Taliban Seizes Billions in US-Supplied Weaponry
The Taliban has seized billions of dollars’ worth of U.S.-supplied military equipment in Afghanistan following their rapid defeat of government forces in that country. Images of Taliban fighters posing with U.S.-made supplies are circulating widely in the media, The Hill’s Rebecca Kheel reports...
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Michael Rainey
Thu, August 19, 2021, 7:05 PM·3 min read
The Taliban has seized billions of dollars’ worth of U.S.-supplied military equipment in Afghanistan following their rapid defeat of government forces in that country.
Images of Taliban fighters posing with U.S.-made supplies are circulating widely in the media, The Hill’s Rebecca Kheel reports, and include weapons ranging from M-16 rifles to armored Humvees. UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and A-29 Super Tucano attack aircraft have also reportedly been captured.
Videos show Taliban fighters inspecting vehicles left behind by the Afghan military and opening crates of new firearms and other military equipment, including drones and night-vision goggles. “Everything that hasn't been destroyed is the Taliban's now," a U.S. official told Reuters.
A substantial stockpile: The U.S. has provided the Afghanistan government with an enormous supply of military equipment as part of the $83 billion it spent during the nearly 20-year course of the war to train and supply the national security forces. According to a report from the Government Accountability Office reviewed by Kheel, the U.S. supplied Afghan forces with more than 75,000 vehicles between 2003 and 2016, along with nearly 600,000 weapons, 160,000 pieces of communications equipment and more than 200 aircraft.
Some of the equipment has been lost or destroyed, but U.S. officials told Reuters that the Taliban now controls more than 2,000 armored vehicles and as many as 40 aircraft. (Afghan military pilots reportedly used about 50 aircraft to flee the country, effectively removing them from Taliban control.)
Military experts note, however, that technologically advanced equipment such as helicopters and attack aircraft would be hard to use without advanced training and skilled maintenance. “Ironically, the fact that our equipment breaks down so often is a life-saver here," an official said