The Gun Trade's Shadow: Afghanistan's Unregulated Arms Manufacturing

Afghanistan has been flooded with billions of dollars worth of small arms since the 2001 terrorist attacks. The country has a rich history of gun manufacturing, particularly in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, which is known as the gun-making capital of the world. However, the local weapons industry in Pakistan has seen a sharp decline in the last three decades due to the influx of superior Russian weapons and an increase in international weapons being illegally imported into the country.

The US has lost track of millions of guns sent to Afghanistan

In all, the Pentagon provided more than 1.45 million firearms to various security forces in Afghanistan, including more than 978,000 assault rifles, 266,000 pistols, and almost 112,000 machine guns. These transfers formed a collage of firearms of mixed vintage and type: Kalashnikov assault rifles left over from the Cold War; recently manufactured NATO-standard M16s and M4s from American factories; machine guns of Russian and Western lineage; and sniper rifles, shotguns, and pistols of varied provenance and caliber.

The US gave a total of $18.6 billion of equipment to the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) from 2005 to 2021. Of that total, equipment worth $7.12 billion remained in Afghanistan after the US withdrawal was completed on August 30, 2021. This included aircraft, air-to-ground munitions, military vehicles, weapons, communications equipment, and other materials.

By the time the last US transport aircraft left Afghan airspace on August 30, 2021, 70% of US weapons given to the Afghan forces over the past 16 years were left in the country, as well as nearly $48 million worth of ammunition. In all, the US left behind more than $7 billion worth of weapons and equipment when it left Afghanistan last year, according to a congressional-mandated Defense Department report.

The US military failed to properly account for an additional 135,000 weapons it obtained for the Afghan forces from 21 other countries. The Defense Department spent roughly $120 million during that period to acquire a range of small arms and light weapons for the Afghan National Security Forces, including rifles, machine guns, and rocket-propelled grenade launchers.

The US has tried to get some of the money back. In April, the Pentagon told the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction that it had tried to get back money previously provided to the Afghan government to build up its military but had failed due to the collapse of the Afghan banking system.

The detritus is another hidden cost of the US and NATO military withdrawal that ended two decades of Western involvement in the war-torn country.

The Taliban has traded AK-47s for captured US rifles

The Taliban has traded their AK-47s for captured US rifles, specifically M4 carbines and M16 rifles. This is because the US guns are more accurate and have a greater range than the AK-47s. The captured rifles are also newer than the AK-47s, which may date back to the Afghan-Soviet War that ended in 1989.

The image of US-made weapons in the hands of the Taliban is a propaganda coup for the militants. The Taliban's capture of US weapons and equipment has transformed the group from an insurgent force into what resembles a modern military. In addition to rifles, the Taliban has also captured US-made helmets, night-vision goggles, body armour, camouflage uniforms, and a fleet of vehicles, including Humvees, UH-60 Black Hawk and scout attack helicopters, and ScanEagle military drones.

The US has provided billions of dollars' worth of weapons to the Afghan military, which have now fallen into the hands of the Taliban. This includes an estimated $28 billion worth of weaponry between 2002 and 2017. The Taliban's allies will likely have no trouble supplying parts for the captured US weapons.

The proliferation of small arms in Afghanistan fuels communal conflict and poses a threat to security and development

The proliferation of small arms in Afghanistan has been fuelled by the country's decades-long conflict, which has seen it become awash with weaponry. The abundant supply of arms has fuelled Afghanistan's cycle of violence and has also been a driver of conflict and criminality in surrounding regions.

The proliferation of small arms in Afghanistan has been fuelled by the country's decades-long conflict, which has seen it become awash with weaponry. The abundant supply of arms has fuelled Afghanistan's cycle of violence and has also been a driver of conflict and criminality in surrounding regions.

The proliferation of small arms in Afghanistan has been fuelled by the influx of weapons from foreign governments, small-scale manufacturers in the region, and the black market. The United States, in particular, has flooded the country with billions of dollars worth of small arms since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and has lost track of millions of them.

The proliferation of small arms in Afghanistan has also been fuelled by the country's gun culture, where guns are a sign of manhood and are fired into the air during celebrations. The collective memory of some 25 years of invasion, central government repression, and internecine conflict has also made Afghan men reluctant to relinquish their weapons, which serve as the principal guarantor of their property and physical security.

The proliferation of small arms in Afghanistan has been further fuelled by the country's poor economic situation, with serving in a militia being one of the few viable employment options for Afghan men.

The proliferation of small arms in Afghanistan has fuelled communal conflict and poses a threat to security and development. The ready availability of weapons has sustained the principal threats to Afghan security, including the persistent Taliban-led insurgency, warlordism, and the revitalised drug trade. Curbing and managing the supply of weapons would not only advance Afghan government efforts to assert a monopoly over the use of force but would also contain the threat posed by illicit weapons transfers to external non-state actors.

The US sent guns to Osama bin Laden in the 1980s

In the 1980s, the US government sent 25 high-powered sniper rifles to a group of Muslim fighters in Afghanistan that included Osama bin Laden. The rifles were made by Barrett Firearms Manufacturing Inc. of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and paid for by the US government. The rifles were shipped during the collaboration between the US and Muslims then fighting to drive the Soviet Union from Afghanistan.

The American-based agent for Al Qaeda, the terrorist network led by Osama bin Laden, shipped to Afghanistan 25 military-style rifles capable of shooting down helicopters, piercing armour or destroying fuel tanks from long distances. The American-made weapons were apparently used by Muslim militias trained by Mr bin Laden to fight Soviet troops in Afghanistan.

The US has lost 87,000 weapons in Afghanistan

The US has lost track of 87,000 weapons in Afghanistan, according to a government report released in 2008. The US has flooded Afghanistan with billions of dollars' worth of small arms since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and has lost track of millions of them.

The US gave a total of $18.6 billion of equipment to the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) from 2005 to 2021. Of that total, equipment worth $7.12 billion remained in Afghanistan after the US withdrawal was completed on August 30, 2021. This included aircraft, air-to-ground munitions, military vehicles, weapons, communications equipment, and other materials.

The US left behind 9,524 air-to-ground munitions, valued at $6.54 million, and more than 300,000 of the 427,300 weapons given to Afghan forces. Less than 1,537,000 of the "specialty munitions" and "common small arms ammunition," valued at a total of $48 million, are still in the country.

The Pentagon insists that it's unlikely the Taliban could use the American weapons left behind because they require specialized maintenance and technical support. However, officials are concerned that the Taliban could use the small arms, at least. There are more than 250,000 automatic rifles, 95 drones, and more than a million mortar rounds that require little training to use.

The news that the US left behind weapons in Afghanistan comes as the Taliban have been on a killing spree against perceived opponents of the regime and a spate of terrorist groups have made a resurgence. The Taliban have also cracked down on human rights in the war-torn country, recently moving to ensure girls don't go to school.

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