9.13.21 – Part 3
“Biden’s Afghanistan Crisis -- U. S. Military Equipment in Taliban’s Hands – Pt. 3 of 3”
By Henry W. Burke
https://www.educationviews.org/u-s-military-equipment-in-talibans-hands/
As a direct result of Joe Biden’s disastrous and ill-conceived U. S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Taliban have been handed a treasure trove of excellent military equipment. The Taliban now have a huge arsenal of U. S. weaponry and associated military equipment.
Retired Lt. Col. Oliver North said recently that the Taliban is now the "best armed criminal enterprise in the history of mankind." (From Gary Bauer’s End of Day Report for 9.8.21)
When the travesty of leaving Americans behind in Afghanistan is coupled with the U. S. military equipment abandoned in this Taliban terrorist-controlled country, the negligence, stupidity, and ulterior motives of the Biden Administration are appalling!
I have written two companion articles on Joe Biden’s horrible U. S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. These are:
“Biden’s Afghanistan Hostage Crisis” (Part 1)
https://www.educationviews.org/bidens-afghanistan-hostage-crisis/
“Biden’s Afghanistan Hostage Crisis: Part 2”
https://www.educationviews.org/bidens-afghanistan-hostage-crisis-part-2/
Under Major Blunders, the Part 2 article states:
11. Allowing a huge inventory of valuable military equipment to fall into the hands of Taliban terrorists: (Please refer to the companion article.)
The Biden Administration does not want the public to know how much U. S. military equipment has fallen into Taliban hands. In a 9.1.21 Washington Examiner article, it states:
Biden administration officials directed federal agencies to wipe any detailed lists from their websites that outline quantities or cost of U.S. military equipment and training to Afghanistan security forces, according to the State Department.
Public links to reports about the tens of billions of dollars in equipment published by multiple agencies, including Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction and the Governmental Accountability Office, are now dead.
Former President Donald Trump demanded the Biden administration to recoup the cost of the equipment — whose estimates have ranged from about $24 billion to about $85 billion — or "bomb the hell" out of it.
Obviously, it will soon be harder to find information on U. S. military equipment left in Afghanistan. Don’t waste your time asking the Pentagon spokesmen for information on this subject.
“I don’t have an exact inventory of what equipment the Afghans had at their disposal that now might be at risk, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said at an Aug. 23 press briefing. “Obviously, we don’t want to see any weapons or systems to fall into the hands of people that would use them in such a way to harm our interests.
British media (The Times) just released some revealing information on U. S. military equipment now in Taliban hands. This information comes from the GAO (Government Accounting Office).
Table 1 – Taliban’s New Military Equipment
|
Category |
Description |
Number |
| Aircraft | C-130 Transport Airplanes | 4 |
| “ | Embraer EMB 314/A29 Airplanes | 23 |
| “ | Cessna 208 Airplanes | 28 |
| “ | Cessna AC-208 Strike Aircraft | 10 |
| “ | UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopters | 33 |
| “ | Mi-17 Helicopters | 33 |
| “ | MD-530 Helicopters | 43 |
| Vehicles | M113 Armored Personnel Carriers | 169 |
| “ | Mxx Pro Mine-proof Vehicles | 155 |
| “ | M1117 Vehicles | 634 |
| “ | Humvees | 22,174 |
| “ | Large Trucks | 8,000 |
| “ | Pick-up trucks and SUV’s | 42,000 |
| Weapons | Artillery Pieces | 176 |
| “ | Machine Guns | 64,363 |
| “ | Assault Rifles | 358,530 |
| “ | Pistols | 126,295 |
| Other | Communication Radios | 162,043 |
| “ | Night-vision Goggles and Devices | 16,035 |
Source:
GAO (Government Accounting Office), The Times (British media)
Obviously, the Taliban now has a great deal of ammunition to go along with all of these guns. After the fall of Afghanistan, U. S. military bases and armories were raided by the Taliban. Clearly, the terrorists wanted the ammo as well as the many types of grenades that the U. S made available.According to a Department of Defense report, the U. S. transferred about $700 Million in ammunition to the Afghan Security Forces.
