Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee plan to propose legislation that would require the Biden administration to disclose the amount of American equipment taken by the Taliban.
Republicans have told the Daily Caller News Foundation that they will introduce the bill during the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) committee’s next full markup early next month. Since the sudden collapse of the US-backed Afghan government on Sunday, the Taliban have reportedly seized a huge stockpile of US weapons, equipment, vehicles and artillery, the Associated Press reported.
“The Biden-Harris administration has failed to provide accounting for US equipment now in Taliban hands,” Armed Services Ranker Mike Rogers said in a statement to the DCNF.
“The Republican members of the Armed Services Committee demand to know this information and we plan to propose legislation to our markup to force the Biden-Harris administration to detail what they lost against the Taliban,” he said. declared.
The Pentagon declined to answer questions about the Taliban’s seizure of billions of dollars in weapons the United States had previously supplied to Afghan security forces. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley on Wednesday said he “would rather not discuss” any potential action the United States might take to ensure that American equipment remains out of the way. possession of the Taliban.
Videos shared on social media reportedly showed Taliban fighters sieving through hundreds of American weapons, session to helicopters given to the now defunct Afghan army, conduct American military vehicles and while carrying high-tech drones. A picture appeared to show the Taliban operating an American helicopter stealthily in the skies of Kabul on Wednesday.
More than 20 Senate Republicans led by Marco Rubio, a member of the select intelligence ranking committee, wrote to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday, demanding more information on equipment taken by the Taliban. Republicans confirmed that the insurgents were in possession of UH-60 Black Hawks.
“It is unacceptable that high-tech military equipment paid for by American taxpayers has fallen into the hands of the Taliban and their terrorist allies,” the letter said. “Securing US assets should have been a top priority for the US Department of Defense before announcing the withdrawal from Afghanistan.”
The NDAA is the annual appropriation act that describes the federal government’s defense budget.
The Pentagon did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
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EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans to propose bill forcing Biden administration to reveal amount of US weapons seized by Taliban during takeover
Thomas catenacci August 18, 2021
