Yemen's President Salih and Al Qaida (Ali Abdullah Saleh‪)‬

Editor's Note: A former U.S. Ambassador to Yemen sets out American options in how to deal effectively with Yemen's president in a complex internal situation and defeat AQAP.-The Editor The attempt by Omar Farouk Abu Mutallib to bring down an American airplane on Christmas day has focused Washington's attention sharply on Yemen, the country where he received his explosive underwear and his terrorist training from al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). The Obama administration now faces the task of trying to deal with Yemen as the latest venue for harboring international terrorists who are considered to be a threat to American interests. Success in this will depend on developing a strategy to persuade Yemen's President Salih to cooperate fully and effectively in rooting out the AQAP.