US military equipment left in Afghanistan will now benefit Russia & China, says Trump

Former United States President Donald Trump on Saturday, 9 October said that the American military equipment left behind in Afghanistan after the pullout was still functional and it will now benefit other world powers including Russia and China. As per the Sputnik report, during the “Save America” rally in Des Moines, Trump told the attendees that both Russia and China already have samples of “great helicopters” belonging to the United States and they are now “re-engineering the equipment, they are de-engineering.” 

Trump’s latest remarks came after he repeatedly attacked US President Joe Biden for the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and leaving behind billions of dollars worth of military equipment. Notably, following the completion of America’s pullout mission from the South Asian country, pictures emerged showing the Taliban with the same equipment.

"Russia and China already have samples of our great helicopters. We have the Apache helicopters ... and they are now re-engineering the equipment, they are de-engineering. They are taking it apart, they are figuring it out and very soon they'll be building the best stuff for less money," Sputnik quoted Trump as saying on Saturday at the 'Save America' rally in Des Moines.

Furthermore, Trump alleged that only 3% of all people who were evacuated from Afghanistan on America’s flights were qualified to be taken to the United States. The former US President claimed, “They had no idea who was getting on those planes.” Wall Street Journal report has separately stated that the US troops destroyed or disabled nearly 100 combat vehicles and dozens of aircraft before leaving Afghanistan’s capital in August. 

However, according to Trump, the equipment left in Afghanistan was not disabled and “tremendous numbers” of US weaponry and equipment left in the South Asian country, which is now ruled by the Taliban, are being sold to the black market. Earlier, in September, Trump told the crowd in Perry, Georgia that Biden’s handling of the American troop pullout from Afghanistan was a major display of incompetence. 

Trump Suggests US To 'Bomb' Its $85bn Military Equipment

On August 30, Donald Trump had even suggested that the left-out American military equipment in Afghanistan should be ‘bombed’ if it is not returned on demand. Trump lashed out at his successor Joe Biden for handling the end of the 20-year-old war in Afghanistan “badly” and “incompetently.” According to Trump, the military equipment should be “demanded” to be returned to the country because it includes “every penny of the $85 billion” in cost. 

IMAGE: AP
(With Agency Inputs)