Yemen and U.S. Security

The closings of US Embassies in the Gulf and reporting on the threat raised by Al Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula has served as a grim warning of the level of instability in Yemen. Yemen is the most troubled state in the Arabian Peninsula. It remains in a low-level state of civil war, and is deeply divided on sectarian, tribal, and regional levels. A largely Shi'ite Houthi rebellion still affects much of the northwest border area and has serious influence in the capital of Sana and along parts of the Red Sea coast. Al Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) poses a threat in central Yemen, along with other elements of violent Sunni extremism, there are serious tensions between the northern and southern parts of Yemen, and power struggles continue between key elements of the military ruling elite in the capital and outside it.

The Burke Chair at CSIS has issued a new report on Yemen and US Security. This report highlights the overall level of stability in Yemen, the various threats posed to US interests, and describes the details of US and Yemeni security cooperation. The report is available on the CSIS web site at https://www.csis.org/analysis/yemen-and-us-security
   
This is a chapter from THE GULF MILITARY BALANCE Volume III: The Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula: This report examines the growing US security partnership with Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE - established as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
  
Other reports in this series include:

  • THE GULF MILITARY BALANCE Volume I: The Conventional and Asymmetric Dimensions: This report examines Iran's conventional and asymmetric military forces in detail, and the balance of forces in the Gulf Region.
  • THE GULF MILITARY BALANCE Volume II: The Missile and Nuclear Dimensions: This report looks at Iran's Missile and Nuclear forces
  • THE GULF MILITARY BALANCE Volume III: The Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula:This report examines the growing US security partnership with Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE - established as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). 
Image
Anthony H. Cordesman

Anthony H. Cordesman

Former Emeritus Chair in Strategy

Robert M. Shelala II, Omar Mohamed