(CNN) -- Anwar al-Awlaki was killed exactly one week after President Ali Abdullah Saleh returned to Yemen at the end of a long period of medical treatment in Saudi Arabia. Intelligence analysts say that may have been no coincidence, and that with al-Awlaki's killing, Saleh is underlining to the West -- and the Saudis -- that they still need him. Saleh's return was something of a surprise both to Yemenis and the international community. He had been seen as the main stumbling block to political dialogue and a transition to fresh elections sponsored by the Gulf Cooperation Council. But several analysts consulted by CNN said the Saudis were concerned that the growing unrest in Yemen could morph into outright civil war -- in a country that shares a long and porous desert border with the kingdom.
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President Ali Abdullah Saleh recently returned to Yemen in a surprise move
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He says all his enemies are connected to al Qaeda
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Saleh has the reputation of being a wily politician
And at the same time, Saleh would be best placed to turn up the heat on @placeholder, now established in at least two eastern provinces and in parts of southern Yemen.