack soon.

Over thousands years, Yemen has been ruled by those who were loved and others who were cursed. Some ruled with love and fairness, while others ruled by fear and oppression.

Over the last three years, Yemen Post has been cooperating with leading international media outlets in news coverage in Yemen.

Last week the Friends of Yemen conference took place in New York. The conference is supposed to be a key in building a reformed, developed and democratic Yemen.

With the $1.2 billion the U.S. government is planning to give to Yemen as military aid over five years, it seems that fighting Al-Qaeda is by far the best business investment in Yemen.

With the U.S. government claiming that Al-Qaeda in Yemen is a bigger threat then its mother in Pakistan, local analysts are lost and astonished at what they hear.

Over the last year, numerous tribal leaders, businessmen, religious leaders, and army officials have tried to start movements under different names, all claiming to work for the better of the country.

With the growing number of Al-Qaeda attacks on governmental security officials, some tend to believe that this proves that Al-Qaeda is as strong as ever in Yemen. I believe the opposite. Killing security officials is not a complicated matter to plan nor does it cost a lot.

Last week, the ruling party and opposition signed an agreement to start dialogue. One day after the agreement, a leading member of the opposition announced that they will not participate in the dialogue unless international and Arab observation committees participate to observe any violations from any side.