Taliban takes over U.S. war chest given to Afghan military
19 August 2021
The Taliban just gained a massive new war chest, complete with U.S.-made Humvees, planes, helicopters, night-vision goggles and drones, Reuters reports.
State of play: Video shows militants inspecting lines of vehicles and opening crates of new firearms, communications gear and even military drones. Some of the equipment was given by the U.S.
- U.S. officials aren't just worried about the Taliban using the weapons against civilians. They're also concerned the equipment could be seized by ISIS or handed over to China or Russia.
Details: The equipment includes over 2,000 armored vehicles, and up to 40 aircrafts, Reuters notes, citing an intelligence assessment.
The Biden administration is considering launching airstrikes against the larger equipment, officials told Reuters.
- Yes, but: They also fear that such a move could provoke the Taliban at a time where the U.S. is focusing on evacuating people from Afghanistan.
What they're saying: "Everything that hasn't been destroyed is the Taliban's now," one U.S. official told Reuters.
- "We have already seen Taliban fighters armed with U.S.-made weapons they seized from the Afghan forces. This poses a significant threat to the United States and our allies," Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Reuters.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.