This will stop you in your tracks’: Republican reveals the Taliban have seized $85bn worth of US military equipment
"The Taliban now has more black hawk helicopters than 85 per cent of the countries in the world."
by Jack Peat
2021-08-27
in News
Plymouth MP Johnny Mercer has shared his dismay at news that the Taliban have seized $85 billion worth of US military equipment.
In a press conference this week, Republican Jim Banks, who served in Afghanistan, launched a stinging attack on president Joe Biden and his administration.
“My job there was as a foreign military sales officer so I was on the front lines of acquiring the equipment that the Americans turned over to the Afghan army and the Afghan police,” Banks says in the video.
“I’m going to read to you what is so painful for me and so many other Afghan veterans who served in that capacity, others who served as part of the train, advise and assist equip effort as part of helping the Afghans.
Black hawk helicopters
“We now know that, due to the negligence of this administration, the Taliban now has access to over $85billion worth of US military equipment.
“That includes 75,000 vehicles, over 200 aeroplanes and helicopters, over 600,000 small arms and light weapons.
“The Taliban now has more black hawk helicopters than 85 per cent of the countries in the world.
“But they don’t just have weapons, they also have night-vision goggles, body armour and medical supplies.
“And unbelievably, unfathomably to me and so many others, is that the Taliban now has biometric devices which have the finger prints, eye scans and the biographical information of the Afghans who helped us over the last 20 years.
“And here’s what we just learned again in the briefing that we just walked out of. This administration still has no plan to get this military equipment or these supplies back.”
Reaction
Mercer tweeted on Thursday: “This will stop you in your tracks. Unbelievable.
“We gave them the names of those we trained to fight them. And some we will leave behind to the violence we see at the airport. An appalling day, verging from rage to tears.”
Reaction elsewhere has been similarly fierce.
Here’s what people had to say:
Plymouth MP Johnny Mercer has shared his dismay at news that the Taliban have seized $85 billion worth of US military equipment.
US STATE DEPARTMENT ABANDONS SEVEN CH-46ES IN KABUL
27th August 2021
Seven Boeing Vertol CH-46E Sea Knight helicopters operated by the US Department of State Air Wing (DoSAW) have been abandoned in Afghanistan. They had most recently been used on August 15 to ferry personnel evacuating the US Embassy in Kabul out to Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport to board outbound flights.
Following a request on their status, a background statement provided to Key.Aero by a State Department official on August 25 said: “We can confirm that the Department left seven CH-46 helicopters behind in Afghanistan which were rendered inoperable. These helicopters were already being phased out of the Department’s inventory and were slated for eventual destruction due to age and supportability issues. As of August 15, 2021, the Department no longer operates any aircraft in Afghanistan.”
27th August 2021
Seven Boeing Vertol CH-46E Sea Knight helicopters operated by the US Department of State Air Wing (DoSAW) have been abandoned in Afghanistan. They had most recently been used on August 15 to ferry personnel evacuating the US Embassy in Kabul out to Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport to board outbound flights.
Following a request on their status, a background statement provided to Key.Aero by a State Department official on August 25 said: “We can confirm that the Department left seven CH-46 helicopters behind in Afghanistan which were rendered inoperable. These helicopters were already being phased out of the Department’s inventory and were slated for eventual destruction due to age and supportability issues. As of August 15, 2021, the Department no longer operates any aircraft in Afghanistan.”
US Department of State Air Wing CH-46E Sea Knight N431WR in the US Embassy compound in Kabul, Afghanistan, during then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit on March 23, 2020. Note the 7.62mm M240D machine gun in the forward cabin door and the decoy flare dispensers. This is most likely one of seven left behind after evacuating Embassy staff from that very same compound on August 15. US State Department/Ronny Przysucha
The elderly CH-46s are all former US Marine Corps (USMC) examples, which were extensively refurbished before entering DoSAW service from 2012. In 2018, there were 23 in the DoSAW inventory, but by August this year, only 11 were still officially registered to the Department of State, including those now left to their fate in Afghanistan. It is not known whether any of the other CH-46s remain operational, but it seems most likely that the majority are now out of service and the Kabul embassy evacuation could well have been their swansong.
The Sea Knight is the same type used by the USMC in the evacuation of the US Embassy following the fall of Saigon in South Vietnam in 1975. Coincidentally, one of the DoSAW CH-46Es used in the recent Kabul evacuation was N38TU, which was formerly BuAer 154038 with the USMC. This was one of the helicopters deployed on the USS Hancock (CV-19) in 1975 to support evacuation of Saigon in Operation Frequent Wind.
