JOHN MCCAIN, ARIZONA, CHAIRMAN JAMES M. INHOFE, OKLAHOMA JACK REED, RHODE ISLAND ROGER F. WICKER, MISSISSIPPI BILL NELSON, FLORIDA DEB FISCHER, NEBRASKA CLAIRE MCCASKILL, MISSOURI TOM COTTON, ARKANSAS JEANNE SHAHEEN. NEW HAMPSHIRE MIKE ROUNDS, SOUTH DAKOTA KIRSTEN E, GILLIBRAND, NEW YORK JONIERNST, IOWA RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, CONNECTICUT .01 a THOM TILLIS, NORTH CAROLINA JOE DONNELLY, INDIANA "ltE [at?g Enat? DAN SULLIVAN, ALASKA MAZIE K, HIRONO, HAWAII DAVID PERDUE, GEORGIA TIM KAINE, VIRGINIA TED CRUZ, TEXAS ANGUS S. COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES LINDSEY GRAHAM, SOUTH CAROLINA MARTIN HEINRICH, NEW MEXICO BEN SASSE, NEBRASKA ELIZABETH WARREN, MASSACHUSETTS LUTHER STRANGE, ALABAMA GARY c. PETERS, MICHIGAN DC 20510 6050 CHRISTIAN D. BROSE, STAFF DIRECTOR ELIZABETH L. KING, MINORITY STAFF DIRECTOR June 22, 2017 The Honorable James N. Mattis Secretary of Defense 1000 Defense Pentagon Washington, DC. 2030l?l000 Dear Secretaiy Mattis: We write to express our concern regarding the deeply disturbing allegations contained in a recent report published by the Associated Press (AP) on June 2 st titled ?In Yemen?s Secret Prisons, UAE Tortures and US lnterrogates.? The article alleges that Emirati forces and their Yemeni partners have detained hundreds of men captured during operations to counter Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and that many ofthose detainees have been horrifically abused by their'captors in ways that, iftrue, would clearly constitute torture. The article fUIther alleges that US. military personnel provided questions for these Emirati and Yemeni interrogations, but that none of the former detainees interviewed have alleged that those US. personnel were involved in the abuse. However, the article seems to imply that US. officials in Yemen should have been aware that abuse was occurring. We are confident that you find these allegations as extremely troubling as we do. The battlefield in Yemen is a complex but vital front in countering AQAP, which has demonstrated both the capability and intent to strike the United States, our allies, and our partners. Even the suggestion that the United States tolerates torture by our foreign partners compromises our national security mission by undermining the moral principle that distinguishes us from our enemieswour belief that all people possess basic human rights, and are entitled to the fundamental protections ofthose rights in international law. We request that you direct an immediate review of the facts and circumstances related to these alleged abuses, including US. support to the Emirati and Yemeni partner forces that were purportedly involved. We also request that you conduct a thorough assessment of what, if anything, forces knew about these alleged abuses or subsequently learned about them. The Senate Armed Services Committee would like to receive a briefing on your findings as soon as possible. We look forward to your response. Thank you for your continued service to our Nation. at?, ?u 7a a Jack Reed John McCain Ranking Member Chairman