PEOPLE BETWEEN WORLDS

AMERICA MUST STOP KILLING AFGHAN CIVILIANS

There was some hope for Afghanistan after the United States left a half decade ago. There was hope that cooler heads would prevail at the negotiating table, that the Americans, who had subjected the people of Afghanistan to countless unspeakable horrors, may finally allow the underdeveloped nation to grow and develop a better future for its citizens.

That hope died the United States imposed life-threatening sanctions on Afghanistan. It died when American President at the time Joe Biden signed an executive order to seize seven billion dollars from Afghanistan’s central bank – denying Afghans the funds to rebuild their country after decades of warfare.

It is estimated that around 200,000 Afghans were killed in America’s war in Afghanistan. But the “indirect” death toll is likely much higher. Possibly hundreds of thousands have died during the US-Afghan war due to disease, food insecurity, and other consequences of waging a 20-year war in the region.

As if the Afghan people have not suffered enough, the United States has continued to punish Afghanistan with extremely restrictive sanctions that have significantly contributed to one of the worst hunger crises facing the planet right now. Along with the US cutting humanitarian aid to Afghanistan by a substantial amount, these sanctions have caused over ten million Afghans, which is a quarter of the country’s population, to face acute food insecurity. The death toll caused by these sanctions could be in the hundreds of thousands or even millions.

We in no way support the Taliban. Nevertheless, the Taliban are the government of Afghanistan right now. What right does the United States have in denying the Afghan people their own money? Seven billion dollars could go a long way in aiding the hunger crisis facing the country. Disease is running rampant throughout the country. No amount of philanthropy can replace the Afghan Health Ministry. Continuing to sanction Afghanistan does not help the Afghan people. Yes, the Taliban are brutal and discriminatory towards women. How does forcing every Afghan woman to starve contribute to their liberation? Half a decade of policy confrontation by the United States has done nothing to change the Taliban’s policies towards women.

It is the position of People Between Worlds that the sanctions against Afghanistan must be lifted, that the billions of dollars seized must be given back, and that the proper amount of humanitarian aid must be sent to Afghanistan to combat the existential threat the famine has on the lives of the Afghan people. After subjecting Afghanistan to twenty years of imperial terror, it is the very least the United States can do.

News Articles

Afghanistan has its ‘sharpest surge’ ever of child malnutrition, UN agency says – AP News

Why is the White House stealing $7bn from Afghans? – The Guardian

Costs of the 20-year war on terror: $8 trillion and 900,000 deaths – Brown University News