One of the many incomprehensible aspects of Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan was the abandonment of vast quantities of American weapons to the Taliban. These weapons, which were under the control of the Afghan Army until it vaporized could have been easily destroyed by American forces from the air at any time. They were not.
The quantities of weapons in question are staggering. According to The Hill.
“Between 2003 and 2016, the United States transferred 75,898 vehicles, 599,690 weapons, 162,643 pieces of communications equipment, 208 aircraft, and 16,191 pieces of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment to Afghan forces, according to a 2017 Government Accountability Office report.
From 2017 to 2019, the United States also gave Afghan forces 7,035 machine guns, 4,702 Humvees, 20,040 hand grenades, 2,520 bombs and 1,394 grenade launchers, among other equipment, according to a report last year from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).
As of June 30, Afghan forces had 211 U.S.-supplied aircraft in their inventory, a separate SIGAR report said.”
#Taliban forces marches with the American weapons in #Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/wv1qAflJdO
— Asaad Hanna (@AsaadHannaa) August 20, 2021
It is bad enough that the Taliban and its terrorist allies like Al Qaeda now have access to these weapons. AND Magazine has now learned, however, that the Iranians have been given access to these weapons as well.
A large contingent of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) technicians has been dispatched to Afghanistan. They are operating with the Taliban and their presence is being concealed by that group.
The IRGC technicians are being afforded full access to all of the weapons left behind by the United States, including UAV’s, anti-tank weapons, missiles. MRAP’s and night vision equipment. The IRGC is also being allowed to take these items to Iran so that they can be reverse-engineered there.
U.S. #UAV / #Drone captured by #Taliban — likely will be sold to #Iran; there are already videos of gear, Humvees & weapons going to Iran. #Afghanistan @JoeBiden @VP @SecBlinken Who is doing the planning over there? Or just winging it?
— ⚡Ukraine Anti-Corruption ⚡( 🇺🇸 American group) (@UkraineLiberty) August 14, 2021
.@john_sipher pic.twitter.com/73v3x38cjV
All of the relevant technical information is also being shared with Russia and China. To date, there is no indication that the United States is making any effort to impede any aspect of this effort.
“If any of these weapons or this military equipment is used to harm, injure, or kill an American now or at any time in the future, the blood is on Joe Biden’s hands.” – @RepJimBanks on the many American weapons left in Afghanistan after Biden’s botched withdrawal. pic.twitter.com/advCBXd551
— House Republicans (@HouseGOP) August 24, 2021
One of the most critical elements of American national security is our technological advantage over our adversaries. The capture of sophisticated American weapons systems by the Taliban has gone a long way toward eroding that advantage. We will pay the price in blood in future conflicts.
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