In 2017, Joe Biden called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. In a town hall that year, the now President predicted that leaving billions of dollars worth of American arms and equipment would eventually be used against our own people and allies.
But, he left them there anyway.
“And you leave those billions of dollars of weapons behind I promise they’re going to be used against your grandchild and mine some day,” Biden said.
When Biden became President, he withdrew American forces from Afghanistan after a 20 year war and left behind billions of dollars in U.S. arms, ammunition and equipment.
On Saturday, that equipment, along with arms sent to Ukraine, allegedly was used against the nation of Israel. For years, the Taliban have been reportedly funneling thousands of U.S. M4 rifles and other abandoned U.S. arms and equipment to Hamas, planning the eventual attack that killed over 1,000 Israelis this weekend.
Photos of Hamas terrorists using U.S. M-4 rifles began surfacing today on X (formerly Twitter), and officials in the U.S. and Israel are now speculating those weapons were the same ones abandoned by Biden in his botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.
A top-tier Israel Defense Forces (IDF) official reported that US weapons, from Ukraine and potentially those abandoned in Afghanistan during the hurried exit managed by the Biden administration, have surfaced in the Gaza Strip and in Iran. These weapons, according to the IDF, are now in the possession of Palestinian factions operating in the region.
“A high-ranking Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commander has told Newsweek that Israel is concerned over the risks of weapons provided by the United States and other Western nations to Ukraine ending up in the hands of Israel’s foes in the Middle East, including Iran,” Newsweek reported.
The rapid and disorderly pullout from Afghanistan, spearheaded by President Biden, had seen a vast amount of military hardware and equipment left unsecured. The aftermath of this abrupt exit led to chaotic scenes that drew global attention.
Now, the concern is that the fallout extends far beyond the Afghan borders. The speculation that these US weapons have traveled from Afghanistan to Gaza raises alarming questions about the global security implications of the Afghanistan withdrawal.
Israel, a close ally of the United States, has often faced rocket attacks from groups in the Gaza Strip. The introduction of these US-made weapons could potentially escalate the situation further, making an already tense region even more volatile.
A CBS News report documented America’s abandoned stocks of rifles being used in other conflicts in January.
“Weapons left behind by U.S. forces during the withdrawal from Afghanistan are surfacing in another conflict, further arming militants in the disputed South Asian region of Kashmir in what experts say could be just the start of the weapons’ global journey,” CBS reported.
Another report documents how the Taliban have emerged as the new arms dealers for terrorists across the region.
“The U.S. military retreated from Afghanistan two years ago, leaving behind weapons that are now turning up in far-flung trouble spots where terrorists are fighting and killing America’s allies. In markets that have sprung up across the southern and eastern badlands, where the hottest fighting of the war took place, merchants with Taliban permits are offering U.S.-made automatic assault rifles and handguns for sale alongside hardware from Russia, Pakistan, China, Turkey, and Austria. Business, like terrorism, is thriving,” the report states.
In June, Mideast Monitor confirmed U.S. weaponry from Afghanistan had made it to Palestinian territory in Israel.
“US arms left in Afghanistan have been smuggled to the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip, Sama News Agency reported,” according to the report. “The local Palestinian news agency disclosed that Newsweek reported an unnamed senior Israeli military official confirming: “Some of the small weapons seized in Afghanistan had been spotted in the hands of Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip.”
Another report in June confirmed U.S. M-4 rifles had reached Palestinian territory.