The U.S. left the Taliban better supplied with weapons than it was in 2001

Reason's Eric Boehm writes, "When a group of Taliban fighters stormed the hastily abandoned presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, earlier this week, they carried a powerful symbol of the changing times: American-issued M16 and M4 rifles."

"It's not just a propaganda coup," Boehm continued. "As the Taliban swept into full control of Afghanistan this week, they also claimed a cornucopia of military gear, equipment, and weapons that had been supplied to the Afghan government by the United States. There's no way to determine how much American military gear has ended up in the hands of Taliban fighters, but the 'current intelligence assessment was that the Taliban are believed to control more than 2,000 armored vehicles, including U.S. Humvees, and up to 40 aircraft potentially including UH-60 Black Hawks, scout attack helicopters, and ScanEagle military drones,' Reuters reported on Thursday, citing an unnamed U.S. official."

Boehm added, "The aircraft and drones are probably useless without training and support staff. But the Humvees and small arms are exactly the sorts of things that a new regime could use to impose its will on the people of Afghanistan."

"After nearly 20 years of fighting, the Taliban that America is leaving behind is almost certainly better-supplied than it was when the U.S. military invaded in October 2001," Boehm noted.

Read the entire column here.