Taliban flaunts newly seized US military hardware in victory parade



The Taliban did a victory lap this week after U.S. military forces were officially withdrawn from Afghanistan. In the days following the U.S. troops leaving Afghanistan, the Taliban held parades with American military hardware to celebrate the United States withdrawal after nearly 20 years of military engagement.

On Monday, the last American military plane departed Afghanistan, marking the formal ending of the Afghanistan War, which was the longest war in U.S. history. The Taliban held parades highlighting newly seized U.S. military equipment, including Black Hawk helicopters, armored tactical vehicles, and firearms.

Taliban victory parade feat. US equipment https://t.co/PC6nhV2fTv

— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) 1630600415.0

#Taliban parade in Kandahar City, #Afghanistan, with U.S. weapons and equipment.Taliban also appear to fly US Bla… https://t.co/eiRJS7NhlV

— El American (@ElAmerican_) 1630518564.0

There was a cavalcade of captured Humvees driving in a procession outside Kandahar, Afghanistan's second-largest city. There was also a U.S. Black Hawk helicopter flying overhead with the Taliban flag.

#UPDATE A Black Hawk helicopter flew circles over the Taliban's spiritual heartland of #Kandahar in southern Afghan… https://t.co/DgxTzhBQem

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) 1630510803.0

According to Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction quarterly reports, the United States sent 1,178 Humvees to the former Afghan government between April 2020 and July 2021, which have a total cost of more than $278 million, Barron's reported.

According to CBS News, the price tag for a UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter is $5.9 million.

One video shows Taliban militants holding U.S. firearms investigating a hangar at the Hamid Karzai International Airport, which had four CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters, according to New York Times reporter Christiaan Triebert.

This is a hangar at Apron 10 on the military side of Hamid Karzai International Airport. Two weeks ago, these four… https://t.co/hVfEjexKhX

— Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) 1630360698.0

It is not immediately known the exact amount of viable weapons that the U.S. left behind in Afghanistan because of President Joe Biden's chaotic evacuation, but one U.S. intelligence official told Reuters that the Taliban likely controls "more than 2,000 armored vehicles, including U.S. Humvees, and up to 40 aircraft potentially including UH-60 Black Hawks, scout attack helicopters, and ScanEagle military drones."

The BBC reported that the Afghan Air Force was operating 167 aircraft, including attack helicopters and planes, at the end of June, according to a report by the U.S.-based Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.

Before the Taliban was able to capture the capital of Kabul, Afghan soldiers fled to neighboring Uzbekistan with 22 military planes and 24 helicopters, the New York Post reported.

"The kinds of equipment we're talking about, while certainly there's a lethality component to it, it doesn't pose a threat to the United States, it doesn't pose a threat to neighboring nations," Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said. "These are not the kinds of things that the Taliban can make great strategic use out of."

Last week, former President Donald Trump blasted the Biden administration for leaving so much U.S. military equipment for the Taliban.

"And not, nobody can even comprehend that much equipment. Thousands of vehicles," Trump said. "It should be bombed. We cannot let them have that equipment."

"I want every single nail, screw, and bolt," he said of U.S. equipment in Afghanistan. "I then would have, with the exception of Bagram, which I would have kept, I would have bombed all of the bases, because I don't want to give those bases to Russia, China, or even the Taliban. I would have bombed every base."

In the city of Khost on Tuesday, Taliban supporters held mock funerals with coffins draped with the flags of the United States, NATO, and European nations, according to Reuters.

Taliban supporters held a mock funeral with coffins covered in US, UK, French, and NATO flags as troops left the co… https://t.co/txxOH8UX4i

— TRT World (@trtworld) 1630494228.0

Taliban fighters wearing US gear mock iconic WWII image of Marines raising American flag on Iwo Jima: 'The humiliation continues'



The Taliban appear to be mocking the United States in a new propaganda photo. The image, which some have called "humiliating," shows an elite Taliban fighting unit donned in U.S. military gear and hoisting up the flag of the fundamentalist Islamic group in nearly the exact same pose that U.S. Marines hoisted up the American flag during World War II.

The Badri 313 Battalion is reportedly the Taliban's special commando unit, which was allegedly named after the Battle of Badr where the Prophet Mohammad led the Muslim community to a major military victory with just 313 men in 624 CE.

A propaganda photo shows members of the Badri 313 Battalion wearing what appears to be U.S. military gear raising up the Taliban flag in a similar fashion to the six U.S. Marines who raised the U.S. flag on Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945.

Taliban fighters release photo mocking iconic photo of US Marines raising the American flag on Iwo Jima during Worl… https://t.co/FfGA8BdyAj

— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) 1629569355.0

There were heated reactions to the Taliban seemingly mocking the iconic U.S. military photograph.

Tom Bevan, the co-Founder of RealClearPolitics, wrote: "The humiliation continues."

Conservative commentator John Cardillo declared: "The Taliban is wearing our gear, mocking Iwo Jima. Biden must resign or be impeached and removed."

Army Ranger and UFC fighter Tim Kennedy exclaimed: "Taliban soldiers wearing all U.S. supplied equipment MOCK iconic World War II image of American Marines raising flag on Iwo Jima as soldiers don US military gear in propaganda footage. It is straight up NUKE time."

Former Navy SEAL Jonathan T Gilliam said: "This just keeps getting worse and worse! #Taliban mocks iconic Iwo Jima picture wearing US gear left behind by the @JoeBiden woke administration."

James Glancy, ex-member of the Royal Marine Commandos, reacted by saying: "The Taliban 'Special Forces - Badri 313' are just mocking America now with their PR machine."

