Former national security adviser John Bolton recently criticized President Joe Biden and his administration for their disastrous handling of the U.S military withdrawal from Afghanistan. He particularly pointed to how Biden left behind tens of millions of dollars worth of aircraft, armored vehicles, and sophisticated defensive systems. Videos emerged showing the Taliban members inspecting the long lines of vehicles and opening crates of new firearms, communications gear, and military drones. Now, everything that hasn’t been destroyed is the Taliban’s.
During an interview on John Catsimatidis’s WABC 770 radio show, Bolton shared how the Taliban taking control of Afghanistan threatens the possibility of terrorists taking control of Pakistan. He said this could mean about 150 nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists, adding that China already has a lot of influence in Pakistan and will increase the influence and pressure they put on India. He called it a “big development” in that part of the world and said that the Biden administration doesn’t seem focused enough on the threats being posed by China.
Bolton emphasized how the United States needs to look closely at China and the threats they pose across the board. He said they’ve been stealing intellectual property for decades, discriminating against foreign companies and investors, manipulating the World Trade organization, and building up their military. Bolton adds that they are very “politically aggressive” and how Biden needs to get a grip on his own administration’s foreign policy if the US doesn’t want to remain an embarrassment to the rest of the world.
“The United States needs to come to grips with this threat … and needs to be prepared for a long struggle across the full spectrum of potential power — economic, political and military … I don’t think the administration is focused,” Bolton said.
As a result of the sloppy withdrawal and pure abandonment by the Biden Administration, the Taliban managed to acquire a number of U.S weapons including anti-armor weapons, tanks, drones, rifles, machine guns, and basic rockets. For years, the Taliban officials acquired U.S weapons through corrupt Afghan officials selling the equipment or stealing them in raids, but the collapse of the Afghan government offered a unique opportunity. While some of the more advanced weapons and equipment is destroyed, U.S officials have warned that the equipment could still be investigated and studied by terrorist organizations.
U.S government auditors and investigators have also found that the drones and countless weapons did not follow the safeguard processes when being transferred. This means that a number of U.S-supplied weapons could’ve been saved from the hands of the country’s enemies if the proper procedures had been followed.
House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer recently spoke in support of his amendment to H.R. 4350, which would direct the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction to investigate the withdrawal of the U.S and allied forces and understand exactly what military equipment was left behind in Afghanistan. He also wants to investigate how much of the U.S taxpayer funds were provided to Afghanistan and whether any Afghan government officials looted those funds or other U.S-provided assets. He said most of the investigations have found consistent corruption, waste, and that the American people deserve answers on how their taxpayer dollars were spent and resources used.
“The American People deserve an accurate assessment of the disposition of U.S. funds and property left in Afghanistan and SIGAR is the entity within the federal government best suited to the job. This Amendment should have garnered widespread bipartisan support. It is simple, straightforward, and necessary,” Comer said.
The Biden Administration has made it evidently clear that they do not care what happens to U.S weapons or the taxpayers’ dollars in the wake of their chaotic withdrawal. They’ve been unable to account for the whereabouts of equipment, funds, and even worse, some of the stranded American citizens still there.
