Things appear to have come to a head in Yemen.
According to the Washington Post:
Embattled Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh transferred authority to his deputy Saturday and flew to Saudi Arabia, raising the prospect that a key U.S. ally in the fight against al-Qaeda had lost his grip on power and left behind a nation tumbling into chaos.Saleh’s decision to leave the country, apparently to seek medical treatment for injuries suffered in a rocket attack on his palace Friday, makes it unlikely that he will return, several analysts said. His sudden departure leaves behind a nation on the verge of civil war and economic collapse, with a violent power struggle among rival tribesmen underway and no clear plan for a transition of power if Saleh were to permanently surrender office.
The WaPo article proceeds to obsess over the al-Qaeda presence in Yemen, which, while real, is onl one of numerous significant factors, tribal militants, southern separatists and a Shi'ite insurgency in the north.