By Zamir Awan for The Saker Blog
The US, along with its 46 Allies and additional 11 nationals supporting the war on terror, 150,000 well-trained, well-equipped, most sophisticated and lethal weapons, hi-tech and advanced military techniques, two trillion dollars, and two decades, altogether destroyed Afghanistan. The explosives drooped in Afghanistan is much more than the compiled explosive used in World war I & II, yet not satisfied, and before leaving damaged all air crafts, runways, airport security systems, etc. The US has seized the Afghan Bank’s assets, and pressurizing the Taliban through IMF, World Bank, Paris Club, and other International Institutions, and stopping other countries to help the Taliban.
War-torn Afghanistan, one of the poorest nations on earth, total damaged infrastructure, no agriculture, no industry, no electricity, severe shortage of food, and medicines, no hospitals, no schools, yet, the US is not satisfied and coercing Taliban.
After fighting for twenty years in Afghanistan, yet planning to continue the war in Afghanistan in a different manner, supporting ISIS-K, and using lame excuses wanted to continue bombing Afghanistan. In a recent attempt, civilians and innocent children were killed in a drone attack, yet, the US is not satisfied.
The US is making a different kind of war against the Taliban, and harming them seriously. And yet not alone, but lobbying among allies to join him is a war against the Taliban. Whereas the US is facing severe challenges at home and the civil war-like situation is emerging, the economy is collapsing, the leadership role is challenged, morals have bankrupt. Social structure has deteriorated, values have gone, credibility and reputation are affected, yet the US is over-engaged in harming the Taliban.
Taliban are sincere with their commitments and following all agreed terms religiously, which they reached with theUS in Doha. But it is the US that is deviating from agreed terms and turning hostile toward the Taliban.
Since the Doha agreement, a year and a half ago, it was already recognized that the Afghan Republic was not intended to last, Americans wrote in black and white that the Taliban would take power. In the Doha agreement, it is specified that the Americans will release 5,000 Taliban detainees, in order to let them join the Taliban.
The Americans also pledged to lift all sanctions against the Taliban regime in order to allow it to grow and settle without being in an economic catastrophe. The Doha agreement ends with this statement which says: “The USA and the Taliban will seek positive relations with each other”.
The Taliban simply applied the terms of the Doha Agreement, created by the US, which the armed forces of the Republic of Afghanistan simply deserted and joined the Taliban.
This Doha agreement, led by the US and backed by a majority in the UN, has been negotiating with the Taliban movement in Afghanistan, and not with the Afghan Republic government. Because The Afghan Government was corrupt and puppets only, and not trustworthy.
As a matter of fact, the Taliban, after suffering for so long, has learned bitter lessons, and reform themselves. Now they are refined and improved a lot. Basically, Taliban leadership is well educated and equipped with all sorts of modern knowledge in addition to religious knowledge. They are gentle, kind, and smart people. They recaptured Kabul without any bloodshed and any violence. The take over of Capital Kabul was so smooth that the transition of presidents in Washington can not match it.
In fact, the Taliban are true representatives of Afghanistan, The US took power from them and returned back to them. They fought for the Afghan cause, the protected Afghan interests, and liberated from foreign occupation. The People of Afghanistan (majority) likes them and support them. The public is happy with the Taliban and welcomed them. There was no resistance from the general public. There might be few foreign agents, traitors, or working for the CIA, might be different, but the vast majority are happy and satisfied with Taliban rule. Taliban has ensured the safety and protection of everyone.
Despite the unholy media spent two decades spreading fake news, fabricated stories, and distorting the Taliban’s image, but, the world has witnessed a completely different Taliban. Their behavior was much gentle, kind, mature, and smart. All propaganda failed totally.
Taliban has granted general amnesty to everyone, irrespective of ethnicity, race, religion, either Afghan nationals or Foreigners. No one was arrested, investigated, harmed, harassed, or interrogated. Anyone who wanted to leave Afghanistan was allowed without any discrimination. However, the US troops open fires and killed dozens at the airport.
