The tension in Yemen, our neighbor to the south, shows no signs of abating. Protests both for and against the government in Sana'a and other cities continue and are especially intense after Friday prayers each week. In one alarming incident, rebel troops in the military recently traded fire with troops loyal to beleaguered President Ali Abdullah Saleh. It does not take an “informed source” to see that such activity can lead to a prolonged period of instability in Yemen. GCC efforts to broker a peace based on Saleh's resignation of the presidency were initially accepted by Saleh but have since been rebuffed. Opposition groups have called the GCC initiative “dead”. It is important to all of us in the region that peace and stability be maintained in Yemen. Chaos will not only affect the Yemeni people themselves, but it could have detrimental effects on the ongoing campaign to counter terrorist cells that are reported to have made their homes in the unstable country. Saudi Arabian military forces have in the recent past been called into action to fight incursions of our own southern borders and to protect Saudi citizens living in the border areas. It is no secret that Yemen's international borders with Saudi Arabia and Oman are, for the most part, located in extremely remote areas where the natural landscape can work to the advantage of those involved in aggressive acts. It is virtually impossible to seal off the borders. Of course, in earlier confrontations, Saudi troops performed an admirable job of containing the conflict that broke out in the area, and we can, again, depend on them to keep things under control. But instability in Yemen can again affect the country's border areas, a situation that no one, either regionally or internationally, wants to see. A solution to the Yemen impasse must be hastened by all parties lest we find ourselves with a very destructive conflict just across our border. __
