MAJOR CHANGE IN YEMEN – AT 11:37 P.M. ET:  Yemen is critical because it is home to one of the most important, and deadly, Al Qaeda groups.  The dictatorial leader of Yemen, a so-so friend of the U.S., was apparently wounded in a rebel attack, and has now left the country:

CAIRO — 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.

For months, Saleh had resisted intense pressure from within Yemen, the Middle East’s poorest nation, and from neighboring countries and the United States to step down. With an active al-Qaeda branch in Yemen, ambitious enough to claim the mantle of Osama bin Laden in the near future, Saleh’s departure could pose one of the most significant policy challenges for the Obama administration in the months ahead.

COMMENT:  As either Laurel or Hardy (I can't recall which) used to say, "A fine mess."   We will be affected by the outcome, with the strong possibility that Al Qaeda will gain an even more secure base in Yemen from which to plan attacks on the United States.

June 4, 2011