US President Donald Trump has called for the retrieval of billions of dollars’ worth of US military equipment left behind in Afghanistan following the chaotic 2021 withdrawal.
Speaking at his first Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Trump also pushed for the removal of military leaders involved in what he described as a disastrous exit.
“We left billions, tens of billions of dollars’ worth of equipment behind. Brand new trucks,” Trump said. “You see them display it every year, on their little roadways. That’s all top-of-the-line stuff. I think we should get a lot of that equipment back.”
According to a 2022 Department of Defense report, the Taliban seized most of the more than $7 billion worth of US military equipment left in Afghanistan. While major assets were removed or destroyed, aircraft, ground vehicles, and weapons were abandoned. The Pentagon has stated much of the equipment would likely become inoperable without US maintenance.
‘Afghanistan is one of biggest sellers of military equipment in the world, they’re selling the equipment we left them’ — Trump intends to get it back https://t.co/hEq9pTZqd7 pic.twitter.com/WTPUQC3g3d
— RT (@RT_com) February 26, 2025
Trump then claimed that the Taliban, the Islamist militant group now in control of Afghanistan, has been selling US-made military equipment on a massive scale, making the country “one of the biggest sellers of military equipment in the world.”
“Can you believe it? They’re selling 777,000 rifles, 70,000 armor-plated… trucks and vehicles… this is 70,000 vehicles we had there, and we left it for them. I think we should get it back,” he said.
Trump also signaled his expectation that top military officials responsible for the withdrawal would be held accountable. While he said he would not dictate decisions to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, he was clear in his stance. “I’m not going to tell this man what to do, but I will say that if I had his place, I’d fire every single one of them, Pete,” he said.
Hegseth confirmed that under his leadership, the Department of Defense is conducting a full review of the withdrawal and plans to take action. “We’re taking a very different view, obviously, than the previous administration,” he said, referencing Trump’s nomination of retired Air Force Lt. Gen. John Dan “Razin” Caine as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “And there will be full accountability.”
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Trump expects the Pentagon’s review to result in the removal of most generals involved in the withdrawal, which left American citizens and allies stranded, billions in military assets abandoned, and resulted in the deaths of 13 US service members in a suicide bombing at Abbey Gate outside Kabul’s airport.
“I don’t see a big promotion in that group,” Trump said. “I think they’re going to be largely gone. That was a horrible display.”
Former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, who oversaw the withdrawal, previously testified that the outcome in Afghanistan was shaped by years of decisions. “Like any complex phenomena, there was no single causal factor that determined the outcome,” he said.
Trump also demanded that the Taliban return US military equipment, accusing them of profiting from abandoned American weapons. “I think they should give our equipment back. And I told Pete to study that,” he said.