While the Taliban are in the process of forming a formal Government and announcing key personnel and their portfolios, they are very much careful and monitoring the world reaction. They are very smart and understand the sensitivity. They are also engaged in promoting diplomacy with many countries. It is expected, they will gain the attention of the international community, once they declare a formal government. Russia and China will recognize their rule immediately. And many countries under the influence of Russia or China will follow them. There are many countries from Africa, Middle East, and Europe, who are ready to establish formal relations with Taliban rule. Iran, Turkey, and Pakistan may recognize the Taliban rule before any other nation in the world.
The US informally accepts the Taliban as the legitimate owner of Afghanistan, as they took power from the Taliban and also lost the war against the Taliban. The US accepts them as the legitimate representative of Afghanistan, and negotiated peace deals with them directly, instead of the Afghan Government of Ashraf Ghani or Hamid Karzai. The US keeps contact with the Taliban after evacuation from Afghanistan, but formal recognition may require some time. In fact, it is the height of hypocrisy, they recognizing informally, but refusing publically.
Taliban are not terrorists, they are freedom fighters and have fought a long war against foreign occupation. The US is an invader and aggressor. Taliban should be removed from the UN list of terrorist organizations.
The US is coercing the Taliban economically. The situation on the ground is deteriorating immensely and requires immediate attention. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned of a looming “humanitarian catastrophe” in Afghanistan, calling on member states to contribute aid to support Afghan people in “their darkest hour of need.” “One in three Afghans do not know where their next meal will come from,” he said. “More than half of all children under five are expected to become acutely malnourished in the next year. People are losing access to basic goods and services every day.”
“Now more than ever”, Guterres said, “Afghan children, women, and men need the support and solidarity of the international community”. Afghanistan was coping with a severe drought, and its citizens would have to face harsh winter conditions, underlining the need for supplies to be urgently sent to the country, the UN chief said.
Given this precarious outlook, Guterres called on all parties to facilitate safe and unimpeded humanitarian access for life-saving and life-sustaining supplies, supplies, as well as for all humanitarian workers, pointedly noting that this meant both men and women working in the field.
“I urge all Member States to dig deep for the people of Afghanistan in their darkest hour of need,” he continued. “I urge them to provide timely, flexible, and comprehensive funding. I urge them to help ensure humanitarian workers have the funding, access, and legal safeguards they need to stay and deliver.”
Meanwhile, spokesperson Jens Laerke from the UN humanitarian affairs office (OCHA) on Tuesday said operations were continuing, and that the UN had already helped eight million people this year alone. But he warned that the US $ 1.3 billion funding requirement had not been met and that there was a lack of supplies in the now Taliban-controlled nation.
The World Health Organization (WHO) also warned that despite Monday’s delivery of 12.5 metric tonnes of medical supplies by a flight of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) would cover the basic health needs of more than 200,000 people, but was still “not enough”.
WHO spokesperson Dr. Margaret Harris said although the UN health agency was planning two more supply flights this week, it wanted “continual flights” to restore basic services.
She warned that before the Taliban takeover, some 12.2 million people were already projected to experience food insecurity and malnutrition; getting supplies into Afghanistan was “absolutely critical”, she said.
Around 3.5 million people were displaced within the county and many of those wishing to cross into countries such as Pakistan or Iran might not have the documents they need, said UNHCR spokesperson, Andrej Mahecic, who stated that while many of those crossing into Pakistan had not “expressed a clear intention to seek asylum” to border monitors, they “nevertheless have international protection needs” and “may not be able to cross without passports and visa documentation”.
It is time to talk about war crimes and war compensation. All criminals should be punished severely and Afghanistan should be compensated for suffering. All funds should be used for the reconstruction of the country and the welfare of the people.
It is appealed to all peace-loving nations and individuals to raise voice to rescue human lives in Afghanistan. War-torn Afghans are not the people of lesser God, they deserve your attention. It is time to prove your respect and care for humanity.
Author: Prof. Engr. Zamir Ahmed Awan, Sinologist (ex-Diplomat), Editor, Analyst, Non-Resident Fellow of CCG (Center for China and Globalization), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan. (E-mail: awanzamir@yahoo.com).
