Clinton says U.S., Yemen face common al Qaeda threat

SANAA Jan 11 (Reuters) - The United States and Yemen face a common threat from al Qaeda but have a partnership that goes beyond security issues, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday in a visit to Sanaa.

"We face a common threat posed by the terrorists and al Qaeda but our partnership goes beyond counterterrorism," Clinton said in a statement after about two hours of talks with Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

"We are focused not just on short-term threats but long-term challenges," she added. (Reporting by Andrew Quinn; Writing by Cynthia Johnston; Editing by Peter Graff)