Topline
The Division of Protection estimates $7.12 billion price of army gear bought by the US was left in Afghanistan following the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops that concluded August 30, in accordance with a DOD report obtained by CNN Wednesday.
U.S. troopers from the tenth Mountain Division arrive at a U.S. base close to the village of Deh Afghan … [+]
John Moore/Getty Pictures
Key Info
The gear included plane, automobiles, weapons, ammunition and communications {hardware} that was given to the now-defunct U.S.-backed Afghan authorities, CNN stated, citing a March report back to Congress by the DOD that has not but been made public.
The army doesn’t intend to “retrieve or destroy” the {hardware}, although a lot of it requires particular upkeep, CNN reported—a earlier report by a DOD watchdog stated most of the Afghan army’s planes received’t stay efficient if U.S.-funded contractors disappear.
About 170 items of army gear, together with automobiles and plane, have been additionally “demilitarized” by U.S. forces and rendered ineffective earlier than the withdrawal, Gen. Kenneth McKenzie—the pinnacle of U.S. Central Command—informed reporters in August.
The report’s launch comes after Congress required the DOD to tell lawmakers concerning the destiny of U.S. property in Afghanistan following the withdrawal.
The Division of Protection didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Large Quantity
$18.61 billion. That’s how a lot the U.S. appropriated to the previous Afghan authorities for gear and transportation for its safety forces from 2005 to 2021, in accordance with an October report by the Particular Inspector Common for Afghanistan Reconstruction, the U.S. army’s inside watchdog on the struggle in Afghanistan.
Key Background
In February 2020, U.S. and Taliban negotiators inked an settlement beneath which all U.S. troops would go away Afghanistan by Might 1, 2021, and President Joe Biden later revised this withdrawal deadline to August 31, which the Taliban later referred to as a “purple line.” Within the leadup to the withdrawal, U.S. intelligence predicted the Afghan authorities would stay secure and a Taliban takeover wouldn’t happen quickly, Biden stated. Nonetheless, whereas U.S. troops left Afghanistan final summer season, the Taliban shortly assumed management of the nation and Afghan safety forces—whom the US had equipped with funding and gear for almost twenty years—quickly disintegrated. As they returned to energy following a 20-year struggle, Taliban fighters reportedly seized deserted U.S weaponry together with Black Hawk helicopters and A-29 Tremendous Tucano gentle assault planes. Although the choice to withdraw troops was broadly standard, its execution was chaotic: Crowds of civilians swarmed Kabul’s worldwide airport, hoping to flee the nation earlier than a Taliban takeover, and 13 U.S. troops have been killed in an Islamic State suicide bombing.
Tangent
The Biden Administration’s dealing with of the Afghanistan withdrawal was unpopular amongst Democrats in addition to Republicans. A Pew Analysis Middle survey discovered solely 27% of respondents thought the Biden Administration did or glorious job of dealing with the pullout. Some 43% of Democrats stated they thought the administration dealt with the scenario in Afghanistan properly, in comparison with 7% of Republicans, Pew stated.