It took over twenty years for the USA to establish relations with Vietnam after the war ended. Despite the lifting of the 19-year-old trade embargo in 1994, high tariffs remained on Vietnamese exports pending the country’s qualification as a “most favored nation,” a U.S. trade status designation that Vietnam might earn after broadening its program of so-called “free-market reforms.” You have to ask yourself, who actually won that war? We killed over 2 million Vietnamese and now they make my underwear. Go figure…
Nothing about the war in Afghanistan was above board, from the phony pretext for invading in the first place, to the duplicitous way we left. Thousands of CIA operatives remain there to mind the poppy fields. The Taliban will wait for decades for US reparations, if ever. Their only hope now is Russia and China. The sooner they can be integrated into the new Belt and Road Initiative, the better.
And on top the US refused to pay stipulated war reparations because … not all US MIAs (Missing in Actions) were found. The Vietnamese made extensive research to locate every single of them, but had to give upp looking for their own losses. But that wasn’t enough for the vindictive Americans. What a despiccable foe they are!
The oligarchs have always wanted us to forget what happened during the Vietnam war — especially what happened inside the U.S. armed forces during that war, and the importance of resistance to the war by enlisted men and women. This is from an article published in the Armed Forces Journal (June 7, 1971), Marine Colonel Robert D. Heinl Jr.
“By every conceivable indicator, our army that remains in Vietnam is in a state approaching collapse, with individual units avoiding or having refused combat, murdering their officers and non-commissioned officers…Sedition, coupled with disaffection from within the ranks, and externally fomented with an audacity and intensity previously inconceivable, infest the Armed Services…”
https://www.vietnamfulldisclosure.org/the-collapse-of-the-armed-forces/
One of my early jobs was working in a scrap yard, there were some old blokes there who had fought in the 14-18 war and they said that they shot their officers any chance they got. Whole areas were recruited and fought together, some of the lads ran away, terrified by the slaughter around them, they almost always came back, not wanting to let their pals down, but if they were caught before finding their unit again they’d be shot for cowardice. The Germans had never done anything to offend these ‘lads’ but the officers were killing their pals. As the war progressed the officers were replaced by lieutenants who were just ‘kids’ themselves and no-one had the heart to shoot them. After that war they never fielded units recruited from the same area again.
At that time I couldn’t believe it.
When the Vietnam war ended the U$ agreed to 3.5 billion in war reparations. Receipt of that would ensure the release of POWs. The U$ reneged. I want to puke every time I see one of those POW-MIA flags. The only person I have ever heard discuss this in a public forum was Ross Perot who dropped out of a presidential race because George Herbert Walker Bush threatened to injure his family and kill his daughter.
Trusting the U$ is just crazy. Her people now are mostly just as nuts.
Crazy is as crazy does. The USA has much to atone for, and its comeuppance is fast approaching. The AngloZionist Empire, as Saker likes to call it, is finished. Biden has been tasked with pulling US troops out of the Middle East, much to the chagrin of Israel and US Christian Zionists. We are still the most dangerous nation on the planet and Zionists of all stripes are determined to end it all in a nuclear conflict that will be the end of human history and the beginning of some kind of Zionist theocracy. We are just one 9/11-style false-flag attack away from this happening. May Heaven preserve us all from the wrath of the chosenites.
Christian Zionists are a recent phenomenon. The first 1850 years of the Christian church there was a common understanding of the narrative that the Bible brought forth. Since the middle of the 1800 century there arose a new interpretation of biblical eschatology with the Jews and a future Israel as the centerpiece. The basket of beliefs know today as Dispensationalism is a series of frauds and conjectures that have made the church weak and pathetic. Exactly what the Talmudists wanted when they financed CI Scholfield and his fraudulent study Bible.
There is eternal salvation for those that filter the bilge of half truths, but alas our future will include the psychodrama of the children of the devil and their fraudulent messiah.
I only had time, to read to speed read through quarter of Professor Awan’s analysis and I can already tell, in all honesty, it is already better, than any other writer’s analysis’ I have read, to date.
Thank you Professor Awan. Will intend to write decent reply (God willing later) later.
