Bill seeks asset accountability for abandoned military equipment

Mississippi U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) has co-sponsored legislation to require the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to report any time U.S. military equipment ditched in Afghanistan, Iraq or Syria is used in terrorist attacks against Americans and allies—or otherwise used for nefarious purposes in the region.

The legislation (S.3652) addresses the need for accountability for the valuable U.S. military aircraft, armored vehicles, and other equipment that the military was unable to destroy during the rushed withdrawal from Afghanistan ordered by President Biden in August 2021.

“Our nation continues to pay in more ways than one for the bungled U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan last summer,” Hyde-Smith said.  “The arbitrary and rushed withdrawal ordered by President Biden forced our military to abandon millions of dollars in assets to the Taliban and other bad actors.  This legislation would require the Director of National Intelligence to provide Congress an accounting of the use of this abandoned equipment and how it is being turned against us and our interests.”

The bill, introduced by Senator John Thune (R-S.D.), would require the DNI to provide Congress with reports detailing equipment used in the attack, the date when and location where said equipment left U.S. custody, attribution for the orchestrators of the attack, and the total number of resulting deaths and casualties. 

U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) also cosponsored the measure.

A copy of the legislation is available here.