The Taliban also published a propaganda video this week with the Bardi 313 Battalion wearing what appears to be U.S. military gear, including tactical helmets, night-vision goggles, and modern firearms.

A photo posted by Ian Bremmer, president and founder of Eurasia Group, shows Taliban fighters "with their new American gear" and a militarized Ford pickup truck.

An AFP tweet shows "Taliban fighters carrying M4 and M18 assault rifles and M24 sniper weapons, driving around in iconic US Humvees."

Videos posted on social media show that the Taliban has seized thousands of firearms, ammunition, body armor, and other military equipment.

Taliban with their new American gear. (pic: @AsaadHannaa) https://t.co/CJFnpLMU5X

— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) 1629552703.0


Taliban's arms seizures embarrass US.Social media images show Taliban fighters carrying M4 and M18 assault rifles… https://t.co/g5ShObHYIZ

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) 1629340069.0

The U.S. gave Afghan forces an estimated $28 billion in weaponry between 2002 and 2017, according to Business Insider.

"Everything that hasn't been destroyed is the Taliban's now," an anonymous U.S. official told Reuters.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan said this week that the Taliban now controls a "fair amount" of the weapons supplied to the Afghan government.

"We don't have a complete picture, obviously, of where every article of defense materials has gone. But certainly a fair amount of it has fallen into the hands of the Taliban," Sullivan said, "and obviously we don't have a sense that they are going to readily hand it over to us at the airport."

The Taliban likely have possession of 2,000 armored vehicles, including U.S. Humvees, and up to 40 aircraft, including UH-60 Black Hawks, scout attack helicopters, and ScanEagle military drones.

"When an armed group gets their hands on American-made weaponry, it's sort of a status symbol. It's a psychological win," Elias Yousif, deputy director of the Center for International Policy's Security Assistance Monitor, told The Hill.

Helicopters rescue Americans from US Embassy in Kabul despite Biden promising it would not happen: 'This is Joe Biden's Saigon'



President Joe Biden's failure in Afghanistan was put on prominent display Sunday when American Chinook helicopters were seen flying over the Afghanistan capital city of Kabul, transporting Americans from the U.S. Embassy to the city's airport.

The stunning visual drew countless comparisons to the infamous withdrawal in 1975 of Americans from the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. Worse yet, Communist China seized on the moment to mock America.

What are the details?

Taliban fighters entered Kabul on Sunday to negotiate a "peaceful surrender," the group claimed, NBC reported. Taliban fighters allegedly entered the city without arms upon instructions from senior Taliban leaders.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told NBC News the terrorist group does not "wish to take revenge" on Afghan citizens, including in the government and military, that opposed them. Mujahid claimed such people would be "forgiven" by the terrorist group.

Still, the group is demanding an unconditional surrender by the Afghanistan government.

The impending fall of Kabul, and of all Afghanistan, comes after Taliban seized huge swaths of the country in just over a week. As the Associated Press reported, American military assessments earlier indicated "it would be a month before the capital would come under insurgent pressure."

What was the reaction?

The stunning images of helicopters flying to the U.S. Embassy drew comparisons to the rapid removal of U.S. Embassy workers in Saigon as then-North Vietnamese communist soldiers seized Saigon, the capital city of South Vietnam, in April 1975.

PHOTO 1: US diplomat evacuate US from embassy via helicopter as the #Taliban enter #Kabul from all sides.… https://t.co/xwaafUsT1M

— Stefan Simanowitz (@StefSimanowitz) 1629021757.0

Saigon 1975Kabul today https://t.co/JP7SNgq6Ra

— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) 1629030573.0

Two iconic images clicked 45 years apart. The US Embassy staff fleeing from Saigon (top) and Kabul (bottom).Never… https://t.co/I55y8T5XxH

— Anand Ranganathan (@ARanganathan72) 1629015950.0

Shades of Saigon indeed. https://t.co/hiKZ18XPST

— Andrew Neil (@afneil) 1629018231.0

"This is Joe Biden's Saigon. A disastrous failure on the international stage that will never be forgotten — meanwhile Joe is on vacation," Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) said.

This is Joe Biden’s Saigon. A disastrous failure on the international stage that will never be forgotten - meanwh… https://t.co/NmkZuEblD1

— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) 1629027450.0

Chinese journalist Shen Shiwei, who Twitter indicates is "Chinese state-affiliated media," noted the comparison to mock America.

Similar helicopter over U.S. embassy and history will mark today.The Fall of Saigon, American troops withdrew from… https://t.co/CoGqxV546D

— Shen Shiwei沈诗伟 (@shen_shiwei) 1629029059.0

Shiwei also mocked Biden, noting that he was a sitting U.S. senator in 1975 when Saigon fell.

An interesting part of history.Joe Biden had already been a Senator for 2 years amid the Fall of Saigon in 1975,… https://t.co/mpdAws5jdc

— Shen Shiwei沈诗伟 (@shen_shiwei) 1629029647.0

What did Biden promise?

On July 8 — just a little more than five weeks ago — Biden specifically promised that Kabul would not become the new Saigon, and that the world would not see American helicopters rescuing American workers from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.

Biden's declaration was made in response to a question from a reporter who asked Biden if he saw "parallels between this withdrawal and what happened in Vietnam," noting that "some Vietnamese veterans see echoes of their experience in this withdrawal in Afghanistan."

"None whatsoever. Zero," Biden responded.

"The Taliban is not the south— the North Vietnamese army. They're not remotely comparable in terms of capability. There's going to be no circumstance where you see people being lifted off the roof of a embassy of the United States from Afghanistan," Biden promised. "It is not at all comparable."