25 years after Sept. 11 attacks, Taliban rules Afghanistan again, but now with $7 billion in U.S. firepower

September 7, 2026 / 8:54 AM EDT / CBS News

Kabul — As Americans reflect this week on the 25 years that have passed since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, CBS News has returned to Afghanistan, where the war those attacks triggered ended five years ago with the Taliban's stunning return to power.

When the last U.S. and allied soldiers left after a brutal two-decade war, the Taliban's fighters seized billions of dollars worth of American-purchased military hardware. President Trump, whose first administration negotiated the deal to end the war with the Taliban, has accused the Biden administration of "totally botching" the withdrawal.

Five years later, the hardware of America's longest-ever war is still easy to spot on the streets of Kabul. Taliban fighters patrol in armored vehicles once supplied to Afghan forces, wearing American tactical gear and carrying American weapons.

CBS News saw one Humvee in the Afghan capital still adorned with a faded Green Bay Packers decal — a remnant from its past operators.

President Trump has been fiercely critical of the former Biden administration, accusing his predecessor of allowing the U.S. military to abandon billions of dollars in military hardware. Mr. Trump has demanded that…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/