It is estimated that the hasty 2021 withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan left behind $7.12 billion worth of military equipment: a legacy now used by insurgents and destabilizing an already volatile region. That abandoned arsenal in aircraft, tens of thousands of vehicles, and hundreds of thousands of weapons has transformed Afghanistan into a de facto weapons depot for the militants. Washing shows that the lack of security of its equipment has not only damaged the credibility of the way the United States is in the military but also led to an arms build-up that fuels terrorism and cross-border instability.
The US left behind $7.12 billion worth of military equipment, turning Afghanistan into a weapons depot for militants.
Handing militants such an enormous war chest, the US inadvertently left behind such a treasure trove that it opened an easy pipeline to advanced weaponry that can be readily repurposed. Now the Taliban has sophisticated technology, ungoverned spaces in Afghanistan are arms’ fairground for militant expansion. The multiplication effect in the hands of non-state actors of this equipment will make them more effective in terms of operational capability and the capacity to cross over to hostile neighboring nations. On the one hand, this leads to more proliferation of arms, which in turn make the zone less secure rather than more secure and which increase the potential both for the growth of insurgencies and further violence.
However, more so than in other regions, Pakistan has experienced the fallout of this. The high volume of US military hardware allowed directly to flow into the country has led to enhanced border insecurity as the country has witnessed a rise in terror attacks and strained the country’s already pressured security apparatus in terms of economic and logistical demands.
Officials in Pakistan have refused to be on the unchecked flow of sophisticated arms which has been repeatedly warned of doing the state no good, spending more resources on counter terrorism work and border protection. This continues to be a permanent threat to Pakistan, which has to make serious consideration of a more robust self-defense posture based on increasing counter terrorism measures and bolstering the border security to limit this risk to those weapons.
Foreign actors like India and Iran are reportedly aiding in rehabilitating abandoned US weaponry, further complicating regional tensions.
The fact that US weapons are being rehabilitated by means of a number of reports that strategic actors, including India and Iran, are assisting in this process makes matters worse. However, it may be that these states are actually enabling the restoration and maintenance of this equipment for use by militant networks with transnational aims. But this is a very dynamic way that generates tensions in the region while it spoils the opportunities of lasting security cooperation of neighboring countries. This has only made matters worse for the region’s actors and left Pakistan with next to no options but to strengthen its defences against an ever-growing militant threat.
If there is no intent or ability by the Taliban to return or prevent the free movement of the equipment, the U.S. should put in place a tangible performance-conditioned engagement with the de facto regime. A series of such measures could couple a commitment to holding elections and structural socioeconomic reforms to a demonstrable commitment to improving their widespread internal stability and combating transnational terrorist organizations before any additional financial or diplomatic support is given. In effect, maintaining the Taliban responsible for the security consequences of what they inherited would also be a deterrent to further misappropriation and a way of reducing regional insecurity.
Pakistan faces intensified cross-border terrorism due to US weapons falling into extremist hands, straining national security and economic stability.
The abandonment of US military equipment in Afghanistan has become an oxymoron. At the same time, it serves as a warning to those who seek to withdraw unilaterally without proper safeguards. On one hand, it presents insurgents with a powerful toolkit in which to drive their agenda, thus weakening the security of the entire world.
In addition to acknowledging this strategic oversight, the United States might have to make a bold resolution to recover those assets or, at the least, constitute a behavioral recalibration of Afghan performance through performance-based measures. If we do not act, we run the risk of making clear a cycle of arms proliferation and regional instability with consequences of great reach for the international peace and security.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not represent the views, beliefs, or policies of the Stratheia.
