All true, and good, but vague, questions.....

I agree with the premise that safety of our forces should be a very high priority. I cannot say it is the only priority, because that is not the nature of service or warfare. There will always be risks. So I don't know what you mean by "what requires that we continue to put our people at risk?" I would assume you'd add the modifier "unnecessary" in there somewhere. Otherwise, why have a military.

There are economic measures that can be taken, or at least tried, to keep people from hating us. They are not always successful. But that doesn't mean we are then required to stay away from the area. Sometimes force, or at least a show of force, is required to modify behavior.

Yemen may be a treeless shithole, but it sits in a rather important neighborhood.