Mediation Mess in Middle East?
News Analysis on Yemen and Libya
Al Arabiya News
June 4, 2011
As part of the continuing “Arab Spring” revolts, “the Yemeni and Libyan crises stand out as odd ones, particularly because their endgames appear to be hinging on external rather than internal dynamics.” The best of military coalitions has failed to end the stalemate in Libya while the best of diplomatic coalitions has failed to end the impasse in Yemen.
Attempts at mediation have failed to help resolve the situation. In Yemen the remarks of US Ambassador to Yemen, Gerald Feierstein, are a sample of this “mediation mess.” While admitting that Yemen needed a “peaceful transition rather than civil war,” he also exposed a certain weakness by saying “We oppose simply saying that Ali Abdullah Saleh should go without saying anything about what you think should happen next.”
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