The White House is not-so-subtly telling Yemen's embattled president to hit the road, with top counterterror adviser John Brennan telling Ali Abdullah Saleh yesterday to “fulfill expeditiously” his pledge to step down. Brennan “called upon” Saleh “to sign the GCC-brokered agreement for peaceful and Constitutional political transition in Yemen,” according to a White House statement. The pledge offers him immunity from prosecution in exchange for his resignation, notes Politico.
“The United States believes that a transition in Yemen should begin immediately so that the Yemeni people can realize their aspirations,” the statement says. Saleh, who looked terrible in a recent televised statement, appeared “in much better shape” at the meeting in Saudi Arabia, noted al-Jazeera. (More Ali Abdullah Saleh stories.)