The Taliban earned $3.4 billion in revenue last year, a 14% increase, largely fueled by control of U.S.-supplied military equipment left behind after the Biden administration’s 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
According to a new report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), the Taliban now possesses $7.1 billion in U.S. weaponry, including 78 aircraft, 40,000 vehicles, and over 300,000 weapons.
Much of this arsenal has been transferred to terrorist groups or sold on the black market. Afghanistan has reemerged as a terrorist haven, now hosting over two dozen active terrorist organizations, including ISIS-K, TTP, and al-Qaeda offshoots. These groups use Afghan territory to train, plan attacks, and attract foreign fighters.
The Biden administration funneled nearly $4 billion in aid into Afghanistan even after the Taliban regained power, sparking widespread fraud, waste, and mismanagement, as documented by SIGAR. In contrast, the Trump administration halted almost all U.S. funding to Afghanistan, citing Taliban theft of millions in U.S. taxpayer dollars.