Overview

Yemen is located at the southwestern tip of the Arabian Peninsula and was divided into two separate countries until they united in 1990. North Yemen came under control of the Turkish Ottoman Empire in the 1500’s. In 1918, following Turkey’s defeat in World War I, the Yemen Arab Republic (YAR) was established with a strong Islamic influence.

Today, as a result of the Islamic influence and the country's strategic location, the country has become a source of concern as a possible location for terrorist activity. To date, the government has maintained order and security without undue dissension. Whether this remains the case is an open question.

Background

England took control of the southern and western areas, the Aden protectorate, in 1839, including the strategic port city of Aden. With the opening of the Suez Canal, Aden’s importance grew. In 1967, England withdrew and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen was established as a Marxist state. Subsequently, the North and South engaged in intermittent warfare, low-intensity conflict and endured continual internal strife, as the YAR and Saudi Arabia have disputed border territories. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, the two countries united as the Republic of Yemen. Fundamentalist Islamic groups vehemently opposed unification, secular rule and westernization.

During the Gulf War in 1991, Yemen supported Iraq politically, but not militarily. In reprisal, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait expelled as many as one million Yemenis. These Yemenis and their families had relied on remittances for their welfare. Yemen was then faced an influx of another million Yemenis returning from Somalia. As a result, unemployment skyrocketed, inflation has run rampant and deep-rooted animosities have surfaced.

Rebel activity and border conflicts with Saudi Arabia have impeded Yemen’s ability to more fully develop oil reserves in the North, leaving the country mired in economic disarray. Yemen’s oil refining industry has relied on crude from Iraq and Kuwait, both of which sources dried up after the Gulf War. Meanwhile, the US slashed its economic aid by nearly 90%, further fueling the fires of discontent and sparking the growth of the Fundamentalist Islamic movement.

Yemen’s president, Ali Abdullah Saleh has ruled since 1978, despite numerous attempts to overthrow him and regular secessionist activity. In 1994, civil war erupted between the North and South, but the teetering regime has survived.  Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the US has taken a renewed interest in Yemen, seeking Saleh’s cooperation in the war on terror. Yemen is probably the home or base for more al-Qaeda members than any country other than Afghanistan.

Saleh is left in a seemingly untenable situation, caught between multiple adversaries – Islamist militants, the US, Saudis and the economic realities of a desperate country. Half of Yemen’s population is under fifteen; almost all are disadvantaged with little hope, except that promised by militant Islam. It’s estimated there may be as many as 80 million weapons in Yemen, many in the hands of those with fighting experience in Afghanistan, Somalia, or right at home in Yemen.

As America invades Iraq, Yemen is a likely base of anti-American attacks throughout the Middle East and a possible target in the US war on terrorism. In the meantime, Yemen remains an exotic land of charm, mystery and a sense of adventure.