Taliban need international relations, says expert 1:42
(CNN) -
US national security officials are working to account for more than 20 years of weapons provided to the Afghan military, as images of Taliban fighters brandishing US-made rifles and mounting abandoned Humvees raise concern about what else was left behind.
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The Taliban's new US arsenal is likely not limited to small arms, as the group seized sizable arsenals of weapons and vehicles held in strongholds that were once controlled by US-backed forces, including rugged vehicles. Mines (MRAP) and Humvees.
Initial estimates suggest that the Taliban may also own several Black Hawk helicopters and other US-funded military aircraft, according to a Congressional source familiar with early assessments provided by defense officials.
Clarissa Ward, the CNN journalist who covered the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan
That potentially includes an estimated 20 A-29 Tucano attack aircraft, the source said, noting that there is some indication that only a small number of aircraft were relocated from a base in Kandahar before it was invaded by the Taliban.
"We are also concerned that some may end up in the hands of others who support the Taliban cause," the Congressional source told CNN.
"My greatest fear is that sophisticated weaponry will be sold to our adversaries and other non-state actors who intend to use it against us and our allies."
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Taliban fighters stand guard at an entrance gate in front of the Interior Ministry in Kabul on August 17, 2021.
It is unclear exactly how much equipment fell into the hands of the Taliban during the collapse of the Afghan army, and it is unlikely that the US will get a perfect and precise answer to that question because there are no longer US troops and no intelligence presence anywhere in the world. country, officials told CNN.
"There is no exact accountability for what remains," said one official.
Joe Biden's government faces a wave of criticism for not anticipating the rapid takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and for the chaos unfolding at the Kabul airport as thousands of people try to flee the country.
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Evacuation operations remain the administration's primary focus, but Pentagon and Department of State (DoS) officials are also beginning to inventory U.S. weapons that have fallen into the hands of the Taliban. - an effort that sources told CNN will likely take weeks or months due to the sheer volume of weapons delivered to Afghan forces over the past two decades.
Meanwhile, photos and videos showing Taliban fighters carrying US-supplied M4 carbines and M16 rifles raise questions about how much US firepower the militant group now has at its disposal after taking over military bases across Afghanistan.
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While US officials emphasize that it is too early to provide details on specific weapons and vehicles that are now under the control of the Taliban, Pentagon officials have already raised concerns.
"When it comes to US-provided equipment that is still in Afghanistan and may not be in the hands of the ANSF [Afghan National Security Force], there are several options that we have at our disposal to try to address that set of problems." Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Thursday.
"Obviously, we do not want to see our equipment in the hands of those who would act against our interest or the interest of the Afghan people and increase violence and insecurity within Afghanistan," he added.
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At the moment, there are no plans for the US to take any action to destroy the weapons through airstrikes or other means, unless something poses a direct threat to US troops at the airport, administration officials told CNN. .
The destruction and removal of American equipment in Afghanistan began in earnest shortly after the Donald Trump administration signed the Doha agreement in February 2020, and the military began reducing its presence from 8,500 troops to 2,500.
But it started, at a slower pace, even before that, when in 2018 US troops fell below 14,000.
Between 2013 and 2016, the U.S. provided Afghan forces with more than 600,000 light weapons, such as M16 and M4 rifles and nearly 80,000 vehicles, as well as night-vision goggles, radios and more, according to a report by the Office of Responsibility of the Army. Government (GAO) of 2017. Even more recently, between 2017 and 2019, the Department of Defense (DoD) supplied the Afghan army with 7,000 machine guns, 4,700 Humvees and more than 20,000 grenades , according to a report by the special inspector general for the reconstruction of Afghanistan.
(GAO and the special inspector general removed these reports at the request of the State Department to protect the Afghans identified within.)
Taliban fighters in a Humvee in Kabul on Monday, Aug.16, 2021.
In the past two years alone, the US also delivered more than 18 million rounds of 7.62mm and .50-caliber ammunition to the Afghan military, according to a tally of the special inspector general's quarterly reports.
Some of this undoubtedly fell into the hands of the Taliban, officials say.
In the final weeks of the pullout, several of the attacks the US carried out in Afghanistan were designed to destroy US equipment that was about to be invaded by the Taliban, two officials said.
The United States did not destroy all the remaining equipment of the Afghan army because it believed, until it was too late, that the Afghan forces would fight back.
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However, the fact that a significant number of weapons and vehicles have been left behind is a symptom of the extensive lack of planning that went into the recall itself, according to Bill Roggio of the Long War Journal.
"There were so many problems with the decision to withdraw, and as soon as President Biden made the decision, the singular focus of the military was to get out," he told CNN.
"He didn't have time to consider how to make the transition, things like how the Afghan would operate on his own and maintain his own aircraft. How the United States would transfer the weapons systems to the Afghans and assess the viability of the Afghan security forces," he added Roggio.
Even before Biden's announcement of the departure of US troops earlier this year, US officials acknowledged that even if the initial May 1 withdrawal deadline was extended, some equipment might have to be destroyed or turned over to the Afghan army, noting that the latter carried an obvious risk of being seized by the Taliban, according to a source familiar with internal planning discussions on Afghanistan at the time.
The Taliban have released a series of photos of their fighters in an Independence Day parade brandishing American assault weapons.
Striking the right balance between leaving enough resources for Afghan forces to continue fighting and mitigating the risk of weapons falling into the wrong hands was always going to be a challenge for the US military, but was compounded by the fact. that Joe Biden's administration was caught off guard by the Taliban's speed of advance, something the president and senior officials have publicly acknowledged.
While the Taliban can certainly make immediate use of US-made small arms and armored vehicles, officials are skeptical that they can turn US aircraft into a viable combat unit.
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"Our soldiers, sailors and airmen spend months and months training to use their planes," said an official.
"The Taliban don't."
"More sophisticated weaponry is a much bigger challenge for the Taliban," Roggio told CNN.
"Helicopters and planes will be very difficult to keep viable for a long period of time. Minus the Russian planes, which they have more experience with, and Pakistanis could also help with them," he added.
"They may be able to use the aircraft in the short to medium term, but without some kind of supply chain, its lifespan is relatively short."
"What really gained in combat power are armored vehicles and light armored vehicles and even some tanks and artillery pieces," Roggio said.
Clarissa Ward's tweet before leaving Afghanistan 0:42
CNN's Barbara Starr contributed to this report.
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