Without American Support Taliban Steamrolls Afghan Army, Walks Away with Precision US Weapons and Armored Fighting Vehicles
Leo Tolstoy wrote that “war is always pernicious even when successful.”
The United States’ ongoing withdrawal from Afghanistan demonstrates the truth of this claim.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid announced on Twitter that Taliban fighters overran government security forces with ease this week in the Maidan Wardak Province, just west of Kabul.
His posts included several pictures of booty from the conquest, which included American-made machine guns, rifles, carbines and armored vehicles.
“The enemy fled on seeing the casualties, and a large number of tanks, heavy and light weapons and ammunition fell into the hands of the Mujahideen,” he tweeted.
#الفتح:
مهم: شب گذشته در منطقه لنگر داک ولسوالی چک ولایت میدن وردک یگانه قرارگاه بزرگ باقی مانده دشمن مزدور با ۲ پوسته دیگر فتح شدند.
دشمن بادیدن تلفات فرار کرد، تعداد زیاد تانک ها، شمار زیاد اسلحه و مهمات به دست مجاهدین افتاد.
به مجاهدین آسیبی نه رسیده. pic.twitter.com/iMERY6NsCh— Zabihullah (..ذبـــــیح الله م ) (@Zabehulah_M33) June 8, 2021
The Taliban also allegedly shot down a government helicopter, according to Afghan media outlet Ariana News.
Wardak: Taliban claim an Afghan army helicopter was shot down in the Chaghato district of Maidan Wardak province last night. They said the helicopter was downed while trying to rescue security force members who were under siege. #ArianaNews #Afghanistan #MoD #Chopper #Taliban pic.twitter.com/ZxstWv6o2p
— Ariana News (@ArianaNews_) June 9, 2021
News of the Taliban’s successes is merely the latest in the movement’s pernicious campaign to capitalize on the U.S. withdrawal, reassert its hegemony over Afghanistan and reinstate the government that the U.S. overthrew 20 years ago.
Alas, Afghan forces are unlikely to prevent a resurgence of the Taliban without American military presence. Despite the fact that America spent more than $2 trillion on the war effort and committed two decades of training efforts, Afghan security forces are, by all measures, a joke.
Indeed, there is something of a sad understanding on the ground that the Afghanistan government will wholly cave to the Taliban once the U.S. is gone, and a hardline interpretation of Sharia will once more become the law of the land.
“We want an Islamic government ruled by the Sharia,” said Taliban shadow mayor Haji Hekmat, according to BBC News. “We will continue our jihad until [government forces] accept our demands.”
It is a difficult statement to argue with, particularly given the Taliban’s recent acquisition of American-made armament that will now be used to further the violence directed at the Afghan government.
Such is perhaps the inevitable perniciousness of war, however, and despite the coming convulsions in Afghanistan, there is little chance that increasing the number of American troops or weapons in the nation would have any meaningful impact toward fostering peace.
It is a point stated clearly by former Michigan Rep. Justin Amash in a recent tweet.
“No more airstrikes. No more war,” Amash, a libertarian, wrote. “Twenty years of military involvement in Afghanistan — the longest war in U.S. history — provides more than enough evidence that our weapons will not end this conflict, but they will add to the bloodshed and suffering.”
No more airstrikes. No more war. Twenty years of military involvement in Afghanistan—the longest war in U.S. history—provides more than enough evidence that our weapons will not end this conflict, but they will add to the bloodshed and suffering. https://t.co/pF7rDHKw3u
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) June 10, 2021
Indeed, Amash is onto something for once.
The violent rush to fill the power vacuum that the U.S. is leaving in Afghanistan is a necessary result of foreign interventionism and a war carried out without meaningful objectives.
If Afghanistan falls to the Taliban or, worse yet, outright collapses, let it be a lesson that all such wars must end similarly.
It is a lesson that the United States appears dead set on learning again and again and again. Maybe this time it will stick.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