By Dave Allport
The elderly CH-46s are all former US Marine Corps (USMC) examples, which were extensively refurbished before entering DoSAW service from 2012. In 2018, there were 23 in the DoSAW inventory, but by August this year, only 11 were still officially registered to the Department of State, including those now left to their fate in Afghanistan. It is not known whether any of the other CH-46s remain operational, but it seems most likely that the majority are now out of service and the Kabul embassy evacuation could well have been their swansong.
The Sea Knight is the same type used by the USMC in the evacuation of the US Embassy following the fall of Saigon in South Vietnam in 1975. Coincidentally, one of the DoSAW CH-46Es used in the recent Kabul evacuation was N38TU, which was formerly BuAer 154038 with the USMC. This was one of the helicopters deployed on the USS Hancock (CV-19) in 1975 to support evacuation of Saigon in Operation Frequent Wind.
By Dave Allport
Afghanistan: US ‘blew up military equipment’ after Kabul bomb attack to stop it falling into wrong hands
There are fears that billions of pounds worth of weapons, aircraft and vehicles, meant to aid the Afghan National Army, could now be used by the Taliban
Read More
Afghanistan: How US and UK security failings jeopardised the lives of Afghan embassy workers in Kabul
“The Taliban now has more Black Hawk helicopters than 85 per cent of the countries in the world,” he told The Telegraph.
“Unfathomable to me and so many others, the Taliban now has biometric devices which have the fingerprints, eye scans and biographical information of all the Afghans who helped us and were on our side in the last 20 years.”
President Joe Biden condemned the terror attacks in Kabul and said they would not drive US troops out of Afghanistan earlier than the deadline date.
Evacuation efforts will run until August 31, prioritising the removal of US troops and military equipment in the last days.
The President vowed to avenge the 13 US service members killed in attacks, saying: “We will not forgive, we will not forget, we will hunt you down and make you pay.”
The Pentagon confirmed that the US losses included 11 Marines, one Navy medic and another service member who was providing support to evacuating Americans.
There are fears that billions of pounds worth of weapons, aircraft and vehicles, meant to aid the Afghan National Army, could now be used by the Taliban
A US soldier fires a pistol into the air as Afghans hoping to flee sit on a roadside near Kabul airport (Photo: Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty)
By Zaina Alibhai
August 27, 2021
American soldiers have reportedly blown up US military equipment in Afghanistan in order to avoid it falling into the wrong hands as evacuation flights draw to a close.
Blasts heard shortly after two suicide bombers and gunmen targeted crowds of Afghans outside Kabul airport were US forces attempting to destroy weapons and ammunition, the Taliban said.
Isis-K has claimed responsibility for the terror attacks, which have so far killed killed at least 95 Afghans and 13 American troops, according to Afghan and US officials. At least 150 people were injured.
Two explosions tore through crowds of people desperately trying to make it onto the final flights out of Afghanistan, one at the Abbey Gate entrance to Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport, and another at the nearby Baron Hotel, which British officials had been using as a processing centre for those wanting to flee.
Shortly after the two attacks, other explosions could be heard some miles away from the airport, causing confusion among witnesses.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the blasts were carried out by US forces attempting to destroy their equipment amid the chaotic exit.
According to the Associated Press, the US had left behind small weapons and ammunition for the Afghan military in the lead up to the Taliban takeover as the troop withdrawal began. US forces took heavy weapons with them, but any ammunition for arms not being left behind was blown up before troops left.
With the 31 August deadline set by Joe Biden giving troops in the country just hours before evacuations end, there are fears that billions of pounds worth of US military equipment, used to aid the Afghan National Army, could now land in the hands of Taliban militants.
It includes 75,000 vehicles, 200 aeroplanes and helicopters, and 600,000 small arms, according to former US Navy reservist Jim Banks.
By Zaina Alibhai
August 27, 2021
American soldiers have reportedly blown up US military equipment in Afghanistan in order to avoid it falling into the wrong hands as evacuation flights draw to a close.
Blasts heard shortly after two suicide bombers and gunmen targeted crowds of Afghans outside Kabul airport were US forces attempting to destroy weapons and ammunition, the Taliban said.
Isis-K has claimed responsibility for the terror attacks, which have so far killed killed at least 95 Afghans and 13 American troops, according to Afghan and US officials. At least 150 people were injured.
Two explosions tore through crowds of people desperately trying to make it onto the final flights out of Afghanistan, one at the Abbey Gate entrance to Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport, and another at the nearby Baron Hotel, which British officials had been using as a processing centre for those wanting to flee.
