The history of the Republic of Yemen (1962) cannot be written without lengthily mentioning President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Indeed, the country lived with him twice what it lived with his predecessors. Saleh managed the jungle of Yemeni paradoxes for thirty-three years, never stabilizing at one trend. He was a dialogist, and he was harsh. He was a negotiator, a fighter, and always a tactician. He swam among the traps, which were numerous. He made allies and enemies, and became close to some and alienated others. He smelled the coming winds and adapted to them, before going back to his previous behavior once they passed. He was tiring to his allies, as he didn't accept to be their prisoner. He was tiring to his enemies, as he had the ability to embarrass them and encircle them. He was a master in pulling strings, shuffling cards, and lurking and striking blows. Ali Abdullah Saleh's mandate was not born from ballot boxes. In those days, the rescuer came from obscure barracks, riding a tank. He later trained to play the game of ballot boxes and excelled at it. His ability to connect with the ordinary Yemeni citizen was a great help to him, and so was his ability to address the different parties and tribes in their dialect, their fears, and their interests. He knew that the fate of Yemen's ruler was to attempt to arrange coexistence between the state and the tribes. He was clever at drawing borders between the state's tribe and the tribe states. He ruled by applying the law at times, and the customs at others. He knew that the mandate of electors could only be completed by the mandate of the tribe leaders. He was aware that parties are born and die, and that the power of the state's tribe starts to retreat just outside Sana'a, where the power of the tribe states begins. Ali Saleh's rule did not see the light under normal circumstances, as it was born from the corpse of his predecessor Ahmad al-Ghashmi, who was assassinated in 1978. Al-Ghasmi's rule was born from the corpse of his predecessor Ibrahim al-Hamdi, who was assassinated in 1977. The rule in Yemen resembles sitting on a gunpowder barrel. The situation was not much better in the Southern part. There is a great deal of blood in the books of the Marxist tent that was set up there. Indeed, there is the corpse of Salem Rabih Ali, then the corpse of Abdul Fattah Ismael, Ali Antar, and their companions, on the day where companions killed their companions, and Ali Saleh began to await the collapse of the Southern part of the unity like a ripe fruit – which is what happened later. Yemen has a harsh landscape, and an even harsher structure. It is a poor country with a kind and stubborn people that sleeps on a jungle of weapons. Embraces are strong and separations are bitter. The committees of dialogue and reconciliation are born and die, and the sound of cannons resonates from time to time. Ali Saleh has fought long and hard, both on the borders of the two parts, and inside the Northern part. He rescued unity with iron and fire, but the way the state of unity was managed revived again the feelings of secession in the South. There were many wars; rounds with Houthis, and rounds and truces with Al-Qaeda. The wars depleted the stature of the army, and the corruption accusations depleted the state's reserve. Time consumed a large part of the president's abilities. The Arab Spring carried the poison cups for those who were addicted to extending their mandates and were dreaming of bequeathal. Ali Saleh did not realize that this storm does not resemble those that preceded it, and that it belongs to a different lexicon, which is more lethal. Bin Ali's fate is not attractive to anyone who has not yet lost all his credits. The scene of Hosni Mubarak between the investigator and the doctor is not encouraging. It was difficult for him to hear the word “Leave!” yelled by those who were born during his mandate. The warrior inside him woke up. He invented another arena, and the game took him to a place far away. The state's tribe refused the roar of revolution and slipped into a clash with the tribe state – the al-Ahmar state. The exchange of strikes led to the current scene, an angry and injured president, and an angry and injured country. The Gulf initiative was a golden opportunity to avoid the present events and guarantee a peaceful transition of power. Two years ago, I asked President Ali Saleh about the rule in Yemen and he replied: “It resembles dancing on serpent heads.” He meant by this the political forces, and not the people. A year ago, I asked him if he had changed his mind, and he said: “No, but the serpents have turned into snakes”. When I asked him if he was afraid of being bit by snakes, he said: “My people and I are able, God willing, to deal with them and tame them. We are not afraid.” The president misread the last storm and the danger of several storms put together. The president was bit by serpents.
