Photograph taken for a story in the Daily Oklahoman newspaper. Caption: "One of the least known marvels seen in " Seven Wonders of the World," Lowell Thomas new Cinerama adventure, is the skyscapper city of Shibam in the Arabian desert."

Script from the WBAP-TV/NBC station in Fort Worth, Texas, relating a news story about a military coup which reportedly has toppled the government of North Yemen.

This report provides an overview and analysis of U.S.-Yemeni relations amidst evolving political change in Yemeni leadership, ongoing U.S. counterterrorism operations against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), operatives at large in Yemen's hinterlands, and international efforts to bolster the country's stability despite an array of daunting socio-economic problems.

With limited natural resources, a crippling illiteracy rate, and high population growth, Yemen faces an array of daunting development challenges that some observers believe make it at risk for becoming a failed state in the next few decades. As the country's population rapidly rises, resources dwindle, and terrorist groups take root in the outlying provinces, the Obama Administration and the 111th Congress are left to grapple with the consequences of Yemeni instability. As President Obama and the 111th Congress reassess U.S. policy toward the Arab world, the opportunity for improved U.S.-Yemeni ties is strong, though recurring tensions over counterterrorism cooperation and lack of U.S. interest in Yemen within the broader foreign policy community persist.

This report discusses U.S. economic and security assistance to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).