Anger, fear in America as Taliban takes over $85bn US military assets

United States President Joe Biden has made the greatest blunder of his young administration with the Afghanistan pullout, and he might just be settling down to its realities.

In a speech in Washington, Congressman Jim Banks pressed it home with the warning the fundamentalist group could turn on Americans the $85 billion arsenal the US left for the group to hijack .

According to him, 75,000 vehicles, 200 aircraft and helicopters, 600,000 small arms and light weapons are among the hardware the Taliban just took over.

The former Navy reservist said the Taliban is in charge of more Black Hawk helicopters than 85 percent of countries around the world.

“Unbelievably, and unfathomable to me and so many others, the Taliban now has access to biometric devices,” he said, worried more that Biden “still has no plan to get the weapons back”.

“If any is used to harm, injure, or kill an American now or at any time in the future, the blood is on Joe Biden’s hands”.

Among the assets 1,000 mine-resistant vehicles and 150 armoured personnel carriers.

The planes and choppers include four C-130 transport aircraft, 23 A-29 Super Tucano turboprop attack aircraft, 45 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and 50 MD530 choppers.

The weapons include M24 sniper rifles, M18 assault, anti-tank missiles, automatic grenade launchers, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.

The US, between 2003 and 2016, donated 42,000 light tactical vehicles comprising Ford Ranger pickups and cargo trucks, 9,000 medium tactical vehicles, and over 22,000 Humvees.

The US has completed its pullout today as the last American soldier boarded the plane–after 20 years of military intervention.

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