Tom Paine 1949
Diamond Member
- Mar 15, 2020
- 5,407
- 4,512
- 1,938
Putin’s mad, bloody, now faltering invasion of Ukraine has understandably dominated world news headlines. That has allowed the media to ignore that many more innocents are dying in the Saudi War & blockade of Yemen ports and from the END OF WAR SANCTIONS the U.S. imposed on Afghanistan. Here is a report on the terrible situation in Afghanistan:
Biden’s Sanctions …
22.8 million Afghans – more than half the population – are facing acute food insecurity. Lift Biden administration's hold on billions of central bank reserves
When President Joe Biden decided to withdraw the U.S. military from Afghanistan last year, much of America's news media came down on him like a ton of bricks. Republicans piled on, calling the withdrawal an “unmitigated disaster.”
But getting out was the right move.
In fact, the real mistake was the opposite: The Biden administration did not end the war, but continued it by other means, which are turning out to be more violent and destabilizing. The economic sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies are causing widespread, severe hunger in this desperately poor country …
Unless those sanctions are soon reversed, it is estimated that more people will die from the economic impact of sanctions over the next year than the number who died in 20 years of war.
The most destructive economic sanction is the U.S. confiscation of more than $7 billion in international reserves belonging to Afghanistan’s central bank. The reserves are needed for essential imports such as food and medicine, but also for the central bank to play its normal role in maintaining a functioning financial system and economic stability….
As a result of all this economic disruption, including the loss of billions of dollars of aid, 22.8 million people – more than half the population – are facing acute food insecurity. They include a million children under 5 "at risk of dying due to severe acute malnutrition," according to UNICEF.
It is not clear why the Biden administration has imposed such devastating sanctions on Afghanistan. The sanctions do not seem to be directed at overthrowing the Taliban. Rather, it could be that the Biden administration, after its bad political experience with the military withdrawal, does not want to take the risk of appearing to be “soft” on the Taliban.
This is a political miscalculation as well as a moral one….
See also: https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/020922_Milibrand_Testimony3.pdf
Biden’s Sanctions …
22.8 million Afghans – more than half the population – are facing acute food insecurity. Lift Biden administration's hold on billions of central bank reserves
When President Joe Biden decided to withdraw the U.S. military from Afghanistan last year, much of America's news media came down on him like a ton of bricks. Republicans piled on, calling the withdrawal an “unmitigated disaster.”
But getting out was the right move.
In fact, the real mistake was the opposite: The Biden administration did not end the war, but continued it by other means, which are turning out to be more violent and destabilizing. The economic sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies are causing widespread, severe hunger in this desperately poor country …
Unless those sanctions are soon reversed, it is estimated that more people will die from the economic impact of sanctions over the next year than the number who died in 20 years of war.
The most destructive economic sanction is the U.S. confiscation of more than $7 billion in international reserves belonging to Afghanistan’s central bank. The reserves are needed for essential imports such as food and medicine, but also for the central bank to play its normal role in maintaining a functioning financial system and economic stability….
As a result of all this economic disruption, including the loss of billions of dollars of aid, 22.8 million people – more than half the population – are facing acute food insecurity. They include a million children under 5 "at risk of dying due to severe acute malnutrition," according to UNICEF.
It is not clear why the Biden administration has imposed such devastating sanctions on Afghanistan. The sanctions do not seem to be directed at overthrowing the Taliban. Rather, it could be that the Biden administration, after its bad political experience with the military withdrawal, does not want to take the risk of appearing to be “soft” on the Taliban.
This is a political miscalculation as well as a moral one….
Biden's sanctions on Afghanistan threaten to kill more civilians than two decades of war
Biden administration's hold on billions of Afghanistan's central bank reserves is punishing starving civilians and will come back to haunt America.
www.usatoday.com