Developing. We are publishing this article as it is being written. Please check back for updates To see a list of previous articles, enter “Ukraine”…
Read More
With the Americans and the Europeans firmly set in their demands that the Taliban provide guarantees for the respect of human rights before assets can be freed or aid can flow, the Afghan economy appears on the verge of collapse.
As winter is fast approaching, a humanitarian disaster of enormous proportions becomes more likely very day.
It is difficult to see either side yielding, while diplomacy is awkward and takes a lot of time.
In these circumstances, it seems likely that millions of Afghans will starve to death before the assistance they so desperately need reaches them.
The best reporting out of Afghanistan continues to be by Jacques Follorou of Le Monde and Ángeles Espinoa of El País. Their dispatches are linked to here, and can be easily translated by using Google Translate (translate.google.com).
The window into Afghanistan is likely to start closing, as reader interest shifts to other subjects, as it did in the case of Syria. In the meantime, we can be grateful for the reporting by Folloroy and Espinosa, as well as that of as that of other excellent and courageous journalists who report on Afghanistan, sometimes from within the country.
There will be a continuous stream of stories about the disaster that is unfolding in Afghanistan, including the potential collapse of the economy, the enormous humanitarian disasters including famines which lie ahead, and ultimately whether civil war erupts once again among a desperate population struggling to survive.
See, 1) Ali M Latifi, “How deep are divisions among the Taliban? Sources tell Al Jazeera the discord is very real and if disharmony grows,…
See, Nile Gardiner, “Biden’s credibility is in tatters; For all the liberal condemnation of Trump, he never abandoned America’s leadership role, and firmly rejected the…
The key point is that the international community should not deny to the people of Afghanistan–the individual life-and-blood human beings–the aid they need to survive, on the theory that withholding aid will make the Taliban respect human rights. For examples of the challenges of survival these human beings face, see Espinosa and Follorou, above.
See, 1) Khudai Noor Nasar (Islamabad), “Afghanistan: Taliban leaders in bust-up at presidential palace, sources say,” BBC, September, 2021 2:30 p.m.(?) EST). 2) Nirmeeti Patole,…
Jacques Follorou of Le Monde and Ångeles Espinosa of El País continue to provide the best-informed and most insightful coverage of the Taliban’s competing factions and the government they are forming.
UPDATE September 6, 2021, 5:00p.m. EDT News Reports say Baradar wounded in gunfight on Friday, September 3, currently receiving medical treatment in Pakistan See, 1)…
Ångeles Espinosa reports from Islamabad on the external challenges facing the Taliban leadership in naming a government. The announcement, originally expected Fiday, September 3, has been repeatedly oushed back. The Taliban are faced not only with overcoming their internal divisions, but also the immense challenges of providing food to the population and keeping the machinery of government working.
To meet the latter challenges they must satisfy the demands of foreign governments, international donors, and other international actors. The latter are demanding guarantees regarding human rights and the rights of women, many of which are at odds with basic tenets of the medieval Islamic ideology the Taliban have in the past espoused.
Draft The separation of the military from politics has a long tradition in the United States. Now, U.S. military leaders are speaking out to make…
See, 1) “Afghanistan: Mullah Baradar promises ‘inclusive’ government; Speaking to Al Jazeera, Taliban leader stresses security is necessary to overcoming challenges facing the country,” Al…
