An Afghan boy mourns next to a grave of his little brother who died due to an earthquake. (courtesy Ebrahim NorooziâAP)
Originally published The Black Alliance for Peace.
With each passing month since the U.S./NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, the catastrophic impacts of the United Statesâ hegemonic grip over West and Central Asia, or the so-called âMiddle East,â continue to be evident. At the same moment U.S. officials are facilitating an ongoing genocide in occupied Palestine, they're subjecting the people of Afghanistan to collective punishment.
In October, a series of powerful earthquakes killed and injured thousands in Herat. One month later, the U.S.-backed interim government of Pakistan initiated racist deportations of all Afghan nationals from the country. Despite the need for immediate humanitarian relief, the United States continues to levy sanctions and freeze Afghanistan's sovereign assets. Despite the need for an immediate normalization of relations, Thomas West, U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan, maintains that this is ânot going to be possible.â The United States intends to continue targeting the Afghan people with impunity.
The mission of the United States Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan is âto advance U.S. interests related to Afghanistan.â The United States was built on indigenous genocide, colonial conquest and violent repression, and the destructive humanitarian impact and economic devastation wrought by U.S. interests is plain to seeâfrom Afghanistan, Palestine and Sudan to Haiti, Niger and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
As the conditions in Afghanistan worsen before what is expected to be another harsh winterâwith nearly all Afghans unable to attain basic necessities like food, water and fuel due to the U.S.-led sanctions and asset freezeâit is imperative to connect what is unfolding in Afghanistan as a result of U.S.-led war and imperialism to the wider region and world.
ADDITIONAL READINGS AND RESOURCES
Sanctions Watch
November 2, 2023 by Pedro Labayen Herrera for Center for Economic and Policy Research
The U.S.-led sanctions and financial asset freeze hinder aid recovery efforts, and with the complete collapse of Afghanistanâs economy and a cash-strapped Taliban government, millions of refugees and migrants deported from Pakistan will be left with little to no food, water, fuel or shelter.
âWhatâs Wrong?â: The Silence of Pakistanis on Expulsion of Afghan Refugees
November 22, 2023 by Abid Hussain for Al Jazeera
As nearly 1.7 million Afghans are ordered to leave Pakistan, there is a silence on the streets. Racist state propaganda has produced a hatred and fear of Afghans in Pakistan, who already live in some of the poorest conditions there. In a recent poll, 84% of respondents âstrongly approvedâ of the government's decision of mass-deportation.
The Afghan Fund: The Limits of Sovereign Immunity & Recognition Law
October 6, 2023 by Matei Alexianu and Ali Hakim for LawFare
Half of the $7 billion in Afghanistanâs stolen assets is held by the United States in an international trust fund out of Switzerland. The conditions U.S. policy officials have set for the return of the funds are not only impossible to meet but violate international law.
A Week of Earthquakes Brings Death, Grief, and Trauma to Afghanistanâs Herat
October 16, 2023 by Ali M. Latifi for The New Humanitarian
The scale of the destruction caused by recent earthquakes in Herat, Afghanistan, especially in the district of Zinda Jan, are closely linked to it being one of the least developed and secure districts in Herat.
Navid Zarrinnal is an Iranian journalist and host of The Colony Archive podcast. He joins us from Tehran to discuss the US and Israeli aggression and explains why the left must be in solidarity withâŚ
The United States attack on the Islamic Republic of Iran began on February 28. Our guest provides analysis on this U.S. aggression from an anti-imperialist and Black left perspective. Erica Caines isâŚ
The U.S. is careening towards economic and military disaster, a moment when the Black radical tradition is missing but badly needed.
âWe salute all peoples who are fighting/We honor all those who have died/For the cause of freedom.â
This lecture was delivered on February 3, 2026, at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver (Canada) for the monthly series âBlack History and the Project of Black Studies.â