I had to waste my time “battling” auto-correct on like three replys I left myself on Pepe’s last article first thing this morning-cuz I had to fix someone’s spelling mistake on word Quran over incorrect word Koran – and the long explanation that followed- which I never planned on writing after the first reply- but had too after scanning through Pepe’s article and catching mistake- which ended up double crossing myself – because I already complimented Pepe on his article-.because Mr. Pepe 100 percent of the time writes the best articles- then the 1 time he does not- he leaves me out to dry- with my “stupid” compliment I left him- which proves to everyone I did not actually read his article but in actuality just wanted to post my first initial reply about Riba and … well this long “experiment” in writing just occurred ( not sure if they r up at the time of writing this) ‘m kinda stuck cycling between articles on blog and doing “other things.”
That was the longest run on sentence in the history of saker blog.
P.S. I hate my auto correct on my iPad by the way because it keep fixing my spelling replacing it with the wrong words. I am too lazy to turn off it.
@Zamir Awan
china has officially call on USA to take responsibility.
as a Sinologist, how do you read that? what is china really saying?
thanks :)
https://sputniknews.com/world/202109011083771698-china-calls-for-investigation-of-us-nato-war-crimes-in-afghanistan-following-withdrawal/
thanks Brahim but not what I was looking for…
there are a few powerful ppl from china making ‘noises’ including spokesman for Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang Wenbin (from your link)
but there are others in high lv UN… thought maybe Zamir Awan has some insider contact or read on the push.
Peace Loving nations do not exist. Many people, from most nations are peaceful, pacifist even. The governments of western nations are vindictive by nature, its either their way, or the Pave Low way, tough choice.
What should be done USAID style, is for Russia, Iran, China and the Stans around Afghanistan to step forward and supply what food they can and make an international media (as much as possible) spectical of the delivery. Show the world what real compassion for other humans looks like.
And the Taliban, they need to step up, way up. They need to show western, even eastern donor countries they are capable of running a country, not a Gaza style internment camp. Open up Afghan media and employ some of those well educated females that are ‘barred’ from proper education, rub lots of salt into the butthole hurt Yanks.
Cheers, M
Peace Loving nations do not exist.
I very much disagree. While most people out there are “like everybody else”, the truth is that what decides the outcome is no any individual, but the system.
Also, some nations are acutely aware of the costs of war (Russia, China) others have no idea (USA).
These are big, major, differences.
Are the Russkies or the Chinese “better” or “kinder” or more placid than US Americans?
No, of course not! The Russian and Chinese is filled with horrors, atrocities and the like.
But yes, they DO understand war much MUCH better
My 2cts
Andrei
The most effective anti-war movements have been the result of dissension within the ranks. This, from the article I linked to above…
“The most effective “anti-war” movement in history was at the end of World War One, when proletarian revolutions broke out in Russia, Germany and throughout Central Europe in 1917 and 1918. A crucial factor in the revolutionary movement of that time was the collapse of the armies and navies of Russian and Germany in full-scale armed mutiny. After several years of war and millions of casualties the soldiers and sailors of opposing nations began to fraternize with each other, turned their guns against their commanding officers and went home to fight against the ruling classes that had sent them to war. The war ended with a global series of mutinies mirroring the social unrest spreading across the capitalist world; some of the most powerful regimes on Earth were quickly toppled and destroyed.”
2 pennys more, ‘filled with horrors’, you mean past history, yes? Or is there horrors today we don’t hear about?For me, the only ‘cost’ of war, is the innocent lives lost, the rest is chattle. I maybe should have said ‘vindictive western nations’ as being non compliable when it comes to peace. But I take the liberty to extended that out to all ‘ruling classes of all nations’ war for them is profitable, especially industrialized nations with major arms manufactures…and their investor, large corporations, that can sway governmnets and remove hinderences in their way.
Cheers M
I think we agree, it’s ‘the system’ not the people, I just didn’t word it that way, although both can be swayed by nationalistic ferver.
Here’s another likely crime committed by America and NATO that needs to be investigated, prosecuted, and punished:
“On August 26, 2021 at 5:48 p.m. an ISIS suicide bomber exploded his vest at the Abbey Gate of Kabul airport killing 13 American soldiers. US troops respond by opening fire and may have killed a large part of the 150 Afghan victims, including 30 Taliban fighters.”
