Yemen's been in the news a lot lately, and I needed to know more about it than it's where the Underwear-bomber got his bomb, and that the Fort Hood shooter emailed with a Radical Imam there.  Maybe you'd like some more information, too.

Antiwar.com provided some links about Yemen, mainly to Libertarian sites. 

Bob Margolis, contributing foreign editor for the Sun National Media in Canada wrote a compelling and colorful piece on some of its history since the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, names the players and factions and tribes, and which ones the US is supporting.  Read it; you'll like it, if for no other reason than the imagery that will lock into your mind.  It is the Biblical home of the Queen of Sheba, and home to the first makers of perfume.

It's located on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, with Saudi Arabia to the north, Oman on the east, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden on the west and south respectively.  Its oil has already run out, and it is now one of the poorest nations on the planet, with the average person making $1.35 a day, and 40% unemployment.  It is known as a victim of external influences, corruption, and civil wars.

The President has declared that he doesn't want to expand our wars into Yemen, but the aid to Yemen has increased dramatically over the past four years, in another attempt at nation-building.  And the covert war we are fighting there was outed recently; CIA and JCOS operations have been conducting bombing and drone attacks for some years there; Margolis claims that the Underwear Bomber was retaliation for Saudi-US joint ventures targeting anti-American militants:

The "operation" involving U.S. aircraft killed between 50 and 100 Houthi tribesmen just a few days before Christmas. As Margolis explains, "US Special Forces, warplanes and killer drones have been active [in Yemen] since 2001, assassinating Yemeni militants and antigovernment tribal leaders. It was only a matter of time before Yemeni Jihadists struck back at the US."  A semi-secret US base in Djibouti is being used for attacks on Yemen, Somalia and Kenya.

Anti-US-interventionist Ron Paul appealed to the House Foreign Affairs Committee on February 3, 2010 to "Stay out of Yemen."

Mr. Chairman, I am extremely concerned over current U.S. policy toward Yemen, which I believe will backfire and leave the United States less safe and much poorer. Increasing U.S. involvement in Yemen may be sold as a fight against terrorism, but in fact it is more about expanding U.S. government control and influence over this strategically-placed nation at the gateway to Asia.
When I look at the U.S. assistance plan for Yemen I see that it is primarily focused on nation-building. That is the failed idea that if the United States sends enough money to a foreign government, with which that government purchases U.S.-manufactured weapons and hires U.S.-based consultants and non-governmental organizations, that country will achieve a strong economy and political stability and in gratitude will become eternally friendly to the U.S. and U.S. interests. I have yet to see a single successful example of this strategy.

It is not new to find myself in agreement with a Libertarian on foreign interventions, but Paul nailed it on these stands he took.  Of course our plans for Afghanistan include nation-building, and winning hearts and minds (who wouldn't love to see that phrase erased from our war lexicon?).  But there appears to be little evidence that we are finding any reliable partners within these countries, much like in Iraq.  But I digress.

Margolis explains that the most prominent militant group, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, (AQAP) is comprised of Saudi and Yemeni jihadists dedicated to over-throwing the Saudi Monarchy and creating an Islamic government in Yemen.  So the US has teamed up with Our Partners is Peace, the Saudis, to engage in yet another foray into another nation to kill Al Qaeda members.  The Yemeni government under Ali Saleh, who has been accused of myriad human rights abuses, is careful about US involvement, realizing that overt US presence would be a bad thing.  Meanwhile, Shia and Sunnis duke it out, and the Houthi tribesmen add another dimension. 

A semisecret US base in Djibouti is being used for attacks on Yemen, Somalia and Kenya.

Margolis concludes:

The US is being drawn into turbulent Yemen just as it is also expanding military operations across the Red Sea in Somalia and northern Kenya, and engineering the breakup of Sudan into two states. Britain, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are also getting involved in Yemen.  Another hornet's nest kicked. Expect more nasty stings.  Americans, who still struggle to understand the difference between Croats, Bosnians and Slovenes, or between Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek and Hazara, now face a crash course in the mysteries and wonders of Yemen.