It’s a well-known fact that during the Soviet-Afghan War (1979–1989), the U.S. government funded the Afghan Mujahideen movement through the CIA under Operation Cyclone. However, what is not very well-known is that this funding of the Afghan Taliban through U.S. taxpayers’ money continued right until 2021.
In fact, ironically, the billions of dollars of U.S. money that were poured into Afghanistan during the two-decade-long ‘War on Terror’ (2001-2021) for infrastructure development and military aid ended up in the hands of the very forces the U.S. Army was fighting in Afghanistan, the Afghan Taliban.
Taken cumulatively, the Afghan Mujahideen movement that later morphed into the Afghan Taliban has received most financial and military support from none other than the U.S. taxpayers, running close to USD 40 billion, and some of the most advanced weapons systems, according to a new report by the US government’s Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).
These weapons systems, which were left behind during the US’s hasty and disorganized retreat from Afghanistan in 2021, include combat aircraft, armored vehicles, machine guns, night vision helmet devices, High Mobility Multipurpose Vehicles, and millions of rounds of ammunition, and now form the backbone of the Afghan Taliban government’s defense infrastructure.
Worse, many of these advanced weapons systems are reportedly sold on the black market and are even ending up in the hands of terrorist organizations such as the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistan Taliban, fueling insurgency in Pakistan.
Notably, the TTP has been recognized by the US government as a Foreign Terrorist Organization since 2010.
The story underscores the futility of the U.S.’s longest war, which, according to Brown University’s Costs of War Project report, cost the U.S. taxpayers a whopping USD 2.3 trillion, and the death of 2,450 American troops.
How U.S. Taxpayers Armed & Funded The Afghan Taliban
According to a new report by SIGAR, from 2002 through mid-2021, the United States Congress appropriated approximately US$144.7 billion for Afghanistan reconstruction—far more than it spent on the post-World War II Marshall Plan in inflation-adjusted terms.
However, during the abrupt withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, US and coalition forces left behind billions of dollars’ worth of military equipment, which is now a key part of the Taliban government’s defense infrastructure.
According to the report, the United States left behind over US$38 billion in military equipment and infrastructure, both military and civilian.
“The U.S. obligated at least $38.6 billion equipping and building infrastructure for the ANDSF (Afghanistan National Defense and Security Forces) and constructing civil infrastructure for the benefit of the Afghan people,” it said.
Of the US$38 billion, the Department of Defense (now Department of War) had earlier estimated that at least US$7 billion worth of weapons were now under Taliban control.
According to the report, the United States has provided 96,000 ground combat vehicles and more than 51,000 light tactical vehicles to Afghan forces.
The list also included 23,825 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles, nearly 900 armored combat vehicles, 427,300 weapons, 17,400 helmet-mounted night-vision devices, at least 162 aircraft, and other items.
As of July 31, 2021—approximately two weeks before the Taliban takeover—DOD records indicated that the Afghan Air Force had 162 U.S.-provided aircraft in its inventory, of which 131 were usable.
Most of these weapons systems could now be under the control of the Afghan Taliban.
Notably, in July this year, US President Donald Trump called the Afghanistan troop withdrawal “the most embarrassing moment” in US history.
Trump also pointed to the loss of military equipment and the Bagram Airbase, which he said had strategic significance.
Trump said: “They left all that equipment behind and every year they have a parade down from street with the equipment. With all that equipment that they left, they should have taken every ounce of it. Every screw, every bolt, every nail you take out of there. And Millie said, I remember one time, so we’re better off leaving the equipment.
“Why? It’s cheaper to leave $150 million airplane rather than flying it into Pakistan or India or some place… They left their dignity behind. It was the most embarrassing moment in my opinion in the history of my country.”
Trump has also suggested that the Afghan Taliban should hand over the Bagram Airbase and the weapons left behind to the US, a demand the Afghan Taliban has rejected.
Pakistan has also supported the idea of the US getting back its weapons and the US control of the strategic Bagram Airbase, due to Islamabad’s ongoing hostilities with the Afghan Taliban.
A Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson has said, “Our concern is that these weapons have been found to be used by terrorists in their extremist activities inside Pakistan. We have raised this issue before. If the US makes any effort to return these weapons, it will be helpful for overall regional security.”
Is The Afghan Taliban Giving U.S. Weapons To TTP?
The links between the Afghan Taliban and the TTP (Pakistan Taliban) are well established.
Earlier this year, in February, a UN Security Council report said: “There was increased collaboration between TTP, the Afghan Taliban and Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS, not listed), conducting attacks under the banner of Tehrik-e Jihad Pakistan (TJP, not listed).
“Greater facilitation among these groups and TTP in terms of the provision of suicide bombers and fighters and ideological guidance might transform the latter into an extraregional threat and an umbrella organization for other terrorist groups operating in the region.”
Indeed, Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban of not only supporting and sheltering the TTP, but also providing it with arms left behind by the U.S. forces.
The Taliban government in Afghanistan has denied these allegations, saying terrorism inside Pakistan is Islamabad’s internal problem; however, Pakistan has launched air strikes inside Afghanistan, citing these allegations.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are currently engaged in a low-intensity war over these allegations.
Meanwhile, in another high-profile attack on December 9, TTP militants stormed a security checkpoint in Pakistan’s northwest near the Afghan border, killing six soldiers.
🚨6 Pakistan Soldiers Killed in TTP Attack
🇵🇰Pakistani #Taliban militants stormed a security checkpoint in Pakistan's northwestern border area with #Afghanistan, killing six soldiers & wounding four others.https://t.co/FaJ6fNtAUg
— EurAsian Times (@THEEURASIATIMES) December 9, 2025
Islamabad has accused the Afghan Taliban of using US weapons in its hostilities with Pakistan.
The videos released of recent clashes between the Afghan Taliban and Pakistani forces show the Taliban forces mainly using light weapons.
The light weapons currently in the hands of the Taliban government’s army include mostly Kalashnikovs, American M16, M4, and M29 light machine guns.
These include heavy machine guns like the Pika M2 and M240, grenade launchers, as well as rocket launchers and anti-tank missiles like the RPG Seven and AT Four.
According to a Taliban commander, in recent clashes, “night vision goggles and laser-equipped weapons have been effective in nighttime attacks.”
Sami Yousafzai, an expert on Afghan affairs, told BBC Urdu that not only is the Afghan Taliban using the weapons left behind by US forces in its fight against the Pakistani security forces, but these weapons are also being sold in the black arms market.
Sami Yousafzai said, “Anyone can buy these weapons, be it arms dealers, ordinary people, or jihadists.”
He said that TTP militants were also part of the Afghan Taliban forces, which captured weapons left behind by retreating US forces. Thus, these weapons also fell into the hands of TTP militants, and are now also being used inside Pakistan.
He added that no evidence suggests that the Afghan Taliban themselves provided these American weapons to the TTP.
He also said that the Afghan Taliban will not return these weapons to the US as they see them as “war booty.”
For now, these US weapons in the hands of the Afghan Taliban and the TTP have become a headache for the Pakistani armed forces, which are already battling insurgency in many parts of the country.
- Sumit Ahlawat has over a decade of experience in news media. He has worked with Press Trust of India, Times Now, Zee News, Economic Times, and Microsoft News. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Media and Modern History from the University of Sheffield, UK.
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- He can be reached at ahlawat.sumit85 (at) gmail.com
