The United States and Britain have closed their embassies in the Yemeni capital city of Sana’a, citing security threats from an al-Qaeda group. On Saturday, President Obama connected the foiled Christmas Day attack on the Detroit-bound flight to al-Qaeda in Yemen. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown described Yemen as a “regional and global threat.” Patrick Cockburn, Middle East correspondent for the London Independent, and Michael Horton, a freelance journalist based in Yemen shared thier views.