For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
(202) 643-1136
communications@blackallianceforpeace.com
APRIL 8, 2021—The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) demands the Biden-Harris administration adhere to the U.S.-Taliban peace agreement signed in February 2020 in Doha, Qatar, under which the United States committed, among other things, to withdraw U.S. and allied military forces, non-diplomatic civilian personnel, private contractors, and other advisors from Afghanistan by May 1, 2021.
As an African/Black-led internationalist organization with Principles of Unity such as the Right to Self-Defense and Self-Determination, BAP calls on organizations and individuals who oppose the U.S./EU/NATO Axis of Domination to participate in the International Day of Action on Afghanistan being held today to demand an end to the war in Afghanistan.
"This is part of BAP's effort to help revitalize the U.S. anti-imperialist movement, so it can become a force formidable enough to stop the U.S. war machine," said BAP National Organizer Ajamu Baraka.
As we approach the 20th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Afghanistan—and in outright defiance of the U.S.-Taliban peace agreement—President Joe Biden has stated he “can’t picture” the United States leaving Afghanistan anytime soon.
The blunt end of the war is not felt by the politicians in Washington spearheading it. Nor is it felt by the financial, political and foreign-policy elites of the Afghanistan Study Group, which has advocated for the continuation of this bloody war. Weapons companies (such as U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s former employer, Raytheon), and the investment banks and private equity firms that back them, continue to profit.
Rather, the pernicious effects of the war are felt by the Afghan people, especially the majority living in the countryside, where violence is expected to surge. People in neighboring countries also feel the impact as they are forced to mitigate the “spillover effects” of mass displacement as Afghans flee violence and destruction.
U.S.-led forever wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Pakistan and other countries across the world have led to millions of deaths, countless injuries and permanent disabilities, and millions of refugees and internally displaced people. Trillions of dollars of U.S. public funds have been spent to support these military operations that enrich the elites, while the poor and working masses in the United States and around the world continue to suffer.
That is why the Black Alliance for Peace calls on all justice-seeking people to join the International Day of Action on Afghanistan today. Social-media graphics and materials are available for download to help the public write letters to the editor and op-eds as well as organize teach-ins. Signatures also are requested for a petition.
#MayDayAfghanistan
U.S./NATO Out of Afghanistan!
Down with U.S. Imperialism!