Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren sent a letter Friday to Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo requesting information on the alleged transfer of American weapons to al-Qaida and Iran-aligned fighters.
Warren’s inquiry was prompted by a CNN report that “Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners have transferred American-made weapons to al-Qaida-linked fighters, hardline Salafi militias, and other factions waging war in Yemen."
The CNN investigation also alleged that U.S. equipment has fallen “into the hands of Iranian-backed rebels" fighting the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, "exposing some of America’s sensitive military technology to Tehran and potentially endangering the lives of U.S. troops in other conflict zones.”
Foreign governments receiving weapons and other defense articles from the U.S. are subject to agreements that prohibit the re-transfer of those weapons to third parties without prior authorization, Warren said in her letter.
Among the foreign equipment CNN found to have been re-transferred were Oshkosh M-ATVs and MaxxPro MRAPs, both of which are built to withstand ballistic and improvised explosive devices. CNN also reported that locals confirmed Saudi and Emirate forces airdropped American-made TOW anti-tank missiles “on the same frontline where [al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula] had been known to operate at the time."
The al-Qaida-aligned Abu Abbas brigade now possesses U.S.-made Oshkosh vehicles, and Iranian-linked Houthi rebels have been filmed with a captured U.S.-made MRAP in the capital Sanaa, according to CNN.
In a public hearing on Feb. 11, Gen. Joseph Votel, commander of U.S. Central Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Pentagon has “not authorized Saudi Arabia or the Emirates to re-transfer any of this equipment to other parties on the ground in Yemen.”
Votel added that the Defense Department has mechanisms to monitor and enforce end user restrictions, which includes surveys and conducting inventories of equipment.
“So, there are processes in place with this. I would also highlight that in some of these cases, again, I think we have to look more closely at the allegations in this particular situation to find out what happened,” Votel said. “As we’ve seen in Iraq in the past, where we saw our partners overrun, we have seen American equipment provided to them, lost in the course of a fight, end up in the hands of our adversaries out there.”
Votel added that the Pentagon is aware of the responsibilities taken on by allied nations when they are allowed to use American equipment and said U.S. military officials “emphasize that with our partners all the time.”
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Warren’s Feb. 22 letter stated that she remained concerned about the potential national security threat posed by these unauthorized weapons re-transfers, and asked DoD and DoS leaders to answer a series of detailed questions about the United States’ oversight of weapons sold to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Warren requested unclassified answers to her questions by March 8.
“If this [CNN] report is true, it raises serious concerns that Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and other governments may have violated their end user agreements with the United States by diverting American weapons to terrorists and other violent extremists without prior authorization from the U.S. government,” Warren said.
The U.S. military’s support for the Saudi-led coalition’s operations in the Yemeni civil war has been an ongoing cause of frustration for members of Congress on both sides of the aisle.
Legislators worry about U.S.-armed Saudi and Emirate aircraft bombing civilians, among other alleged war crimes.
Kyle Rempfer was an editor and reporter who has covered combat operations, criminal cases, foreign military assistance and training accidents. Before entering journalism, Kyle served in U.S. Air Force Special Tactics and deployed in 2014 to Paktika Province, Afghanistan, and Baghdad, Iraq.
