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Trump’s demand Return of US military equipment
Credit: AP

Future financial aid to Afghanistan will be dependent on ‌Taliban officials in control returning American military hardware, according to President-elect Donald Trump. Trump’s comments during a rally in Washington on Sunday, the eve of his inauguration on January 20, have increased skepticism about his administration’s position on the South Asian country that is currently experiencing a crisis. 

The Biden administration provided the Taliban with billions and billions of dollars. They gave the enemy a significant portion of our military hardware, Trump claimed. He was referring to President Joe Biden‘s turbulent and hurried order to withdraw American forces from Afghanistan in August 2021. Trump said that we should tell them we won’t give them the money unless they return our military hardware if we’re going to spend billions of dollars annually. He said without providing any further details,

“So, we will give them a couple of bucks; we want the military equipment back.”

Statistics of military alliances given to the Taliban

According to a 2022 assessment by the US Department of Defence, once the troop pullout was completed, some $7 billion worth of military hardware remained in Afghanistan. The Taliban then confiscated the equipment, which included military vehicles, planes, air-to-ground bombs, guns, communications equipment, and other supplies. Since then, at their so-called victory day celebrations over the past three years, the de facto Afghan rulers have frequently shown off American military equipment.

The Doha Agreement, which was reached with the Taliban in February 2020 by the first Trump administration, was the reason for the withdrawal of international troops. Biden finished and justified the military pullout, stating that he had to decide whether to carry out the agreement or be ready to resume fighting the Taliban.

The Biden administration placed more sanctions on the Taliban and mainly isolated them after the pullout. The United Nations claims that Afghanistan is experiencing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, but Washington has remained the country’s biggest donor. Along with helping Afghan supporters, US authorities have also worked diplomatically with the Taliban to arrange the release of some US detainees.

Billions to Afghanistan: Humanitarian aid or a risky gamble?

The billions of dollars Trump has mentioned on numerous occasions are probably cash shipments that are being sent to Afghanistan. It helps humanitarian efforts through the U.N. and non-governmental organizations. Since the US withdrawal, Washington has spent almost $3 billion on humanitarian relief, and it continues to be the largest donor.

The independent Afghanistan Analysts Network’s Thomas Ruttig issued a warning about the difficulties facing the Taliban under the Trump administration.

“Some members of Congress and officials from the incoming administration participated in the 20-year US mission in Afghanistan and have been very critical of the Taliban,”

he said.

Nevertheless, he said, combating regional terrorism is a major concern in Washington. It could lead the Trump administration to look for collaboration with the Taliban to fight terrorist groups, such as IS-Khorasan. This is an Afghanistan-based affiliate of the Islamic State terrorist group.

Tim Burchett, the Republican deputy head of the US Congress’s Foreign Affairs Committee, recently filed a measure known as the “No Tax Dollars for Terrorists Act”. The Taliban are not being financed by cash shipments for humanitarian initiatives, according to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. According to the mission, the existing arrangement, which involves physically bringing money into Afghanistan and depositing it in specific UN accounts at a private bank, is in place due to persistent liquidity problems and a prohibition on international financial transfers.

Taliban leaders have denied Trump’s claims that their government has received financial support from the United States, saying that they neither sought nor anticipated any help from Washington. In reaction to Trump’s comments earlier this month, the Taliban released a statement saying, “Instead, it has confiscated and frozen billions of dollars that rightfully belong to the people of Afghanistan.” Ruttig cautions that sanctions and punitive actions intended to coerce the Taliban into compliance may also incite them to halt collaboration with foreign parties. 

Afghan American women’s rights activist Masuda Sultan is skeptical that the Trump administration will significantly alter its position on the Taliban. Rather, she anticipates that the United States will reduce aid payments to United Nations-funded initiatives that have aided the nation’s most disadvantaged, such as the World Food Program. Meanwhile, Taliban commanders publicly seem hopeful that the Trump administration would bring about a positive change in US policy, which they attribute to their Doha agreement with the former Trump administration. Just one day after Trump was proclaimed the victor of the US presidential election, Kabul swiftly greeted his election victory.

Trump links US aid to Afghanistan with the return of military equipment left behind. Will his tough stance reshape US-Taliban relations

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