The US handed over the Camp Kearney base in Paktika Province to the
Afghan government in 2014, with an estimated $8 billion in equipment
still inside. Today, the estimation is that about $1 billion worth of
equipment is left.
So what happened between then and now that cost the site about $7
billion? Mass looting. The provincial governor says that former
governors, local mayors, MPs, and commanders have all had a go at the
site, and everyone has been entering the base and taking anything that isn’t nailed down.
Though he didn’t name names, pretty much everything was considered fair
game, with military equipment stripped, vehicles stolen and sold off,
and even locked containers full of weapons broken open and looted.
While the looting apparently was not legal or authorized, it’s not at
all clear the government intends to do anything about it either. Despite
having a fairly good idea that the looting was mostly done by officials
in positions to get access, it’s not clear how much is left or who has
it.
$7 Billion in Equipment Looted From Former US Base in Afghanistan
Governor says officials systematically looted site for years
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
Join the Discussion!
We welcome thoughtful and respectful comments. Hateful language, illegal content, or attacks against Antiwar.com will be removed.
For more details, please see our Comment Policy.
