Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08SANAA195
2008-02-03 14:22:00
SECRET
Embassy Sanaa
Cable title:  

SALEH ADMITTED TO HOSPITAL

Tags:  PGOV PINR YM 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHYN #0195 0341422
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
R 031422Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY SANAA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8901
INFO RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0089
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 0260
RUEHDO/AMEMBASSY DOHA 0382
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 0284
S E C R E T SANAA 000195 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/02/2018
TAGS: PGOV PINR YM
SUBJECT: SALEH ADMITTED TO HOSPITAL

Classified By: CDA Angie Bryan for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

S E C R E T SANAA 000195

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/02/2018
TAGS: PGOV PINR YM
SUBJECT: SALEH ADMITTED TO HOSPITAL

Classified By: CDA Angie Bryan for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (U) Shortly after returning from his trip to Spain and
Belgium, and only a few months after his regular annual
physical in Germany, President Saleh was admitted to a Yemeni
hospital.


2. (U) The Defense Ministry-funded 26Sep Net reported on
February second that President Saleh had flown from the port
city of Mukalla to Sana'a to be admitted to the hospital for
"regular medical checkups." The website of the opposition
Yemeni Socialist Party reported the same day that Saleh's
sudden departure from Mukalla had caused him to miss a
"massive wedding" he had been scheduled to attend. The
website of the Zaidi-affiliated opposition Popular Forces
Party reported on February third that Saleh had initially
been admitted to Ibn Sena hospital in Mukalla but had been
transferred because of bad conditions there. Yemen TV had
reported the previous night that Saleh had allocated a
billion Yemeni rials (approximately 5 Million USD) to
rehabilitate that hospital.


3. (C) The British DCM told the Charge d'Affaires on
February second that a rumor was circulating among British
Embassy local staff that President Saleh had suffered a
stroke. Parliamentarian and member of the Ruling General
People's Congress Nabeel Basha confirmed to Pol/Econ Chief in
a February second meeting that the President had been
admitted to the hospital for treatment of "a medical
condition" and was still in the hospital as of noon that day.
Basha was unable to elaborate on the medical condition but
mentioned that the President suffers from hypertension. He
did not seem overly concerned about the President's
condition. Editor of Aden-based independent daily al-Ayyam,
and scion of an influential Adeni family Basha Bashraheel
called PolOff in the afternoon of February second to ask if
the embassy had any information on the health of the
president. He told PolOff that his sources had told him that
the president was suffering from shortness of breath just
before he was admitted to the hospital.


4. (S) President Saleh did not attend publicly announced
meetings with the visiting Prime Minister of Pakistan, nor
did he travel to Qatar as one DAO source reported he had
planned to do. He did, however, according to report on 26Sep
Net, meet with Abdulrahman al-Attiya Secretary General of the
Gulf Cooperation Council on February third.

Comment
--------------


5. (C) It is clear that President Saleh has been admitted to
the hospital for some sort of treatment, but the type and
severity of the illness being treated is unknown. A man of
his age who is hypertensive would be at an increased risk of
both stroke and heart disease. On the other hand, he could
simply be suffering from a viral or bacterial infection.
(Note. Secretary of the President Faris Sanabani, who
traveled with Saleh on his recent trip to Europe, has also
been reported to be ill. It is possible that the two men
were exposed to the same bug while traveling together. End
Note.) Aging rulers tend to attract speculation about their
health, and Saleh is no exception. His failure to attend the
wedding and the meeting with the Pakistani Prime Minister are
signs that his sudden illness may be serious. On the other
hand, it is very hard to imagine, if he were to have suffered
a stroke or other severe illness, that he would take a moment
to allocate money for a hospital rehabilitation, unless the
donation was intended to distract the public or ensure the
discretion of the hospital staff. Post continues to follow
the situation as closely as the tight-lipped nature of
Saleh's inner circle allows End Comment.
BRYAN