president seleh has several times agreed to resign, only to pull out at the last minute. it's important to note that yemen is home to al qaeda, which has been behind a number of planned attacks on the u.s. a short time ago, i spoke to an american named jeb boone who is in yemen, saw the attacks on the presidential compound. we had problems with the phone connection, so we decided to add subtitles because we think it's important for you to though what's going on inside the country. here's the interview. jeb, you were near the presidential compound when the fighting began. what did you see, what did you hear? >> the president was already using his special forces in the city. has he used all the power that he has or is there more that he might bring to bear? >> so at this point, is this now a full-on civil war? >> like many dictators in the region, president seleh has sort of played himself as the only bulwark against al qaeda. there is al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, very strong in yemen. the government is reporting that some areas of the country have been taken over by

the post seleh era has begun in yemen. we've got a situation where not only drones but american jets are being used. that's quite a departure. there has been a relatively small u.s. special forces presence in yemen, and obviously a cia presence. these assets are being used to put as much pressure on al qaeda as possible. there are reports in "the l.a. times" also this evening that elements of al qaeda have shown up in a town in the south and so it's an opportunity but also a problem in the sense that, yes, the vacuum may allow greater space for the united states to operate, but the same vacuum is allowing al qaeda a greater space to operate. >> fran, at this point, how important is yemen for al qaeda? because it does seem al qaeda in the arabian peninsula has really been carrying the mantle for al qaeda and been behind a number of the more publicized attacks or attempted attacks in the last couple of years. >> that's absolutely right, anderson. not only have they been -- they're not only the most active, but also the most