[Softball Fan]

Honest question - How concerned should we be with some of this weapons tech flowing out of Ukrainian hands and into the hands of some of the world's less savory actors?   The potential for some of this tech to be used in terrorism scenarios is chilling.  (SAMs against commercial airliners, anti-ship missiles used against US warships approaching "safe" harbors in San Diego, Seattle, Norfolk, etc).

Not at all saying we shouldn't do this but I am wondering what safeguards ensure these systems don't appear on a post-war black market.

That’s a good point and should be part of NATO calculations.  I don’t know what weapons and technology are in Ukraine right now.  I suspect it will be ramped up as the war drags on.

The best and most recent comparison is the exit from Afghanistan leaving the Taliban in charge.  The United States left aircraft including UH-60 Black Hawks, scout attack helicopters, and ScanEagle military drones.  Also 2,000 armored vehicles, a variety of intelligence gathering drones, state-of-the-art night-vision goggles, and a wide array of communication gear.  Because the supplies to the Afghans was not closely monitored and inventoried there is undoubtedly a bunch more equipment in the hands of the Taliban.

Hopefully the Pentagon learned from this and takes some preventative measures with the possibility looming the Russians, while stumbling now, could eventually take over a large portion of Ukraine and get the spoils of war.   Also there are contract soldiers involved who probably wouldn't shy away from the idea of making a profit off of captured equipment.

Is it possible U.S. intelligence could fail as badly as in the final stages of the Afghan war?  IMO it’s not likely with so much social media and news organizations embedded in Ukraine.

Edit: Corrected spelling of goggles. Should have spell checked.

[Softball Fan]

Honest question - How concerned should we be with some of this weapons tech flowing out of Ukrainian hands and into the hands of some of the world's less savory actors?   The potential for some of this tech to be used in terrorism scenarios is chilling.  (SAMs against commercial airliners, anti-ship missiles used against US warships approaching "safe" harbors in San Diego, Seattle, Norfolk, etc).

Not at all saying we shouldn't do this but I am wondering what safeguards ensure these systems don't appear on a post-war black market.

That’s a good point and should be part of NATO calculations.  I don’t know what weapons and technology are in Ukraine right now.  I suspect it will be ramped up as the war drags on.

The best and most recent comparison is the exit from Afghanistan leaving the Taliban in charge.  The United States left aircraft including UH-60 Black Hawks, scout attack helicopters, and ScanEagle military drones.  Also 2,000 armored vehicles, a variety of intelligence gathering drones, state-of-the-art night-vision goggles, and a wide array of communication gear.  Because the supplies to the Afghans was not closely monitored and inventoried there is undoubtedly a bunch more equipment in the hands of the Taliban.

Hopefully the Pentagon learned from this and takes some preventative measures with the possibility looming the Russians, while stumbling now, could eventually take over a large portion of Ukraine and get the spoils of war.   Also there are contract soldiers involved who probably wouldn't shy away from the idea of making a profit off of captured equipment.

Is it possible U.S. intelligence could fail as badly as in the final stages of the Afghan war?  IMO it’s not likely with so much social media and news organizations embedded in Ukraine.

Edit: Corrected spelling of goggles. Should have spell checked.