The US has pretty good relations with the current government of Yemen, although things could change. The Yemenis generally cooperate in counterterrorism efforts, as well as hunting down their own insurgents, and allow us to go after terrorists within their borders. Abu Ali al-Harithi, an AQ leader in Yemen and planner of the USS
Cole attack, found this out the hard way in the fraction of a second before a Hellfire missile fired from a Predator UAV slammed into his vehicle, turning his terror cell into a bunch of little cells scattered all over the roadway.
Our recognition of the region's importance is also shown by our presence in Djibouti, the former French colony on the other side of the Bab el-Mandeb. France has given us use of one of its bases in Djibouti (which despite independence is still home of a French air force base and a Foreign Legion demi-brigade), which serves as the headquarters of the
Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA). CJTF-HOA's AO is Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, the Seychelles, Yemen and Ethiopia and the surrounding waters.
There is also a naval task force operating in the region: Combined Task Force 150, currently under the command of
Flottillenadmiral Henning Hoops of the German Navy. This is a force of usually 8 but up to 14 ships (frigates and destroyers) conducting maritime interdiction operations in the Red Sea, Horn of Africa region and Arabian Sea. It includes vessels from various countries. Usually about 6 different countries are represented, but participants vary. The main participants are the US, the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.
And speaking of pirate attacks off Yemen, from back in December:
Coalition Maritime Forces Deter Pirate Attack off Yemen.