Abbey Gate Massacre
http://acloserlookonsyria.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Abbey_Gate_massacre
Americans are, for the most part, evil rotten filth. They absolutely love all the violence, oppression, and lawlessness globally they vote for and more. Expect no remorse or kindness from them. Afghanistan’s hope lies in joining Russia, China, and Iran as the country indeed is doing. The West has suffered a tremendous defeat at the hands of the Taliban, and this is something the 99% in the US (slightly less pronounced among their Euro-trash kith and kin) don’t take lightly. The US is collapsing with this year’s September 11 coming along. Serves them right.
Hoping the Beast can reform and act civilized is optimistic, but I doubt it will happen. Too many vested interests in DC, although we Americans must try and reform the Beast before it kills us all.
Good for you, John. Biden’s Afghan pullout was, in his own words, “not just about Afghanistan. It’s about ending an era of major military operations to remake other countries.” This a great sea-change in American foreign policy, the end of the reign of the neo-con warhawks and their policy of restoring the British Empire. Trump attempted this, negotiating a withdrawal date with the Taliban and attempting to withdraw from Syria. As you can see, the press (from Fox to CNN) is reviling Biden in every way possible. Let us hope that this is truly the end of an era, one that began with Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, to a new era of a peaceful, constructive, and humanitarian America.
“It is time to talk about war crimes… All criminals should be punished severely …”
That would be the end of a general amnesty.
Thank you for bringing up the plight of ordinary Afghans, Prof.
War-torn Afghanistan, one of the poorest nations on earth, total damaged infrastructure, no agriculture, no industry, no electricity, severe shortage of food, and medicines, no hospitals, no schools, yet, the US is not satisfied and coercing Taliban.
Afghanistan will be treated as a pariah by FUKUS. The US fights wars against peoples, not countries — right from the start of the colonisation of North America, during its Civil War, and right through to Mena and Afghanistan.
The Hegemon doesn’t like to be shown up as being weak. Especially not by an enemy it rolled over two decades ago without breaking sweat. And it will look to punish the people of Afghanistan whom they conflate with the Taliban any way it can for the humiliation it suffered.
If one were to look past the euphoria of the FUKUS/Nato retreat, Afghanistan is in very dire straits at the moment. The Talibs have no money to run the country — the (former) ANA and police have not been paid, and I suspect doctors, teachers, engineers, clerks, too. Afghans are starving, food prices are rising. Healthcare, such as it is, on the verge of collapsing. In the mean time, the US is holding Afghanistan’s reserves hostage; the IMF — which has all the hallmarks of being a branch of US ZOG — has dutifully cut off credit to the country. Anybody see a similarity with the treatment of Hamas-ruled Gaza where even fresh water is rationed by criminal Israel, here?
The only two countries that can really make a difference, RF and PRC, are still weighing the situation although public statements out of Beijing are more positive compared to those of Moscow. Nonetheless, like you, I believe positive action will come from them soon — they are not led by heartless dummies.
The MB Twins, Qatar (finance) and Turkey (muscle), are in the running to open up a very important communication and commercial artery, Kabul airport. Reports say the Qataris are bringing in technical expertise but no doubt they are also bringing in a very important and much-needed commodity for the Talibs — money.
Destroying the control towers at Kabul airport to spite the civilian Afghans who need an airport show hows much the pindos care about ordinary Afghans, includinng their women.
From the article: “The World Health Organization (WHO) also warned that despite Monday’s delivery of 12.5 metric tonnes of medical supplies by a flight of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) would cover the basic health needs of more than 200,000 people, but was still “not enough”.
Too right its not enough. To give perspective, 12.5 Tonnes is less than the capacity of x4 electric Amazon delivery vans (3.5T capacity each). In other words the shipment from Pakistan is just a political stunt / statement (unless it was 12.5 Tonnes of valuable and needed anti-biotics and medicines, rather than cheap towels, blankets, bandages, or other heavy but cheap items – but they would have said this rather than use weight).
