. Military Space News .
THE STANS
Taliban's arms seizures embarrass Washington
By Sylvie LANTEAUME
Washington (AFP) Aug 19, 2021

Videos of Taliban fighters parading in US-made armored vehicles, wielding US-supplied firearms and climbing on American Black Hawk helicopters after the defeat of Afghan government forces have embarrassed the White House.

The Islamist insurgents, who easily captured control of the country after a months-long campaign, seized huge amounts of weaponry, equipment and munitions from the Afghan armed forces, most of it supplied over the past two decades by Washington.

Social media showed Taliban fighters carrying M4 and M18 assault rifles and M24 sniper weapons, driving around in the iconic US Humvees and, in one video, apparently wearing US-style special forces tactical uniforms.

The images are underpinning a political attack on President Joe Biden for alleged mishandling of the US withdrawal from the country after 20 years of war.

Most of the equipment has been seized from the Afghan forces who, despite two decades of training and tens of billions of dollars from the United States, conceded the capital Kabul at the weekend without a fight.

"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," said White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Tuesday.

- 'Botched withdrawal' -

"Obviously, we don't have a sense that they are going to readily hand it over to us," he said.

Republicans seized on the admission to pounce on Biden.

"Thanks to Biden's botched withdrawal, the Taliban is better equipped today than they ever have been," said Republican national chair Ronna McDaniel.

According to official figures, the US military supplied the Afghan army with more than 7,000 machine guns, 4,700 Humvees and 20,000 grenades in recent years.

The Afghans have also received artillery and reconnaissance drones from Washington, as well as more than 200 aircraft, both fixed-wing and helicopters.

Their continued operation depended heavily on US technical support and parts, however.

According to photographs published Wednesday by Janes, the defense specialists, some 40 Afghan military aircraft were flown into Uzbekistan over the past week to escape the Taliban advance, including five UH-60 Black Hawk and 16 Russia Mi-17 helicopters and 10 A-29 Super Tucano attack airplanes.

In its 16-month drawdown, the Pentagon removed huge amounts of its own equipment from Afghanistan, and handed some of it to the Afghan army.

But hardware supplied to the Afghan forces that is now in Taliban hands has raised concerns.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday that the department is looking at the issue.

- Limited threat -

"We obviously don't want to see our equipment in the hands of those who would act against our interests, or the interests of the Afghan people," Kirby told reporters.

"There are numerous policy choices that can be made, up to and including destruction," he said, without giving specifics.

The captured arms and vehicles only expand the Taliban's powers in limited ways, experts say.

"The most dangerous weapons the Taliban have captured are the D-30 howitzers and Afghan Air Force assets," said Jonathan Schroden, director of the Countering Threats and Challenges Program at CNA, a Washington security consultancy.

"It is not clear that they have the ability to use all of the air platforms that they have captured, but they have already demonstrated the ability to use those howitzers," he said.

Even then, it makes them at best a limited direct threat to better-armed neighbors.

On the other hand, the massive amounts of small arms and munitions they inherited, said Schroden, could "conceivably find their way to many different parts of the globe and to a variety of other terrorist groups."

"Probably the best thing the US can do at this point is to work with Afghanistan's neighbors to try and interdict the transport of any of this equipment across the country's borders," he said.


Related Links
News From Across The Stans


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


THE STANS
Weapon seizures 'massive boon' for Taliban as cities fall
Kabul (AFP) Aug 14, 2021
The United States spent billions supplying the Afghan military with the tools to defeat the Taliban, but the rapid capitulation of the armed forces means that weaponry is now fuelling the insurgents' astonishing battlefield successes. "We provided our Afghan partners with all the tools - let me emphasise: all the tools," US President Joe Biden said when defending his decision to withdraw American forces and leave the fight to the locals. But Afghan defence forces have shown little appetite for ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

THE STANS
General says sensors pinpointing missile threats worldwide are critical capability

Pentagon works toward bridging air, missile defense capability gaps

Lockheed Martin completes new round of PAC-3 flight tests

Northrop Grumman completes CDR for Next-Gen OPIR missile warning mission payload

THE STANS
US sensor architecture not sufficient to detect hypersonic missiles

Squadron conducts first F-15C live test fire using IRST-cued AIM-120 missile

USAF optimistic about hypersonic missile despite failed test

Northrop Grumman's completes live fire of AARGM-ER missile

THE STANS
Unmanned systems used to detect mines in U.S. Navy's Large Scale Exercise

US Department of Defense awards Citadel Defense contract for integrated counter drone system

System trains drones to fly around obstacles at high speeds

Draganfly commences training for Texas EMS drone delivery services

THE STANS
Last Tianlian I satellite placed in orbit

China's relay satellites facilitate clear, smooth space-ground communication

Filtering out interference for next-generation wideband arrays

ESA helps Europe boost secure connectivity

THE STANS
Mexico sues US gunmakers over arms trafficking

Taiwan thanks US for approving $750 mn howitzer sale

One dies, six injured in Russia arms plant fire

Five companies picked for prototypes of Bradley M2 tank replacement

THE STANS
Taliban gained 'fair amount' of US defense equipment: White House

Britain 'monitoring' US takeover of UK defence group

Poland to buy 250 US Abrams tanks

$445M sale of heavy military trucks to Kuwait approved by State Dept

THE STANS
Russia expulsion of UK reporter 'assault' on media freedom: BBC

China rejects need for further WHO coronavirus origins probe

Canada needs US to break impasse in row with China: experts

Blinken urges investment at home to compete with China

THE STANS
Striking Gold: A Pathway to Stable, High-Activity Catalysts from Gold Nanoclusters

Tracking the movement of a single nanoparticle

Researchers demonstrate technique for recycling nanowires in electronics

Custom-made MIT tool probes materials at the nanoscale









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.