In Afghanistan, the Biden administration continues to use sanctions as political leverage against the Taliban, compounding nation-wide and regional instability, and making food and fuel much costlier for tens of millions of Afghans. As a result, the United Nations estimates 97 percent of Afghans could be living below the poverty line by the middle of this year.
The Black Alliance for Peace Solidarity Network’s Afghanistan Committee continues its efforts to raise the public’s awareness on the role the United States and its coalition partners continue to play, despite mostly evacuating the country in September.
The United States continues to support what the UN has called a “downward humanitarian spiral” in the country by:
Refusing to return $7 billion in Afghan funds, preventing the country from resolving its crises and meeting the needs of the Afghan people.
Leveraging sanctions and using aid as a political tool to destroy the Afghan economy, forcing tens of millions of Afghans into dependence on Western “humanitarian” funding for their well-being.
Decades of interference and occupation, which led to reactionary violence, both inside and outside the country, thus paving the way to recent deadly confrontations with regional neighbors Pakistan and Iran.
If the ruling class in the United States continues down this road, more Afghans will die over the next year than the number who died amid two decades of U.S. military occupation. Washington’s hegemonic grip over Afghanistan has been the status-quo for decades, but it may be faltering in the face of constructive diplomatic actions China and Russia have taken.
ADDITIONAL READING
Starving a People, Committing a Genocide: Biden’s Sanctions on Afghanistan
March 18, 2022, by Eve Ottenberg for CounterPunch
The billions in stolen assets from Afghanistan by the United States is a crime against humanity that condemns possibly millions of Afghans to starvation.
Afghanistan's Per Capita Income Dropped By More Than a Third in 2021
April 14, 2022, by News Desk for The Cradle
U.S. sanctions have exacerbated the crisis in Afghanistan, with over 13,000 newborn babies dying since January as a result of the health sector's collapse.
The Consequences of Closing Girls’ Schools
March 30, 2022, by Abdulhakim Allahdad for the Afghan Eye
Why the closure of girls’ schools in Afghanistan will continue to affect two important areas within the country: social unrest and security.
China Condemns ‘Racist’ Western Hypocrisy Over Ukraine
April 1, 2022, by Benjamin Norton for Multipolarista
China’s Foreign Ministry said the “US, NATO and some Western media are very hypocritical” over Ukraine, that their “reports smack of racism,” and are not “equally concerned about the civilian casualties in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Palestine.”
An Economy in Crisis: Q&A with Afghanistan’s Former Finance Minister
March 21, 2022, by Adam Weinstein for Responsible Statecraft
Quincy Institute research fellow Adam Weinstein asked Khalid Payenda, Afghanistan’s former finance minister, about the causes and solutions to Afghanistan’s economic woes.
Timeline for Demonstrating U.S. Responsibility for Chaos in Afghanistan
September 7, 2021, by Solidarity Network’s Afghanistan Committee for BAP
As the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan worsens, it’s important to remember how U.S. policies and actions wreaked havoc across the country during the Biden administration's deadly withdrawal.
Banner photo: Displaced Afghans reach out for aid at a camp in Kabul on Tuesday. (© Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)