A year ago, on August 15, Taliban swept into the Afghan capital of Kabul following the collapse of the US puppet government. The last member of the U.S. military left 15 days later, capping almost 20 tumultuous years of American involvement in the central Asian country.
The U.S. withdrawal was a disaster. Desperate Afghans clung to the landing gear of departing planes, falling to their deaths as they attempted to flee the country.
A suicide bombing outside Hamid Karzai International Airport killed nearly 200 people, including 13 members of the U.S. military.
More than 123,000 civilians were evacuated from Afghanistan by the U.S. and its allies with 76,000 Afghans evacuating to the United States.
According to Brian Katulis of the Washington-based Middle East Institute, "America's competitors have cited the haphazard manner of its withdrawal as another sign of its decline in the world. The betrayal of tens of thousands of Afghans affiliated with America who were left behind and remain at risk is seen by some as a sign that America doesn't stand by its partners".
Historians will likely see the haphazard Afghanistan withdrawal as further undercutting America's strategic reliability and credibility around the world, Katulis argued and added: "Six months after the pullout, Russia invaded Ukraine, and China increased its threats against Taiwan. Those two events are not directly linked to Afghanistan. But like the "red line" moment in Syria in 2013, when the world saw a gap between the rhetoric and actions of the Obama administration, America's competitors and adversaries are working to fill a vacuum left by a U.S. foreign policy that looks shakier and less certain than at any point since the end of the Cold War."
Afghanistan faces severe humanitarian crisis
For two decades, Afghanistan has heavily relied on foreign aid. Now, much of this aid has been suspended or frozen. World leaders have also frozen Afghanistan's foreign reserves, the banking sector has collapsed and the current authorities have rejected offers of international help.
The evaporation of international aid to the country, compounded by U.S. sanctions that froze some $7 billion of Afghan foreign reserves, sent Afghanistan's economy into a tailspin," wrote Ishaan Tharoor for The Washington Post. "More than half the population is going hungry and more than a million children are severely malnourished." Some families sold their daughters as child brides, while others sold their organs " or even their children's organs " on the black market to buy food or pay debts.
According to International Rescue Committee (IRC) The country now requires $4.47 billion in aid. Marvin G. Weinbaum of the Washington-based Middle East Institute says with $7 billion of Afghan assets currently frozen in U.S. banks, their release could contribute mightily to the recapitalization of Afghanistan's banking system and the revival of its economy.
So far, the world has not scaled up humanitarian funding to meet this need. Afghans are now forced to spend 90% of their income on food. Today a large share of families can't get the food they need to live healthy lives, with 43% of the country surviving on just one meal a day.
With each week that goes by, more Afghans are forced to resort to the unimaginable to survive: that means skipping meals, taking on debt, pulling children out of school to save money-and even more extreme measures such as selling young daughters into marriage or selling organs.
The role of women in Afghan society is at risk of shrinking as the authorities continue to issue edicts impacting their access to work, education and their freedom of movement. Nearly all woman-headed households have lost their income.
The economic crisis itself has also been devastating for women and girls. As with hunger crises around the world, women and girls typically eat last in their household and suffer high levels of malnutrition as a result.
A recent IRC report found that 77% of women-led civil society organizations have lost their funding over the last twelve months. Most have had to stop the critical services they provide to the most vulnerable communities, especially women and children living in rural areas.
Schools in Afghanistan are currently closed to girls above the sixth grade. In addition to denying girls their right to an education, this decision will undermine efforts to rebuild Afghanistan. The economic collapse has already seen many educated Afghans leave, and Afghanistan needs a future generation of doctors, teachers and civil servants.
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