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The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) sponsored a virtual panel discussion on May 24 to address the widespread humanitarian impact of U.S. economic sanctions. Daniel Jasper of the American Friends Service Committee introduced speakers Arash Azizzada, co-founder of Afghans for a Better Tomorrow; Dr. Aisha Jumaan, president of the Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation; Dr. Francisco Rodriguez, director of Oil for Venezuela; Dr. Assal Rad, research director at NIAC; and Ricardo Herrero, executive director of the Cuba Study Group. Azizzada argued that U.S. involvement in Afghanistan over the past 20 years has rendered the country dependent on foreign aid.

Taliban--more accurately the Islamic Movement of Afghanistan--has been slandered by almost every Western news outlet and wrongly called a terrorist movement linked to the late Osama bin Laden. Heavily-propagandized Americans, Canadians and British have been inundated by this torrent of government lies against Afghanistan's Pashtun (Pathan) people. Taliban crushed the Afghan drug trade and ended some of the attacks on women. But its members were mostly rough-hewn mountaineers of the very old school.

Larison discusses the decision of US president Biden to withdraw from Afghanistan. Biden understood that the choice was between getting out or being stuck there with no end in sight, and he rightly judged that the former was better for the US. The fact that the Afghan government lost so much ground so quickly proves that the US failed in building a functioning state that could fend for itself. The government has been propping up this state for all these years at considerable expense, and it turns out that the structure was bound to collapse as soon as they left.

\"Afghanistan War began in 2001. It started as a short but intense war in which the United States and its allies battled the Taliban, a militant Islamic group that controlled Afghanistan. International forces overthrew the Taliban regime and helped establish a new government in Afghanistan. The conflict persisted in the years that followed, however, as the United States and its allies struggled to establish stability in the country. The war eventually became the longest deployment of American combat troops in U.S. history.\" (World Book Student) Read more about the Afghanistan War.

\"In April [2021], U.S. President Joe Biden said all American troops would leave Afghanistan by September [2021]. Meanwhile, the Taliban made moves to recapture the country. At first, the group took back control of smaller cities. On Sunday [Aug 1, 2021], the Taliban officially took control of the entire nation once again.\" (News-O-Matic) Learn more about the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan.

Argues that Afghanistan's precarious teeter on the edge of collapse is attributed to the minimalist approach characterizing the international community's intervention since the fall of the Taliban. The importance of security for an Afghani government that must do without substantial foreign assistance is stressed. