Pakistani Militants in Possession of US Military Equipment Left Behind During Afghanistan Withdrawal

The US invaded and occupied Afghanistan for 20 years. The one consolation is that when they surrendered and fled the country (leaving it totally destroyed), they left behind billions in equipment.

The Taliban said they would not sell the equipment to terrorists, and I don’t think they did (directly). But they can’t be held responsible for not tracking the chain of custody of this equipment.

If they sell it to buyers who sell it to terrorists, that is not their problem. It’s the problem of the US, who created this situation in the first place. The Taliban needs the money.

That said: Tehrek-e-Taliban is not a terrorist group at all, but legitimate Pashtun rebels stuck on the wrong side of a border by illogical lines drawn by the colonialists. It’s a similar situation to that of Russians in the eastern part of the former territory of the Ukraine.

New York Post:

US military equipment left behind during the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan has made its way into the hands of Pakistani militants, the country’s prime minister claimed Monday.

The high-tech gear, which may include firearms with laser and thermal sighting systems, is reportedly being used by the Pakistani Taliban, a militant group also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, in clashes that have intensified in recent months with Pakistan’s security forces.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said the development was “emerging as a new challenge” in a meeting with reporters in Islamabad on Monday.

Kakar argued that a “coordinated approach” must be taken to tackle the threat that abandoned US military equipment poses to Pakistan, adding that Pakistani security forces will continue to “defend our home, children, mosques and places of worship.”

The Pakistani Taliban are an ally but not affiliated with the Afghan Taliban.

…

More than $7 billion worth of US-provided military equipment – including Humvees, mine-resistant MRAPs, military aircraft and munitions – was in the hands of the Western-backed Afghan government when it collapsed in August of 2021 amid the Biden administration’s withdrawal from the country, according to the Defense Department’s inspector general.

I love that the media is still avoiding the term “surrender.”