So how much of that $702 million in ammo did the CSTC-A manage[r] to misplace in Afghanistan, in volume and value? We’ll never actually know…
https://taskandpurpose.com/gear-tech/missing-ammunition-afghanistan/
On August 23, 2021, Congressmen James Comer and Glenn Grothman sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. In the letter, they stated:
“As a direct result of the Biden Administration’s poorly planned and executed U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Taliban is now armed with a significant arsenal of U.S.-made weaponry. Worse, it would appear the Biden Administration has no clue what or how many weapon platforms are now owned and operated by the Taliban.1 With one U.S. official admitting, ‘[e]verything that hasn’t been destroyed is the Taliban’s now.’”
According to a 2017 assessment, the U. S. military had transferred 208 aircraft, about 75,898 military vehicles, and 599,690 weapons systems, to the Afghan National Defense Forces between 2003 and 2016. Over the 20-year period, the U. S. has spent $86 Billion on equipment for the Afghan Forces.
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/taliban-weapons-afghanistan/
This information is shown in Table 2 – U. S. Equipment Transferred to Afghan Forces (2003-2016).
Table 2 – U. S. Equipment Transferred to Afghan Forces (2003-2016)
|
Description |
Number |
| Aircraft | 208 |
| Vehicles | 75,898 |
| Weapons | 599,690 |
| Explosives Ordnance Disposal Equipment | 29,681 |
| Communications Equipment | 162,643 |
| Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance Eqpt. | 16,191 |
| Total Pieces of Equipment | 884,311 |
Source:
Table 1: Quantities of Key U. S.-Funded Equipment for the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) by Type and Fiscal Year, 2003-2016.
General Accounting Office (GAO) Analysis of Department of Defense (DOD) data, 2017
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/taliban-weapons-afghanistan/
The Congressional Letter also states that the Taliban now controls:
Innumerable M4, M16, and M24 Rifles
M2.50 Machine Guns
Armored Vehicles, including Humvees
40 Aircraft, including UH-60 Black Hawk and Scout Attack Helicopters
Communications Equipment
Night Vision Goggles
Biometric Devices, with large databases
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said during an August 17 press conference: “We don’t have a complete picture, obviously, of where every article of defense materials has gone but certainly, a fair amount of it has fallen into the hands of the Taliban.”
https://nypost.com/2021/08/17/wh-says-armed-taliban-have-us-guns-taken-from-afghan-forces/
Some people have suggested that the U. S. airplanes and helicopters will not do the Taliban much good due to the shortage of spare parts, trained pilots and mechanics. A bigger problem was pointed out by President Donald Trump. The brand-new Apache Helicopters have likely been sent or sold to China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. Because the Chinese are masters at copying U. S. technology, you can expect to see Chinese versions of American aircraft equipment.
Three types of equipment are often overlooked when discussing the Taliban’s new-found military equipment. These are Communication Radios, Night-vision Goggles, and Biometric Devices. Clearly, radios are important in military operations.
Most people have watched documentaries and movies on the May 2, 2011 killing of Osama bin Laden (OBL or UBL). As Seal Team Six made their way into OBL’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, night-vision goggles played a key part in the successful operation. Under the cover of darkness, the Special Forces men utilized their night-vision goggles to great advantage. Now that the Taliban have this equipment, future U. S. operations will become much more difficult.
Additionally, the Taliban has seized a huge number of military Biometric Devices. These devices could greatly aid in identifying Afghans who assisted the U. S. Coalition forces. The devices are known as HIDE (Handheld Interagency Identity Detection Equipment). These devices contain identifying biometric databases (e.g., fingerprints, iris scans, and biographical information). po (Please refer to the Part 1 article referenced at the beginning, for information on the “Kill Lists.”)
https://theintercept.com/2021/08/17/afghanistan-taliban-military-biometrics/
When the travesty of leaving Americans behind in Afghanistan is coupled with the U. S. military equipment abandoned in this Taliban terrorist-controlled country, the negligence, stupidity, and ulterior motives of the Biden Administration are appalling!
Henry W. Burke
hwburke@cox.net
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