As Taliban takes over, some swap iconic
AK-47s for made-in-America rifles
Reuters,
by
Tim Kelly
Original Article
Posted By: NorthernDog,
8/18/2021 8:50:26 AM
TOKYO - The Russian Kalashnikov AK-47 and its derivatives have long been the assault rifle of choice for militant groups because of their rugged design, but some Taliban fighters are trading them in for captured U.S. guns as Afghanistan's government collapses.
Video and pictures published by the Taliban on Twitter and elsewhere show fighters carrying M4 carbines and M16 rifles discarded by Afghan army units. Other images show Taliban forces capturing abandoned government vehicles. The U.S. guns are more accurate and have greater range than the their AK-47s, but on their own may not deliver much added capability on the battlefield.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Jethro bo 8/18/2021 8:58:19 AM (No. 883587)
And to think, Democrats want to ban these guns in America but gives 'em away for free to the Taliban. Liberal logic is illogical.
19 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
Ribicon 8/18/2021 9:07:02 AM (No. 883602)
Complete with 3-round burst fire (and some with full automatic?), so these are better than what's available to US civilians. All could have been destroyed easily before departure, but USA likes arming bad people, as we did with Fast and Furious.
13 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
Ribicon 8/18/2021 9:07:02 AM (No. 883603)
Complete with 3-round burst fire (and some with full automatic?), so these are better than what's available to US civilians. All could have been destroyed easily before departure, but USA likes arming bad people, as we did with Fast and Furious.
5 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Bassman1911 8/18/2021 9:43:35 AM (No. 883657)
“They’ve done rather well with what they have.” I’ll say!! They defeated the most powerful military in the world with small arms and rocket launchers. Humiliating.
11 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
mifla 8/18/2021 9:54:43 AM (No. 883671)
China and Russia are looking at each other with the same thought. "How did these clowns become a superpower?"
13 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
petrichor 8/18/2021 10:09:26 AM (No. 883700)
They realize that the M4 is lighter and just more fun!
5 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
red1066 8/18/2021 10:15:28 AM (No. 883705)
I wonder if the Taliban will have trouble finding ammo for those M-16's. Probably not. There's plenty of 5.56 ammo there for free. It's only in the U.S. where ammo is in short supply at high prices. That is if you can find it.
9 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
bighambone 8/18/2021 10:28:51 AM (No. 883717)
Biden should give a speech to the Taliban telling them that it looks like Afghanistan needs gun control laws and that he is ready to send them $500 million dollars to get started.
5 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Vaquero45 8/18/2021 10:32:36 AM (No. 883721)
Our stuff was always more accurate than theirs. For years the joke was that, if someone is shooting at you with an AK-47, they probably won’t hit you if you just stand still. Early M16’s had problems, but it was mostly due to the ammunition; all that was solved years ago. I think the Taliban is having their pictures taken with M16’s now because they’re shiny and new; their old AK’s look like hell.
3 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Rumblehog 8/18/2021 10:37:36 AM (No. 883725)
It was the Obama-Jarrett plan all along... fund/arm radical Islamists in the Middle East. Biden has now completed the action with the Taliban, who will then make deals with Hezbollah, Muslim Brotherhood, etc. and the terrorists will now become a significant armed force comprised of an Army and an Air Force. (What could possibly go wrong?)
Nice foreign policy strategy, Demonrats. s/o
4 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
Geoman 8/18/2021 10:40:59 AM (No. 883728)
Perhaps the Taliban made the switch from AKs (7.61 x 39mm) to M4s (5.56 x 45mm NATO) because the U.S. graciously provided hundreds of thousands of rounds of 5.56 to be used in their thousands of shiny, new M4s. Biden has essentially re-armed the Taliban.
10 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
RuckusTom 8/18/2021 11:27:14 AM (No. 883770)
A few thermite grenades could have taken of this. But noooooooo.
8 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
DVC 8/18/2021 11:59:15 AM (No. 883805)
Those handed over to these vicious thugs are REAL assault rifles....where you can flip the selector to full auto and get a real machine gun, it shoots continuously as long as the trigger is pulled and magazine isn't empty. The ones that the Demonrats are so freaked out about us Americans owning here do NOT have the capability to fire more than one shot for each trigger pull, just like a revolver from 100 years ago.
And frankly, having fired both types, the AK is a relatively crude machine, and quite heavy compared to the M16 and M4 variant (shorter barrel). I can see why, if the choice was available, a trade up to the US design would be made.
6 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
ussjimmycarter 8/20/2021 3:23:37 PM (No. 886464)
Almost all real shooters will take the 5.56! It’s lighter so more can be carried! It’s very accurate at long range! Recoil is virtually non existent due to construction of the American platform (buffer tubes, etc.). Plus they get the fun auto stuff that we can’t get!
0 people like this.
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