During a recent Cabinet meeting, President Donald Trump expressed his desire to retrieve the billions of dollars' worth of equipment that U.S. troops left behind in Afghanistan following the 2021 withdrawal. Trump highlighted the significant amount of brand new trucks and other top-of-the-line military equipment that was abandoned in the country.
According to a Department of Defense report released in 2022, the Taliban seized most of the more than $7 billion worth of equipment left by U.S. forces during the withdrawal. While some major equipment was removed or destroyed, various military assets such as aircraft, ground vehicles, and weapons were left behind, raising concerns about their operational status without proper maintenance.
Details on how the U.S. plans to recover the equipment remain scarce, with no immediate response from the White House on the matter. Former President Joe Biden initiated the troop withdrawal in 2021, following plans set in motion during the Trump administration in 2020 to end the war in Afghanistan.
The withdrawal process was marred by tragedy, with 13 U.S. service members losing their lives in a suicide bombing at Abbey Gate near Hamid Karzai International Airport. Subsequently, the Taliban swiftly took control of Kabul, further complicating the situation.
Trump's remarks also touched on the possibility of firing military leaders responsible for overseeing the withdrawal. While some key figures involved in the process have since retired, others have taken responsibility for the events that unfolded. Marine Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the former commander of U.S. Central Command during the withdrawal, accepted full military responsibility for the losses incurred.
Retired Army Gen. Mark Milley, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledged that the evacuation should have been executed sooner and attributed various factors to the failures in the withdrawal. Both Milley and McKenzie reportedly advised former President Biden to retain some U.S. troops in Afghanistan post-withdrawal.
Reflecting on the complex nature of the situation, Milley emphasized that the outcome in Afghanistan was influenced by numerous decisions made over the years of conflict, rather than a single causal factor. U.S. Central Command continues to oversee military operations in the Middle East.