Further perspective on how little this is – just x1 typical heavy articulated truck can carry 40Tonnes of goods, so just x1 heavy articulated truck can deliver more than x3 of that supplied above.
Typically, a few dozen oxygen tanks (and other gas tanks too) require heavy truck transport, with just a few days supply of 02 for a busy hospital for example weighing in at many tonnes.
A quantification / list of items delivered is required by these generous nations, otherwise I will be cynical, especially if we will see other political stunts such as 40Tonnes of “hospital supplies” delivered by the US or UK (in the form of bedding rather than anything meaninful / useful / needed / expensive being supplied).
They may have destroyed Afghanistan, but the magic of the printing press made it so that the population doubled approximately in the last 20 years, to 46M. It is great when the CIA comes with pallets of dollars, and after Karzai and Co. take their part, there is still plenty to buy grains from Midwest farmers, and grow the population.
But Afghanistan probably can not support 46M, they have little water and farmland. And the US is attacking them financially. They do have rare earths and lithium, but it will have to be seen if it can be cheaply processed there and also cheaply transported out. And with China’s economy in decline (due to peak oil), there is not a lot of money to go around. I hope they pull it, but the headwinds are strong.
“It is time to talk about war crimes and war compensation. All criminals should be punished severely and Afghanistan should be compensated for suffering. All funds should be used for the reconstruction of the country and the welfare of the people.”
Yes!
The United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Turkey, Germany, and other war criminal states should be punished and compelled to pay war reparations for their decades-long colonial war against Afghanistan.
As way to finger the perps, here is a list of the countries that participated in this war for the past 2 decades:
ISAF’s mission in Afghanistan (2001-2014)
https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_69366.htm
NATO and Afghanistan
https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_8189.htm
Resolute Support Mission
https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/2021/2/pdf/2021-02-RSM-Placemat.pdf
I put a comment in /back-to-the-future-talibanistan-year-2000/ (the last one in the comment section) which is also pretty actual for this article, depicting situation in Afghanistan, on the very ground.
Also, I find it interesting a similar article/report from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/as-the-taliban-rise-again-afghanistans-past-threatens-its-present
although from ‘the other side’, but quite infomative.
Both show the complexity of situation in Afghanistan.
At first, almost 50 years of continuos war. Then, huge young population (0-14 years 42% (2020), 15-24 years 22% (2016)), which does not remember pre-American time, infected and inflicted by liberal, attractive and sticky (especially for youth) American culture. (etc.)
For the first time, the Afghans have powers arround, which certainly consider and treat their country (territory) through geopolitical and economy lenses, but which are aware (and wise) enough to get it through cooperation and development, not though war and occupation.
The Afghans ought to recognise such chance and grasp it firmly.
A piece of Afghanistan mosaic:
https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/wjdt_665385/wshd_665389/t1904432.shtml
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Assistant Foreign Minister Wu Jianghao Speaks with Deputy Head of the Afghan Taliban’s Political Office in Doha Mawlawi Abdul Salam Hanafi on the Phone
2021/09/02
On September 2, 2021, Assistant Foreign Minister Wu Jianghao had a phone conversation with Deputy Head of the Afghan Taliban’s Political Office in Doha Mawlawi Abdul Salam Hanafi. Both sides exchanged views on the situation in Afghanistan and issues of common concern.
Wu Jianghao said, the situation in Afghanistan has witnessed a fundamental change, and the future and destiny of Afghanistan are once again in the hands of the Afghan people. The friendship between China and Afghanistan has stayed true for thousands of years, and China has always respected the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Afghanistan and has pursued a friendly policy toward all the Afghan people. He hopes that the country will achieve peace and stability and rebuild a beautiful homeland as soon as possible.
Noting that China is a trustworthy friend of Afghanistan, Hanafi said, the Afghan Taliban is willing to further engage in developing friendly relations with China and will never allow any force to use the Afghan territory to threaten China’s interests, and will take effective measures to ensure the safety of Chinese institutions and personnel in Afghanistan. The cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) advocated by China is conducive to the development and prosperity of Afghanistan and the region at large. And Afghanistan hopes to continue to actively support and participate in the BRI.