US Looking for Buyers for Old Military Equipment

The United States is looking for buyers for billions of dollars worth of military equipment, including mine resistant vehicles, as it prepares to leave Afghanistan after over a decade of war. According to the Associated Press, efforts in finding a buyer have been complicated by tension between neighboring countries.

As the AP reports, the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan released a statement saying that Islamabad is interested in buying U.S. equipment. The statement also added that Pakistan’s request is being reviewed, however, any old military equipment would not come from Afghanistan.

Mark Wright, Department of Defense spokesman, told the AP that the U.S. wants to sell equipment to “nearby countries” rather than expensively shipping them back to the United States.

According to the AP, 800 MRAPs, or Mine Resistant Ambush Protected armored vehicles, are for sale. Selling them would save the U.S. $500 million and hundreds of millions in revenues.

Afghanistan, however, wants all remaining equipment to stay in Afghanistan.

“We are strongly opposed to any deal in this regard without consultation with Afghanistan and we have clearly conveyed this to the U.S,” Karzai’s spokesman Aimal Faizi told the AP. “It is in contradiction to the cooperative norms between strategic partners, Afghanistan and the U.S.”