Shortly after the two attacks, other explosions could be heard some miles away from the airport, causing confusion among witnesses.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the blasts were carried out by US forces attempting to destroy their equipment amid the chaotic exit.
According to the Associated Press, the US had left behind small weapons and ammunition for the Afghan military in the lead up to the Taliban takeover as the troop withdrawal began. US forces took heavy weapons with them, but any ammunition for arms not being left behind was blown up before troops left.
With the 31 August deadline set by Joe Biden giving troops in the country just hours before evacuations end, there are fears that billions of pounds worth of US military equipment, used to aid the Afghan National Army, could now land in the hands of Taliban militants.
It includes 75,000 vehicles, 200 aeroplanes and helicopters, and 600,000 small arms, according to former US Navy reservist Jim Banks.
Read More
Afghanistan: How US and UK security failings jeopardised the lives of Afghan embassy workers in Kabul
“The Taliban now has more Black Hawk helicopters than 85 per cent of the countries in the world,” he told The Telegraph.
“Unfathomable to me and so many others, the Taliban now has biometric devices which have the fingerprints, eye scans and biographical information of all the Afghans who helped us and were on our side in the last 20 years.”
President Joe Biden condemned the terror attacks in Kabul and said they would not drive US troops out of Afghanistan earlier than the deadline date.
Evacuation efforts will run until August 31, prioritising the removal of US troops and military equipment in the last days.
The President vowed to avenge the 13 US service members killed in attacks, saying: “We will not forgive, we will not forget, we will hunt you down and make you pay.”
The Pentagon confirmed that the US losses included 11 Marines, one Navy medic and another service member who was providing support to evacuating Americans.
(VIDEO)
Friday, 27 Aug 2021
BY SYLVIA LOOI
A clip showing the members of the Taliban taking a US Blackhawk for a joyride has gone viral on social media. — Screencapture from Twitter/ @JosephHDempsey
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KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 — A video has been going around social media showing the Taliban taking a US Black Hawk helicopter for a joyride.
They, however, failed to get the aircraft off the ground, The Sun reported.
The footage is said to have been taken at Kandahar Airport showing the chopper taxied on the tarmac.
According to the portal, the Taliban are now parading in their captured equipment and uniforms after making off with some £13 billion (RM74 billion) worth of abandoned weapons and vehicles, including 200,000 firearms and 20,000 Humvees seized from the Afghan army.
Fox News reported that the footage came about after President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan reportedly said the Taliban had seized a “fair amount” of US weaponry after it took over the country earlier this month.
“We don’t have a complete picture, obviously, of where every article of defence material has gone,” Sullivan said.
“But certainly, a fair amount of it has fallen into the hands of the Taliban, and, obviously, we don’t have a sense that they are going to readily hand it over to us at the airport.”
The station added that the US had spent about US$83 billion (RM347.8 billion) since 2001 on training and equipment for Afghan forces, including US$147 million (RM615.9 million) on Black Hawk helicopters and US$2 billion (RM8.4 billion) on Humvees.
Other photos and videos show Taliban soldiers carrying US and US ally-made weapons and gear that appear to be stolen from allied militaries while patrolling parts of Kabul.
Follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates.
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 — A video has been going around social media showing the Taliban taking a US Black Hawk helicopter for a joyride.
They, however, failed to get the aircraft off the ground, The Sun reported.
The footage is said to have been taken at Kandahar Airport showing the chopper taxied on the tarmac.
According to the portal, the Taliban are now parading in their captured equipment and uniforms after making off with some £13 billion (RM74 billion) worth of abandoned weapons and vehicles, including 200,000 firearms and 20,000 Humvees seized from the Afghan army.
Fox News reported that the footage came about after President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan reportedly said the Taliban had seized a “fair amount” of US weaponry after it took over the country earlier this month.
“We don’t have a complete picture, obviously, of where every article of defence material has gone,” Sullivan said.
“But certainly, a fair amount of it has fallen into the hands of the Taliban, and, obviously, we don’t have a sense that they are going to readily hand it over to us at the airport.”
The station added that the US had spent about US$83 billion (RM347.8 billion) since 2001 on training and equipment for Afghan forces, including US$147 million (RM615.9 million) on Black Hawk helicopters and US$2 billion (RM8.4 billion) on Humvees.
Other photos and videos show Taliban soldiers carrying US and US ally-made weapons and gear that appear to be stolen from allied militaries while patrolling parts of Kabul.
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