The Biden administration’s chaotic, last-minute scramble to evacuate Afghanistan has led to a massive boon for the Taliban, in the form of advanced American firepower.
The complete and total collapse of the Afghan military has left huge quantities of military equipment behind, including some of America’s advanced weapons systems.
While there appears to have been no plan or attempt to avoid this outcome, it also looks like there’s no plan at all to get any of it back.
On Monday, Pentagon logistics specialist Maj. Gen. Hank Taylor was asked if the U.S. had a plan to make certain that the military hardware did not fall into Taliban hands, his response was, “I don’t have an answer to that question.”
The answer to Taylor’s question probably lies on social media, where users have shared dozens of videos purporting to show the Taliban’s capture of arms.
The Taliban has acquired millions of dollars of military equipment including guns, ammo and helicopters and aircraft.
President Biden has armed the Taliban with our own weapons and has no plan to recover them. https://t.co/NfG1uKiPQk
— Chuck Fleischmann (@RepChuck) August 17, 2021
Complete And Total Collapse
An official with the Defense Department confirmed to the Associated Press that the Taliban had secured vast amounts of equipment, and that the amount they now have in their possession is “enormous.”
Do a quick search of Twitter, and you’ll find videos of Taliban fighters with hundreds of guns in weapon caches, or untold amounts of body armor.
This week the Taliban captured cities, cash, our military bases, tanks, helicopters, #UAV/#drones, trucks, machine guns, assault & sniper rifles, arms & ammo. They took many of their old arms back. pic.twitter.com/VUxaDG1ORU
— UaviatorVision (@UavVision) August 15, 2021
Some videos purport to show both Taliban with newly-acquired U.S. military vehicles like humvees, or alternately, Afghan military forces making a break for it in humvees.
Worse – the helicopters and fighter planes and fighter jets now in Taliban hands.
Footage of Taliban forces having captured M-17 military helicopters
pic.twitter.com/7LIPHEloQp— Prolific (@ProlificGlobal) August 16, 2021
2020 Taliban: Put machine gun on truck
2021 Taliban: Mount laser-guided munitions onto A-29B light attack aircraft pic.twitter.com/cLuDNppWO4— Oryx (@oryxspioenkop) August 15, 2021
And it’s not all leftovers or older weapons systems. Some of the most advanced, high-tech platforms have been reportedly seized.
The #Taliban not only seized appr. a hundred US humvees and (MaxxPro) MRAPs at Kunduz airport, but also several US ScanEagle drones.
Billions of US tax payer $ going to Islamist extremists, thanks to the administration’s hasty withdrawal without a peace deal or follow up mission. pic.twitter.com/Fb5MTpdLKK— Julian Röpcke (@JulianRoepcke) August 12, 2021
#Taliban flying Helicopter captured from Afghan security forces.😶 pic.twitter.com/2OroICcqlV
— Lone Wolf (@Lone_wolf110) August 13, 2021
Sending The Wrong Signals
While the Biden administration is quick to lay blame on the Afghan forces, others are saying, ‘not so fast.’
Chris Miller, Acting Secretary of Defense at the end of the Trump administration, and who saw his own combat in Afghanistan in 2001, said the United States “used hope as a course of action.”
Stephen Biddle, professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University, and also a former advisor to U.S. forces in Afghanistan, says Joe Biden’s announcement in April of a withdrawal date set the catastrophe in motion.
“The problem of the U.S. withdrawal is that it sent a nationwide signal that the jig is up — a sudden, nationwide signal that everyone read the same way. Before April, the Afghan government troops were slowly but steadily losing the war. When they learned that their American partners were going home, an impulse to give up without a fight “spread like wildfire.”
Afghani forces fleeing to Iran after losing a battle to the Taliban with all the military equipment left behind from the American army. #AfghanistanBurning #Afghanistan #BidenMustResign #Taliban #Afghan_lives_matter pic.twitter.com/zBMttpluf4
— חסידישע מידיא (@realhasidic) August 15, 2021
The Cost Of War
So how much has America sacrificed in Afghanistan? In dollars and cents, according to Forbes.com, approximately $2 trillion. Broken down, that is around $300 million per day for 20 years. Or, $50,000 for each one of Afghanistan’s 40 million people.
Broken down further: $800 billion in direct war-fighting costs, $85 billion to train the Afghan army, and $750 million for U.S. taxpayers to pay the Afghan army.
The human costs are incalculable. 2,500 U.S. soldiers, 4,000 U.S. civilian contractors, plus 20,000 non-fatal casualties.
As for what should be added to the “gained” side of the ledger, you decide.
This article was originally published by the Political Insider. Read the original article.
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