Taliban authorities in Afghanistan are showing off their military capabilities to the world. The Afghan Ministry of Defense uploaded several videos and images of hundreds of American Humvee-type vehicles to social media. The vehicles were part of the military equipment available to the U.S. contingent prior to the rapid withdrawal ordered by Biden in 2021.
According to a Department of Defense document made public in 2022, the approximate cost of the material abandoned after the withdrawal from Kabul amounts to about $7 billion. This calculation does not take into account the investment in military infrastructure and procurement aid that the U.S. government left the Afghan government. Upon regaining power, the Taliban also took control of this material and thus almost all of these donated military assets.
۳۰۰ واسطه نقليه تخریب شده در قول اردو ۲۰۵ البدر ترميم گردید
به تعداد (۳۰۰) نوع واسطه نقليه نظامی که تخریب و غیر قابل استفاده بودند دوباره توسط تیم تخنیکی لوای ابودجانه قول اردوی البدر ترمیم و آماده استفاده گردیدند... pic.twitter.com/afTPg7pf7c
— د ملي دفاع وزارت - وزارت دفاع ملی (@MoDAfghanistan2) March 24, 2023
Now it appears that the Taliban are further expanding their inventory by repairing new batches of armored vehicles and returning them to service. While U.S. troops tried to damage and disable as much equipment as possible, it has not stopped the Taliban from attempting to repair them. According to messages from the Afghan Ministry of Defense, they have recovered 150 Russian Kamaz trucks; 125 Humvees; two "assault tanks" and about thirty other vehicles.
Although the Taliban accompanied their messages with various photographs and a video, there is no further evidence to fully corroborate this information. The images do not show the two aforementioned "assault tanks.” Humvees can indeed be seen operating and transporting infantry troops. In addition, Ford trucks and AR-15 firearms can be seen in the hands of the Taliban troops.
د ملي دفاع وزارت د جګړیزو ګډو زده کړو په قوماندانۍ کې د مجاهدینو پوځي تمرینات
پنځمه برخه
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تمرینات نظامی مجاهدین در قوماندانی تعلیمات مشترک محاربوی وزارت دفاع ملیبخش پنجم#د_ملي_دفاع_وزارت pic.twitter.com/bqe2ZhdxLF
— د ملي دفاع وزارت - وزارت دفاع ملی (@MoDAfghanistan2) March 27, 2023
Dangerous Air Force
Analysts at Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) gave an approximate count of the air assets that the U.S. was unable to evacuate from the famous Kabul airport, the main scene of the 2021 withdrawal. The reputable OSINT Oryx portal estimated in September 2021, with subsequent updates, that 28 aircraft and 45 helicopters were left by the Americans at the Kabul airport. Oryx shows geolocated images of all the equipment in its reports.
The aircraft include a dozen Embraer A29-Bs for light attack or training use and three Lockheed C-130 Hercules for transport. Among the helicopters, Oryx counts up to 12 UH-60A Blackhawks, several CH-46 transport helicopters and even 14 MD530F combat helicopters. The Taliban fleet is completed by a few more aircraft of Russian origin.
No one was fired for this. No one resigned. Biden should be impeached, and his team of so-called "experts" should be ashamed. https://t.co/pXFkpE13Jm
— Rep. Mary Miller (@RepMaryMiller) March 26, 2023
Republican Rep. Mary Miller denounced this alarming situation on social media. Miller recalled on Twitter that there were no resignations following the catastrophic withdrawal ordered by Joe Biden despite the fallout. A few weeks earlier, Mike Pompeo, Donald Trump's former secretary of state, appeared on Fox News to discuss the issue.
Earlier this month, Pompeo appeared before the House Foreign Affairs Committee to shed light on the situation surrounding the withdrawal of troops and personnel from Kabul airport during which 13 American soldiers lost their lives.
