As Americans grapple with the grim reality that at least 13 U.S. service members were killed by suicide bombers in Kabul — thanks to the outrageous decisions of Joe Biden — we must also realize that this is only the beginning of the carnage.

An estimated $83 billion was spent by the U.S. in providing both training and military equipment for the Afghan security forces between 2005 and Biden’s surrender and retreat in 2021. Following Biden’s headlong rush to pull out of Afghanistan, military equipment worth more than $7.1 billion — including Black Hawk helicopters, Humvees, and a plethora of weapons — that was left behind has been commandeered by the Taliban.

Biden’s debacle of a pullout not only stranded thousands of Americans and Afghan allies but also effectively armed the Taliban. And the numbers of arms are staggering. The New York Post reports, “The war chest also included the supply of least 600,000 infantry weapons — including M16 assault rifles — as well as 162,000 pieces of communication equipment and 16,000 night-vision goggles.”

The Hill notes that “from 2017 to 2019, the United States also gave Afghan forces 7,035 machine guns, 4,702 Humvees, 20,040 hand grenades, 2,520 bombs and 1,394 grenade launchers, among other equipment, according to a report last year from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).” This is all now in the hands of the Taliban.

The massive weapons cache taken by the Taliban is significant not simply for its military value but also the psychological messaging, a point the Taliban sought to drive home with a photo of Taliban fighters dressed in U.S. military fatigues planting a Taliban flag, mocking the iconic photo of U.S. Marines raising the American flag on Iwo Jima.

This is the Taliban saying it not only defeated the U.S. but has also humiliated America by looting us on the way out.

Biden has now effectively armed the Taliban for decades to come. Rather than protecting Americans and U.S. interests, Biden has aided terrorists and made the world a more dangerous place for Americans and our allies. Sadly, that reality has been brought home almost immediately with the bombing attack in Kabul that took the lives of at least 13 U.S. Armed Forces Patriots.