This week’s Golden Horseshoe is awarded to the Biden administration for the billions of dollars in military equipment left behind for the Taliban after the botched U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The spending watchdog
Open The Books found $89.2 billion in military equipment, including training, was provided to Afghan security forces during America’s longest running war.
The sophisticated military equipment left behind included Blackhawk helicopters, attack aircraft, tens of thousands of vehicles, and 650,000 weapons.
"The hasty withdrawal of U.S. military forces in Afghanistan turned the Taliban into a major U.S. arms dealer for the next decade,” Open The Books CEO and Founder Adam Andrzejewski told Just The News. “The Taliban is going to be selling tickets to their terrorist gun show."
The equipment left behind includes 650,000 weapons, including 350,000 M4 and M16 rifles, 65,000 machine guns, 25,000 grenade launchers, and 2,500 mortars and howitzers, Andrzejewski said.
The watchdog found the United States provided 75,000 military vehicles including 50,000 light- and medium-tactical vehicles, 22,000 Humvees, and 928 mine-resistant vehicles to Afghanistan since 2001.
Andrzejewski
detailed other military equipment provided to the Afghan National Army and security forces.
It included 110 Black Hawk helicopters, which cost $21 million each; 20 A-29 Super Tucano attack aircraft, which cost $21.3 million each; and 7 C-208 light attack airplanes at $12.1 million each. Those airplanes, he noted, are very sophisticated and carry anti-tank missiles and Hellfire missiles.
Other U.S.-funded surveillance and reconnaissance equipment included six Aerostat surveillance balloons, valued at $8.9 million each; eight ScanEagle drones valued at $1.4 million each; and over 16,000 night vision devices valued at approximately $80 million.
you people crack me up.
