Saleh’s opportunism renders US counterterrorism efforts ineffective

Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East, faces a number of fundamental social, political and economic challenges. Oil revenue currently represents 70% of the state budget and supports Yemen’s patronage system. However, reserves are estimated to run out within the next ten years. Water resources are diminishing rapidly and a water crisis is imminent. At the same time, tension and open conflict with the Houthis in the North, secessionist groups in the South, and al-Qaeda elements in Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) pose serious challenges to the legitimacy of the government in Sana’a. The overall security situation in Yemen is such that doubts are being raised about whether elections, planned for 2011, can be held.