Trump seeks return of US military equipment from Afghan Taliban 

FILE - UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters fly during a military parade to mark the third anniversary of the withdrawal of U.S.-led troops from Afghanistan, in Bagram Air Base in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan, Aug. 14, 2024.

President-elect Donald Trump says that future financial assistance to Afghanistan will be contingent upon the return of U.S. military equipment by the Taliban leaders currently in power. Trump’s remarks at a Sunday rally in Washington on the eve of his January 20 inauguration have heightened uncertainty regarding his administration’s stance on the crisis-hit South Asian nation. “They [Biden administration] gave billions of billions of dollars to the Taliban. They gave our military equipment, a big chunk of it, to the enemy,” Trump said. He referred to the tumultuous and hasty withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in August 2021, ordered by President Joe Biden. “If we’re going to pay billions of dollars a year, tell them we’re not going to give them the money unless they give back our military equipment. ... So, we will give them a couple of bucks; we want the military equipment back,” Trump stated without elaborating.