- So far, the United States has spent billions of dollars to provide the Afghan army with tools to defeat the Taliban.
- According to multiple reports, the United States has announced that it will deploy 3,000 soldiers to assist U.S. Embassy personnel.
- This is to prepare for President Joe Biden’s recent comprehensive withdrawal.
The United States spends billions of dollars to provide the Afghan army with tools to defeat the Taliban, but the rapid surrender of the armed forces means that weapons are fueling the surprising success of the insurgents on the battlefield.
“We have provided all the tools for our Afghan partners-let me emphasize: all the tools,” US President Joe Biden said in defense of his decision to withdraw US troops and leave the fighting to the locals.
But the Afghan National Defense Forces showed little interest in this battle. Thousands of people have been laying down their weapons-just to get the Taliban to pick them up immediately.
Taliban social media is flooded with videos of Taliban fighters seizing weapon hideouts-most of which were provided by Western powers.
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Shots of Afghan soldiers surrendering in the northern city of Kunduz show that military vehicles loaded with heavy weapons and artillery are safely in the hands of the insurgents.
In the western city of Farah, fighters patrolled in a car marked with an eagle pounce on a snake, which is the official symbol of the country’s intelligence services.
The U.S. troops took away the “precision” equipment when they withdrew, but the Taliban Blitz has given “vehicles, Humvees, small arms and light weapons, and ammunition” to Justine Fleischner of the Arms Tracking Organization Conflict Arms Research. Tell AFP.
‘Great favor’
Experts say that in addition to the unrecognized support of regional allies such as Pakistan, this delay has also greatly promoted the development of the Taliban.
Raffaello Pantucci, a senior researcher at the S Rajaratnam Institute of International Studies, said that these weapons will not only help the Taliban march to Kabul, but will also “strengthen its authority” in the cities it occupies.
With the US military almost disappearing, the Taliban now find that they have the tools provided by the US without having to raise a penny.
“This is very serious. This is obviously a huge boon for them,” he said.
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Some of these weapons are now being publicly displayed by the insurgents in contact with Al Qaeda, which was behind the 2001 terrorist attacks, before the deadline for the withdrawal of US troops on 9/11.
Jason Amelin, who led the U.S. Special Forces to overthrow the Taliban in 2001, told AFP that Washington is ready for the Taliban to seize its weapons, but the rapid fall of the city is the most terrifying situation.
“The assumption that the U.S. equipped with weapons and materials for ANA may fall into the hands of the Taliban,” he said, referring to the Afghan National Army.
“The current crisis is the worst case to consider when making purchasing decisions.”
publicity
At Kunduz Airport, a Taliban fighter riding a red motorcycle, wearing rebel clothes from head to toe, was photographed staring at a military helicopter parked on the tarmac.
This is a jubilant scene reflected in the territory controlled by the insurgents.
Although the group will continue to show off these awards, the aircraft will at least not have an impact on the battlefield without a pilot.
“They will only be used for propaganda purposes,” Aki Peritz, a former CIA counterterrorism analyst, told AFP.
More useful are light weapons and vehicles used to navigate the country’s rugged terrain.
Coupled with the low morale of the army, they will increase the threat posed by the Taliban to the Western-backed government.
As the crisis unfolds, the Biden administration stated that it will still equip an Afghan army on the verge of collapse.
Middle East observers have seen this type of arms transfer before.
After the United States withdrew from Iraq, the Islamic State (IS) organization occupied the Iraqi city of Mosul in mid-2014 and seized guns and Hummers provided by the United States.
The jihadists used their profits to establish an Iraq-Syrian caliphate the size of Belgium.
Like the Islamic State fighters in Mosul, the joyous Taliban recruits are now taking pictures with enemy ammunition in newly won cities in all corners of the country.
“This retreat is becoming a rout,” Peritz said.
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