Trump demands Taliban return U.S. military equipment, ties it to aid

President Donald Trump on Saturday renewed his demand for the Taliban to return American military equipment left behind in Afghanistan, suggesting that U.S. aid to the country should be contingent on retrieving billions of dollars’ worth of hardware.

Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland, Trump lamented the loss of military assets, despite his efforts to rebuild the armed forces during his first term. “We left a lot of it, although a lot of it, but very small, relatively, in Afghanistan. The Taliban has it,” he said. “They have their parade every year where they take our military vehicles and run them up some little street, like it’s their form of a military parade. And it makes me angry when I see that. Angry.”

Trump also claimed that the U.S. continues to send substantial financial aid to Afghanistan. “We give Afghanistan about two or two and a half billion dollars a year. Do you know that? For aid, aid,” he said. “We need aid ourselves.” He then proposed linking aid to the return of U.S. military equipment. “If we’re going to give them money, it’s okay. But I want them to give us back our military equipment that they have. They’re selling it.”

Addressing an aide in the audience, Trump called for immediate action. “Doug, would you take that, please? All right. Write something up,” he said. He reiterated that the Taliban possesses American military assets, including “tanks and trucks and guns and goggles. They have night goggles. Better than we have. Brand new, right out of the box. It’s unbelievable.”

Trump expressed frustration over the situation, questioning how it happened. “How the hell did this ever happen? Can you believe it?” he said. “We gave them billions of dollars and we gave them our military equipment. Just tremendous numbers of billions of dollars’ worth—billions and billions.”

The U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021, ending a 20-year war. While much of the military equipment was disabled or destroyed, some assets fell into Taliban hands. The Biden administration has maintained that advanced systems were either evacuated or rendered inoperable before the withdrawal. Now back in office, Trump has revived the issue, blaming the previous administration and insisting that the Taliban return U.S. military equipment.