Republican senators seek accountability for US military equipment in Taliban's hands.
Over two dozen Republican senators on Thursday sought accountability from the Biden administration over US military equipment that landed into the hands of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
"As we watched the images coming out of Afghanistan as the Taliban retook the country, we were horrified to see US equipment including UH-60 Black Hawks in the hands of the Taliban," Republican Senators wrote in a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
In the letter, Senators Bill Cassidy, Marco Rubio and 23 Senate Republicans asked the Biden administration to account for taxpayer-funded American military equipment that may have fallen into the Taliban's hands.
"It is unconscionable that high-tech military equipment paid for by US taxpayers has fallen into the hands of the Taliban and their terrorist allies. Securing US assets should have been among the top priorities for the US Department of Defense prior to announcing the withdrawal from Afghanistan," the senators wrote.
In their letter to Austin, they sought a full account of military equipment provided to the Afghan armed forces last year.
"An assessment of the likelihood that the Taliban will seek to work with Russia, Pakistan, Iran, or the People's Republic of China for training, fuel, or infrastructure necessary to utilise the equipment they do not have the capabilities to use on their own, the letter said.
