The Biden administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan left the United States with 13 fallen sons and daughters.
But the death toll among Afghans was far higher — and the ripple effect of the Afghanistan debacle could be much, much deadlier.
Reports have been rolling in of weapons left behind in Afghanistan being used by terrorists from Pakistan’s Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba to Gaza’s Hamas.
According to Just the News, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has called for a probe to look into U.S. weapons left behind in Afghanistan or given to Ukraine that may have “fallen into the hands of terrorists.”
“It’s our duty and responsibility, if we are finding out information and being told intel that U.S. weapons have fallen into the hands of terrorists, especially with the horrific attack that just happened on Israel, it’s our duty to investigate and find out if that’s happened or not,” the congresswoman said, according to Just the News.
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🚨BREAKING: Marjorie Taylor Greene is calling for the United States to work with Israel to track the serial numbers on any U.S. weapons that might have been used by Hamas against Israel to find out if they came from Afghanistan, Iran or Ukraine.
Do you support this? pic.twitter.com/jcdvAiP6wQ
— Ian Jaeger (@IanJaeger29) October 9, 2023
Greene wrote on social media Tuesday: “We need to work with Israel to track serial numbers on any U.S. weapons used by Hamas against Israel. Did they come from Afghanistan? Did they come from Ukraine? Highly likely the answer is both.”
We need to work with Israel to track serial numbers on any U.S. weapons used by Hamas against Israel.
Did they come from Afghanistan?
Did they come from Ukraine?
Highly likely the answer is both.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) October 8, 2023
Did Hamas source weapons from abandoned US arms stores?
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Greene now says, according to Just the News, that after reports emerged in the news about weapons and from classified briefings, there is “very credible evidence and very good reasons to be concerned that U.S. taxpayer-funded military weapons did fall into the hands of Hamas and had been used to murder innocent Israelis.”
In January, NBC reported that weapons left behind in Afghanistan were being used by Pakistani militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
Authorities in India told the outlet that militant organizations labeled as terrorist organizations by the U.S., such as Jaish-e-Mohammad or Lashkar-e-Taiba, are now in possession of M4s, M16s, and other U.S.-made arms and ammunition.
According to The Associated Press, in September, Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar, said that U.S. military equipment, from firearms to night-vision goggles, had reached the Pakistani Taliban.
Taliban fighters posing with US weapons in a base they just captured easily. This is what we spent a trillion dollars on! pic.twitter.com/OpWoKI66ur
— Gravel Institute (@GravelInstitute) August 14, 2021
According to CNN, the U.S. left around $7 billion worth of equipment and ammunition in Afghanistan, including aircraft, air-to-ground munitions, military vehicles, weapons, communications equipment, and other materials.
It’s possible Hamas was sold weapons from Ukraine as well, not just Afghanistan.
And the US political class is now calling for military support of Israel as a result.
Prior intervention begets future intervention. This is how blowback always works. https://t.co/EAuAbmue7P
— Mises Caucus (@LPMisesCaucus) October 8, 2023
To make matters worse, reports have been emerging that weapons left in Afghanistan have also been used in Ukraine and Israel.
Earlier this year, Newsweek reported that Israel is concerned about the risk of U.S. and Western-supplied weapons to Ukraine potentially reaching Israel’s adversaries in the Middle East, particularly Iran.
An Israeli commander also told the outlet that U.S. small arms left behind in Afghanistan have been observed in the hands of Palestinian groups operating in the Gaza Strip.
Nils Duquet, director of the Brussels-based Flemish Peace Institute and coordinator of its European Commission-funded Project INSIGHT, told Newsweek that the situation was similar in Ukraine.
CNN has also reported on evidence that Russia is providing U.S. weapons captured in Ukraine to Iran for the purpose of reverse engineering, according to Newsweek.
The heart of the matter is that the abandonment of substantial military assets and weaponry in Afghanistan has wider repercussions, raising fears of their acquisition, not just by Hamas but by other extremist factions throughout the Middle East.
Greene’s call for a probe should be supported by others in Congress if only to understand the ramifications of not securing our technology and weapons and also to give us a sense of the scope of the global havoc the Biden administration may have unleashed by its incompetence and negligence.