A group of Republican Party Senators Wednesday requested a full account US military equipment which may have fallen into the hands of Taliban fighters during the ongoing chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
In a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, lawmakers said it was “appalled” to see photos of Taliban fighters in possession of military equipment, including Black Hawk helicopters. They asked the Pentagon to provide detailed information about the equipment still in the country.
“It is inconceivable that high-tech military equipment paid for by US taxpayers could fall into the hands of the Taliban and its terrorist allies,” the letter said. “Securing US assets should have been a top priority for the US Department of Defense prior to announcing the withdrawal from Afghanistan.”
Concerns about the possibility of the Taliban seizing US equipment have grown in recent days as insurgents recaptured parts of the territory. The United States has spent more than $ 80 billion on training and equipping Afghan security forces over the past two decades.
Republican senators who signed the letter to Austin include Senators Marco Rubio, Joni Earnest, Chuck Grassley, Ron Johnson, Rick Scott, and others.
When asked at a press conference Wednesday about the possibility of destroying the equipment instead of allowing the Taliban to use it, General Mark Milley declined to comment, citing ongoing efforts to evacuate American personnel.
“As for the equipment, we obviously have skills, but I would prefer not to discuss any operations other than what we are doing to get ourselves out and complete that,” said Milley. “And then there will be another time when we can discuss future operations.”
Earlier this week, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan admitted that a “good amount” of equipment was already in the hands of the Taliban. He added that US officials “have no feeling of handing it over to us at the airport right away”.
Legislators called for a “full account” of equipment made available to Afghan security forces over the past year and supplies known to have been captured or destroyed by the Taliban prior to the US withdrawal.
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They asked for information on how quickly the Taliban could be able to use captured military equipment and assess whether they could seek help from US geopolitical rivals such as Russia or Iran. The Senators also asked the Pentagon for details of ongoing efforts to recover or destroy the missing equipment.
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