Capito demands full accountability of U.S. military equipment left behind in Afghanistan, warns it may already be in the hands of the Taliban

WASHINGTON — A West Virginia lawmaker is demanding full accountability for U.S. military equipment that has been left behind in Afghanistan by the Biden administration.

U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., is seeking a complete inventory of all U.S. military equipment left behind in Afghanistan from U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

Capito and Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla., are leading the Republican-led accountability effort in the U.S. Senate.

“It is unconscionable that high-tech military equipment paid for by U.S. taxpayers has fallen into the hands of the Taliban and their terrorist allies,” Capito and Rubio wrote in a letter to Austin. “Securing U.S. assets should have been among the top priorities for the U.S. Department of Defense prior to announcing the withdrawal from Afghanistan.”

Capito said the U.S. military equipment left behind by the Biden administration has likely already fallen into the hands of the Taliban and their terrorist allies.

In addition to Senators Capito and Rubio, other senators who have joined the call for a full accountability of the military equipment include Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Michael Rounds (R-S.D.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.).

Capito and her fellow Republican senators are requesting the following information from the Biden administration:

• A full account of military equipment provided to the Afghan Armed Forces in the last year

• All military equipment, owned by either the U.S. or Afghan Armed Forces, that was removed or destroyed prior to the U.S. withdrawal, or is rendered inoperable without U.S. logistics personnel

• All U.S. military equipment that remains operational in Afghanistan

• A list of what military equipment has been seized by the Taliban

• An assessment of how long it will take the Taliban to use each of the captured equipment

An assessment of the likelihood that the Taliban will seek to work with Russia, Pakistan, Iran, or the People’s Republic of China for training, fuel, or infrastructure necessary to utilize the equipment they do not have the capabilities to use on their own

• Any efforts by the administration, planned or underway, to recapture or destroy equipment that remains in Afghanistan and is at risk of being used by terrorist entities.