The US government left behind millions of firearms in Afghanistan that they deem far too dangerous for their own civilians to possess. FFL dealers need to stand united and make their voices heard that further regulation of the US arms industry is hypocritical at best given what has just happened in Afghanistan.
Everything from helicopters and armored vehicles to missiles and M4 rifles were left behind in Afghanistan when the US pulled out of the country. Hundreds of millions of dollars of equipment that was initially intended to combat the Taliban are now being snagged faster and easier than a kid in a candy shop with free reign and no parents in sight.
Now, the likelihood of the Taliban having many (if any) qualified helicopter pilots is slim, so the tactical advantage they gain there is visual at best, but the vehicles and weapons are another story. Enough of the vehicles were left behind that they can afford to simply discard them if one encounters mechanical issues; or, they could engineer their own repairs as needed. They are nothing if not creative. Eventually, though, the vehicles, too, will go by the wayside.
But what of the weapons? Caches of arms and ammunition that would make Nicholas Cage’s character in Lord of War are just sitting there in Afghanistan, and the Taliban wasted no time at all in grabbing whatever they could carry. With no one and nothing to stop them, they’ll certainly be back for more.
Unfortunately, this is not a new occurrence.
A 2017 report from Conflict Armament Research found that ISIS had captured “significant quantities” of NATO weapons after looting depots in Iraq in 2014. These weapons included Russian- and Chinese-made firearms as well as US arms.
When US troops left Syria in 2019, a tactical airstrike was called in to destroy an abandoned ammo cache that remained in a former cement factory turned special operations base.
It’s possible that the US could call in similar airstrikes to take out some of the vehicles, firearms, and munitions that were left behind in Afghanistan. However, it’s likely to be a “too little too late” scenario as much of the material has already been absconded with by the Taliban.
Most interesting, however, is that untold scores of weapons that the US government deems too dangerous for American citizens to own have been left for our enemies to enjoy. There are plenty of items that even an FFL dealer with an SOT could never get their hands on in the states, let alone the types of things that would be made available if only they were registered NFA items.
Yes, weapons far more lethal in the eyes of the government than AR pistols with braces or bump stocks or Rarebreed triggers are now in the hands of the Taliban.
So where does this leave FFL dealers in the US?
It should be an eye-opener that every FFL dealer needs to speak out and make their voices heard when it comes to the government and the ATF attempting to further regulate the firearms industry. There has never been a better time to hold an FFL in the United States than right now; the firearms industry is hotter than ever before. Join the fight against more ATF regulations by joining FFL123 and getting your FFL today. Fight the good fight from within – and make some money while doing it. After all, there’s nothing more American than that.
