Trump Says US May Seek Return of Military Equipment Left in Afghanistan

US President Donald Trump has indicated that Washington may attempt to recover military equipment abandoned in Afghanistan during the chaotic 2021 withdrawal, a move he described as largely symbolic but still worth pursuing.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the G7 Summit, Trump sharply criticized the handling of the US exit under his predecessor, Joe Biden, calling it a “horrible retreat” and arguing that American forces should have departed with all military assets intact.

“I was going to get out. We were going to get out with dignity and pride. Take 100% of the equipment,” Trump said. “We may take all of that equipment back. At this point it is largely symbolic because the equipment is old, but perhaps we will bring it all back.”

The remarks revive a long-standing dispute over the billions of dollars in US military hardware left behind after the collapse of the former Afghan government in August 2021. According to a June 2022 estimate by the US Department of Defense, approximately $7.12 billion worth of equipment remained in the country, including aircraft, ground vehicles, communications systems, and hundreds of thousands of small arms and night-vision devices.

Much of that materiel later fell into the hands of the Islamic Emirate, the Taliban-led government that now controls Afghanistan, following the swift collapse of US-backed Afghan security forces. At the time, Biden administration officials defended the withdrawal, arguing that a significant portion of the equipment had already been transferred to the Afghan military and that US forces had rendered much of the remaining hardware inoperable before departing. Biden himself later acknowledged that Washington had overestimated the Afghan military’s ability to withstand the Taliban offensive.

The US withdrawal remains one of the most polarizing foreign policy issues in American politics. Republicans, led by Trump, have repeatedly characterized the evacuation as disorganized and humiliating, while Biden defended it as the necessary end to America’s longest war a two-decade conflict that cost thousands of lives and trillions of dollars.

Trump’s latest comments add a new wrinkle to the ongoing debate, even as analysts question the practicality and enormous cost of retrieving equipment that has remained in Taliban-controlled territory for nearly five years. Some US lawmakers have called for greater accountability over the asset loss, while others view the issue as a political talking point rather than a viable military objective.

The Islamic Emirate has firmly rejected any US claims to the abandoned hardware. Earlier, Zabihullah Mujahid, the group’s chief spokesman, dismissed Washington’s calls for the return of the equipment, asserting that it is now considered legitimate “war booty” belonging to Afghanistan’s new rulers. Mujahid also argued that the United States should be held accountable for the destruction caused during its 20-year occupation, accusing Washington of hindering Afghanistan’s development and destabilizing the region.

Trump’s renewed focus on the issue comes as Afghanistan continues to grapple with severe economic and humanitarian crises, exacerbated by international sanctions and a banking system in collapse. Diplomatic relations between Washington and Kabul remain limited, with US engagement largely confined to counterterrorism cooperation, humanitarian aid, and sporadic security dialogues none of which currently include the fate of the abandoned military equipment.

As the 2026 political season intensifies, the Afghanistan withdrawal is likely to remain a flashpoint, with Trump using the issue to contrast his vision of a “dignified” exit with what he portrays as Biden’s failed execution. Whether the US will take any concrete steps toward recovery, however, remains highly uncertain and, as Trump himself conceded, largely symbolic.

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