By Todd Prince
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has again said he would get Ukraine and Russia to stop fighting while also saying he would demand that the Taliban return billions of dollars of U.S. military equipment left behind in Afghanistan in 2021.
“I will end the war in Ukraine, I will stop the chaos in the Middle East, and I will prevent World War III from happening,” Trump told a packed crowd at the Capital One Arena in Washington on January 19, a day before his inauguration, without giving details.
Analysts say it will be difficult to end the war in Ukraine in the near term because Russian President Vladimir Putin believes he is winning and has no incentive to stop the fighting.
Trump’s rally, his first in the city since January 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed the Capitol, featured a rundown of items he has claimed he would achieve during the next four years at home and abroad, including strengthening the military.
Trump will be sworn in as the 47th president on January 20. The ceremony will be held inside the Capitol for the first time in 40 years due to freezing temperatures.
During his speech, Trump claimed the United States has been giving the Taliban in Afghanistan “billions of dollars a year” and that he will end that unless the extremist group gives back billions in U.S. equipment.
“And I say, if we’re going to pay billions of dollars a year, tell them we’re not going to give them the money unless they give back our military equipment,” Trump said.
The United States left about $7 billion in military equipment in Afghanistan when it chaotically pulled out in August 2021 as the Taliban retook control of the capital, Kabul.
The Taliban takeover has led to a downward economic spiral with more than half of the country’s population of some 42 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, such as food, according to USAID, the U.S. development arm.
The United States has given more than $2.1 billion in humanitarian funding to Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover, according to USAID.
Since taking power, the Taliban has been condemned by Western leaders, international organizations, and activists for brutal human rights violations, especially against women and girls.
Note: This article has been amended to provide a more accurate estimate of the size of Afghanistan’s population.
source : rferl