WASHINGTON — The United States military left behind billions of dollars worth or equipment behind in Afghanistan during the troop pull out of the country earlier this summer.
During his time in Afghanistan as a Navy reserve officer, it was the job of Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN-03) handle this equipment to give to the Afghan people to fight against the Taliban.
“As a foreign military sales officer my job was to help on the front end and the back end of acquiring American military equipment and turn it over to the Afghan’s and train them on how to use it,” Banks said. “So you can imagine how shameful I find it that all of that equipment has fallen into the hands of the Taliban.”
In a briefing on the steps of the U.S Capital late Tuesday morning, House Republicans laid out what they want to see done by President Biden and Congress in order to mitigate the possible ramifications that could surface as a result of a swift withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Banks said the Taliban now has control of thousands of trucks, over 200 airplanes, and 600,000 weapons.
“The Taliban now has more Blackhawk helicopters than 85-percent of the countries in the world,” Banks said.
He also warned that the Taliban also has biometric systems from the U.S. military that have the fingerprints and other identifying information of the thousands of Afghani people who helped American troops in their fight against the Taliban over the last 20 years.
“If any of these weapons or this military equipment is used to harm, injure, or kill an American now or any time in the future, the blood is on Joe Biden’s hands,”, Banks said in closing.
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise said they’re working to make sure every American who has been “stranded behind enemy lines” is returned home. So far 50,000 people have been evacuated from the airport in Kabul.
“I’m encouraged by our progress getting people out of Afghanistan & commend all the brave individuals taking on this vital mission,” said Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN-07) on Twitter. “We have more work ahead to get more people to safety, and we must keep up this effort.”
President Biden is getting pressure from the international community and some Republican lawmakers, such as Rep. Jackie Walorksi (R-IN-02), to extend the deadline for U.S. troops to be out of Afghanistan. In response, the Taliban has said that there will be no extension and that American troops must be out by Aug. 31 or it will be “met with a response.”
