The five-year old war in Yemen has not only created the worst humanitarian disaster in the world today, but destroyed much of the country’s development designed and funded over several decades by international agencies and foreign states. Since the overthrow of the Zaydi imamate in 1962 and consequent civil war in the north as well as the liberation of the south from Britain, development aid poured in from its oil-rich neighbors, major countries on both sides of the Cold War and international agencies like the World Bank and the United Nations. While strides were made in expanding the infrastructure and attempting to build up the ministries of the central government, much of the development funding had a limited impact and far too much was siphoned off by corrupt officials. In the 1970s through the 1980s the most impressive development occurred at the local level due to cooperative self-help fueled by remittances from the many Yemeni workers abroad. It is obvious that post-war reconstruction will require a massive input of development aid, given the economic collapse of the country and dwindling supplies of its oil and gas resources. It is not clear that this aid will be effectively used to allow the Yemeni people to rebuild their country the way they choose. This paper analyzes the major problems in Yemen of past development efforts, which were inextricably intertwined with the political agendas of the various donors. Past aid was never provided freely, but always with a desire for influence. This was especially the case for the massive amount of funding provided by Saudi Arabia, which has wanted to have influence over Yemen since the invasion of the Tihama region by Ibn Saud in 1934. Given the ongoing proxy-war rhetoric between Saudi Arabia, supported by most Western powers, and Iran, the withdrawal of Saudi and United Arab Emirate interference is unlikely. But the fact that Yemen has a population of 29 million people suggests that at some point Yemen must settle internal differences and seek a future that is not imposed from outside. Lessons from past development policies, both negative and positive, offer options worth pursuing. Will Yemen be allowed to develop itself? It is certainly worth the effort, despite the difficulties that must be overcome.