Even the Taliban are shit-scared about what is going to happen, and are willing to allow aid across the borders without let or hindrance. They will allow foreign aid distributors in for as long as it takes as far as I can tell. There are 30,000,000 lives at risk and it will be the children who perish first.
Come on, have a heart. Jon Simpson - the seasoned war veteran - was in tears this morning, because he and the Afghans both know what is just about to happen.
Well said Tom. A letter from you to The Times would do no harm.
ReplyDeleteI join in Weaver's pledge.
ReplyDeleteWell said, we must all nag again that something is done immediately.
ReplyDeleteThis is bitterness and hatred from the US which was foreseen and happening immediately the withdrawal took place back in August and I wrote about it. It beggars belief that this is the new world and the oh so clever people of the west. They stink.
ReplyDeleteHere is the one thing that you are missing...very little of the humanitarian aid that goes to Afghanistan trickles down to the people who need it. The biggest predator in Afghanistan is the chiefs and people running the show there. This one is not up for debate. The world has given a great deal of money to rebuild and address the heart breaking problems there. Trillions. The problems are not addressed.
ReplyDeleteEverything is up for debate. The aid money you mention went to the corrupt government which is now gone. We are (or are not) dealing with the Taliban thanks to Joe Biden’s chaotic retreat. Everything has changed. Drastic and immediate action is required.
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DeleteSorry I put my reply in the wrong place. I thought this reply was to my comment then I Scrolled up and found it wasn't.
DeleteIt is not debatable. There are multiple areas of afghanistan controlled by multiple warlords. The government 'buys' their cooperation. This money is exchanged between the people in power and most of it finds its way into the arms trades. Name a rebuild project that has benefited the people of afghanistan. Am I against aid to Afghanistan? Indeed I am not. Food. Warm clothing. Medication. Like the neighborhood drunk, it does no good to give them money. The power hungry warlords will simply use it to feed their addiction. The chaos of the pull out? Trump orchestrated it. Biden followed the plan. I think he was right. The chaos of the departure was in large part due to the collapse and withdrawal of the Afghan govt. We can try to learn here or we can blame.
ReplyDeleteSo what would you do?
DeleteI mean to stop 20,000,000 people starving?
DeleteI covered that. The numbers are staggering. It is heart breaking. But throwing money atthe situation will not help the people Afghanistan. Send goods. The world finds it easy to join forces to make a war. How about we join forces to aid people.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree. I think that talks are already underway to coordinate an international effort which includes the E.U. Britain and the U.S. This aid may be slowed down by the West's demand for certain provisos which include the Taliban agreeing to allow education for older girls. It is quite a reasonable request, but will undoubtably be challenged by some of the fanatical warlords who the Taliban depend on to stay in power. If the food aid is successful this Winter, the West will have to invest more resources into the infrastructure to re-start food production and enable all the women who depend on weaving carpets etc. to feed their families to continue to work. Previously the warlords in the mountains have (domestically) relied on opium production to feed the world's heroin addictions, and this has served two purposes for them - income, and the undermining of the West through the introduction of addictive drugs as a weapon against them. Obviously unsustainable with any government who want to be taken seriously in the long term. There is a lot at stake.
DeleteLest you think that I am absolving my government of guilt in this, let me assure you that I am not. We were there for the purpose of exploiting the wealth of Afghanistan. They are sitting on a wealth of minerals. What we have here is an opportunity to atone for that. Another thing that bugs the heck out of me is the fact that China has rushed right in. They are there for the purpose of exploitation. How about this? We allow Afghanistan take control of their wealth by providing them with the equipment necessary to begin operations. It would provide jobs to the men in the area. It would give them a marketable export and a chance to expand the mining operations, providing more jobs, giving the populace a way out of abject poverty. It also removes China from the picture. Would it work? I would like to think that it would, but there is also the fact that historically Afghanistan's government (no matter what group they belong to) tends to feed into the corruption. But at least if we did these things, it would shine a light on the failings of their government instead of making us the scapegoat to bear the burden of it all. It was a joint failing. We tried for 20 years. It simply was not working. The government was bringing the Taliban into government positions well before we left.
DeletePS, I'm glad that we found our way to an agreement of sorts. It bothered me a lot. I don't blog (or comment) for the sake of arguing with folks. Everyone wants to help, but throwing money at the problem would not benefit the people. I think we are all in agreement that the people are the ones in need, not the leaders and the warlords.
DeleteI think we agree on almost all of it (possibly with the exception of Biden's method of implementing Trump's ambition for withdrawal), including the futility of the wasted years spent in occupying Afghanistan (many countries have made the same, arrogant mistake) and the investment in the infrastructure of Afghanistan without feeding the corruption of whatever administration is in place, but that leaves the pressing problem which this post was all about - how do you save 20 million people from starving to death in the next couple of months?
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