The fall of the U.S.-backed government in Afghanistan gave Taliban fighters access to more than $7 billion worth of American military equipment, according to data in a report submitted this week to U.S. lawmakers and confirmed by the Pentagon.
The findings, first reported by CNN, shed light on the extent to which Washington sought to build, support and maintain the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) as a counterbalance to the Taliban and terror groups such as al-Qaida and the Islamic State Khorasan.
The report also details the bounty of weaponry and equipment awaiting Taliban officials once the last U.S. troops left Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on August 30, 2021, nearly two decades after the first U.S. forces arrived.
Top U.S. defense officials have repeatedly faced criticism from some high-profile lawmakers who have called on them to account for the U.S. pullout as well as the collapse of the U.S.-backed government.
Defense officials, however, sought on Thursday to defend the military’s actions and downplay the significance of the $7 billion in U.S. equipment and weaponry left behind, some of which had been brandished publicly by Taliban fighters.