Report: US Arms Left in Afghanistan Now Surfacing in Kashmir
Facts
- NBC News reported on Monday that authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir have claimed that militants allegedly trying to annex the region for Pakistan are carrying M4s, M16s, and other US-made arms and ammunition left behind by US and NATO forces during the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
- Indian news outlet The Tribune asserted on Friday that sources in the Indian government had accused Pakistan's intelligence agency of buying such weapons from the black market to support militants in Punjab and Kashmir.
- This comes as the US-backed Afghan government reportedly possessed more than $7.1B in military equipment — mostly ground vehicles — when it fell to the Taliban in August 2021, with over 316K weapons worth almost $512M, plus ammunition and other accessories, abandoned.
- Most of the weapons recovered are said to be from Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) or Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), both Pakistan-based militant groups that the US designates as terrorist organizations, but Indian officials deny that they could change the balance of power in the 30-year conflict.
- Reports that high-tech US-made weapons and equipment were smuggled from Afghanistan to Kashmir were first confirmed in February 2022 following video footage showing militants carrying M4 carbine rifles, M249 automatic rifles, M1911 pistols, 509 tactical guns, and satellite phones.
- Meanwhile, rumors have recently spread that Moscow asked the Taliban for help as it seeks to resupply its military forces in Ukraine, a claim that Kabul has denied and the White House has failed to confirm.
Sources: NBC, Tribune India, NBC, NBC, DW, and Voa.
Narratives
- Republican narrative, as provided by Townhall. This is a direct consequence of the Biden admin. allowing the Taliban, a terrorist organization, to get ahold of billions of dollars worth of high-tech military hardware, including aircraft and vehicles. Biden and the rest of the Democrats continue to obfuscate their failings and avoid taking responsibility for their blunders.
- Democratic narrative, as provided by CNN. Though the US was forced to leave behind a sizable amount of equipment, most of it was either rendered inoperable before the end of the withdrawal or is unusable without technical maintenance and spare parts. Plus, the figure of $7B is less than half of the total $18.6B worth of equipment provided to Afghan forces since 2005.