The United States government is believed to have left behind more than $7 billion worth of military equipment in Afghanistan when authorities withdrew from the war-torn country in a chaotic fashion last year.
A report from a Defense Department inspector general explained that the majority of the $7 billion worth of equipment in the country consisted of tactical ground vehicles such as Humvees and mine-resistant MRAPS.
Seized American Military Equipment
On the other hand, the Afghan military possessed a ground vehicle inventory worth roughly $4.12 billion when Kabul fell to the Taliban terrorist group in mid-August 2021. On top of the ground vehicles, the U.S. military also lost roughly $923.3 million worth of military aircraft and $294.6 million in aircraft munitions.
But the report does point out that "some" of the aircraft left behind were "demilitarized and rendered inoperable during the evacuation." The report added that 316,260 small arms, including sniper rifles, machine guns, and grenade launchers, were also left behind in Afghanistan, amounting to roughly $511.8 million, as per Fox News.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the situation in Afghanistan. Taliban fighters have, in the months following the withdrawal, paraded through the streets of the country on multiple occasions showing off military equipment left by the U.S.
In a letter last year, Republican lawmakers told Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, "It is unconscionable that high-tech military equipment paid for by U.S. taxpayers has fallen into the hands of the Taliban and their terrorist allies. Securing U.S. assets should have been among the top priorities for the U.S. Department of Defense prior to announcing the withdrawal from Afghanistan."
According to the Washington Times, the Pentagon Inspector General said that the Afghan forces were heavily reliant on U.S. contractor support to maintain both their aircraft and ground vehicle fleets. He added that without continued support, the long-term operability of the assets would be limited.
Taliban Terrorist Group
The Defense Department also provided more than 427,000 weapons for the Afghan military and security forces, which include more than 258,000 rifles, 56,000 machine guns, 244 howitzers, and 31,000 rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
Pentagon officials also told the inspector general that more than 316,000 of the weapons were possessed by the Afghan military when the country's government fell to the terrorist group. The report added that the assets' operation condition was unknown at the time.
The Taliban held one military parade in November showing off armored security vehicles and small arms. Also, a cause for concern among the military equipment left in Afghanistan includes mortar rounds, communications equipment, explosive ordnance detection and disposal equipment, night vision devices, and other surveillance equipment.
The U.S. government noted that the demilitarization of the equipment includes the destruction or removal of nearly all weapons and equipment in the war-torn country. However, the distinction between the two terms could matter in the long run. One official noted that everything that was provided to the Afghan forces was not on the same level as American assets, Breaking Defense reported.
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