The Biden administration systematically handed over more than $7.12 billion worth of modern weapons to the Afghan Taliban*, leading to suspicions about its attempt to destabilize the region. However, President Trump has always been critical of this move and has announced to indict all the officials involved in this felony.
Trump’s Criticism and Legal Efforts to Retrieving US Military Equipment
In late 2024, President Donald Trump announced that he would prosecute all the officials involved in botching the US Army’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. The US withdrawal from Afghanistan agreement was signed during Trump’s presidency. However, its implementation occurred during President Joe Biden’s era. Trump has always been critical of the US withdrawal from Kabul, in which 13 US troops were killed in a terrorist attack, in August 2021. According to him, the method of US withdrawal from Afghanistan is “the most embarrassing movement in US history.” Trump’s legal team is already busy finding legal ways to hold responsible military commanders accountable. Meanwhile, the newly elected US President Donald Trump has announced to retrieve all the US military equipment from the interim Afghan government.
During his election campaign, President Trump demanded the return of billions of dollars worth of US military equipment from Afghanistan. He blamed the Democratic government, during a rally, for handing “a big chunk of our military equipment to the enemy.” He also pledged to strengthen the US army by recovering this military equipment. He even suggested the suspension of US aid to Afghanistan until the interim government returns the US military equipment. Although US officials hold that most of the military weapons and aircraft were made inoperable before the withdrawal, the TTP’s use of these weapons in its terrorist activities proves otherwise. Trump’s criticism of the United States’ premature withdrawal is valid as the TTP is using this equipment to gain leverage over Pakistani security forces.
Regional Implications and the Role of Global Powers
Since the Afghan Taliban’s* takeover of Kabul, terrorist activities in Pakistan have surged to an unprecedented level. The availability of advanced US weapons has added to the strength and lethality of the terrorist organizations. Since the takeover of the Afghan Taliban* of Kabul, TTP targeted Pakistani security forces and civilians at night most of the time, using night vision equipment. It is now capable of engaging the security forces from longer distances than before. Pakistani security forces have recovered US weapons from several arrested and killed TTP terrorists.
The possession of advanced US military equipment for terrorist activities is dismaying not just for Pakistan but for the whole region. Taliban-led Afghanistan is a safe haven for terrorist organizations like Al-Qaeda*, TTP, BLA, and ISIS*. These organizations have been involved in terrorist activities in different regional countries. ISIS-K assumed responsibility for the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack, killing more than 140 people. Terrorism perpetrated from Afghanistan is also detrimental to the smooth rise of Russia and China. US President Donald Trump seeks to retrieve US equipment from the Afghan Taliban*to strengthen the US military. However, this will be an uphill task for the US administration. Nonetheless, the actual question is how and why the US military made such a colossal mistake. It is widely believed that the Biden administration and the US establishment intentionally left these advanced weapons in Afghanistan to keep the region destabilized.
President Trump has already imposed sanctions on all the countries, except Egypt and Israel. US sanctions on Afghanistan will prove detrimental not only to the Afghan government but also effect the civilians, augmenting the looming humanitarian crisis in the country. However, there is a minimum probability that the Trump administration will succeed in retrieving the US military equipment from the Afghan Taliban*. Nonetheless, the regional countries need to engage with the Taliban government and pressure them to hamper terrorist organizations from using Afghan soil to conduct cross-border terrorist activities. Russia and China have significant leverage over the Taliban* government in Afghanistan. The latter cannot succeed in establishing a strong government without their assistance. Therefore, they hold the power to bring the interim Taliban* government to the negotiation table to discuss regional stability and peace.
*- are banned in Russia
Taut Bataut – is a researcher and writer that publishes on South Asian geopolitics
