Key Points
- The State Department has scrubbed key weapon reports from government websites.
- They claim it’s for the safety of our Afghanistan allies.
- But that’s not exactly in line with recent Biden administration decisions.
The U.S. has provided the Afghanistan Military with more than $80 billion dollars in training and cutting-edge weaponry since 2001; a fact the White House used to proudly proclaim. That number – that proclamation of support – was even listed on official government websites.
But not anymore. In the wake of the total failure that was the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the abandonment of billions in bullets and choppers, the State Department has removed access to reports detailing the the monies wasted – egg on the face of the Biden administration.
According to a recent Forbes report, “The scrubbed audits and reports included detailed accounting of what the U.S. had provided to Afghan forces, down to the number of night vision devices, hand grenades, Black Hawk helicopters, and armored vehicles.”
“Reports further quantified 208 aircraft and helicopters; 75,000 war vehicles – including 22 Humvees, 50,000 tactical vehicles and nearly 1,000 mine resistant vehicles; and 600,000 weapons – including 350,000 M4 and M16 rifles, 60,000 machine guns, and 25,000 grenade launchers,” the report continues.
The State Department tried to get ahead of the story, releasing a statement on the recently- vanished reports.
“The safety of our Afghan contacts is of utmost importance to us. The State Department advised other federal agencies of to [sic] review their web properties for content that highlights cooperation/participation between an Afghan citizen and the USG or a USG partner and remove from public view if it poses a security risk.”
“The safety of our Afghan contacts is of utmost importance to us?”
Then why not extend the August 31st deadline? Why cave to Taliban threats? Why not remain at Bagram Air Base in order to provide another, more secure evacuation point? And what about providing the Taliban with a list of U.S. citizens and Afghan allies?
Making decisions for the safety of our Afghan allies is not the Biden administration’s strong suit.
And to add insult to the greatest failed foreign policy injury of the century, the reports that have been scrubbed from the web were paid for by the taxpayers, the transparency important to hold the administration accountable.
“The extraordinary success of this mission was due to the incredible skill, bravery and selfless courage of the United States military and our diplomats and intelligence professionals,” Biden said in his remarks on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
If it’s such a success, why are you covering your tracks?
[h/t Forbes]
