Pentagon lost $500M in weapons, aid to Yemen: ‘Assume it’s completely compromised’

The Pentagon has lost up to $500 million in military aid given to Yemen.

Aircraft, weapons, and other equipment donated to Yemen prior to the collapse of its government to Houthi rebels last month is now out of the Defense Department’s reach, officials have confirmed with Fox News and The Washington Post.

Officials told The Post on Tuesday that they feared the weapons could now wind up in the hands of Iranian militias or al Qaeda. Sources also told Fox that the matter has been discussed with officials on Capitol Hill.

“We have to assume it’s completely compromised and gone,” a legislative aide on Capitol Hill told The Post.

At least a portion of the military aid sent to Yemen since 2007 was part of the “Section 1206” program that aimed to train its security forces. The Post added that there have been an “array” of programs spearheaded by the Defense Department and State Department that are linked to the funding.

“The administration really wanted to stick with this narrative that Yemen was different from Iraq, that we were going to do it with fewer people, that we were going to do it on the cheap,” Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Tex.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, told The Post. “They were trying to do with a minimalist approach because it needed to fit with this narrative … that we’re not going to have a repeat of Iraq.”