Denkmail No. 33 Afghanistan: A humanitarian catastrophe on the horizon

Dear Peace Friend,

the USA has withdrawn from Afghanistan. The other Western states had to follow. Because the West failed to build a functioning economy in Afghanistan during 20 years of occupation, the country was consistently dependent on foreign payments. These also flowed steadily. However, not primarily in the development of the economy and infrastructure: Large sums ended up in the pockets of corrupt parts of the leadership supported by the West.

After the change of power in Kabul, the U.S., the World Bank and also the EU refuse further aid payments. The World Bank alone currently manages a reconstruction fund of approximately $13 billion. Payments from this were stopped. In addition, the U.S. has illegally “frozen” assets of the Afghan state. The end of the war does not mean the end of suffering.

As it stands, the Afghan population is facing an extremely harsh winter.

My opinion:

The attempt by Western countries to engage in “nation building” in Afghanistan and to establish a functioning society along Western lines has failed. The broad support from society required for this could never be won.

An occupying power that is responsible for tens of thousands of civilian casualties and at the same time provides selected elites with a great deal of money should not be surprised by a lack of support from the population.

The suffering of the population must end. Financial support from Western states and their institutions is imperative for this, otherwise the mistakes of the past will be continued by other means.

My appeal:

After nearly $3 trillion has been poured into war and destruction by Western nations over 20 years, it is time to use existing aid funds to support civilian reconstruction projects. Stop supporting warlords, arms deals and corruption.

This should be addressed at the next security conference in Munich! What do you think?

With peace greetings

Matthias Linnemann