Sana'a: For nearly a year, the United States has waged a war against Al Qaida in Yemen, and Yemeni officials say Washington is pressing them to be more aggressive.
"The Americans are pushing hard and the government is resisting hard," said Yasser Al Awadi, a senior lawmaker close to the Yemeni leader.
The Obama administration branded Al Qaida in Yemen a global threat, and has dramatically stepped up its alliance with Saleh's regime to uproot it.
Around 50 elite US military experts are in the country training Yemeni counterterrorism forces.
In recent weeks, Al Qaida gunmen have been bold enough to carry out assaults in the capital, Sana'a, including a failed ambush on a top British diplomat in her car.
Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Al Qirbi recently brought one dispute out into the open, saying Sana'a had put a stop to American warplanes or drones carrying out strikes against Al Qaida targets.
"American strikes have ceased since December because the Yemeni government insisted that these strikes don't yield any results," he said.
American officials have refused to confirm that US planes carried out the strikes.
A senior US. administration official, however, insisted any actions were aimed at thwarting terrorist threats.
"We go to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties when taking coordinated efforts with our Yemeni partners against Al Qaida," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
