Pentagon: No Idea What Happened to $500 Million in Yemen Arms

Weapons Probably Long Gone

Testifying to Congress in a series of closed door meetings in recent weeks, the Pentagon has confirmed that roughly $500 million worth of US military aid, including weapons, ammunition, and vehicles, are totally unaccounted for.

“We have to assume it’s completely compromised and gone,” said one Congressional aide familiar with the situation, adding the Pentagon had no information since the embassy closed last month.

Pentagon officials quoted in the media, however, said they had “no hard evidence” that the weapons had been looted by al-Qaeda or the Houthi rebels in Yemen, though that’s just because they don’t have any clue where they’re at.

Anything in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, almost certainly fell to the Houthis when they over the country. The US forces guarding the embassy definitely left their gear behind in the capital.

Military aid, however, is likely all over the place, and while what remains of the Yemeni military probably still has some of it, the Houthis, al-Qaeda, and everyone else have almost certainly looted much of it by now.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.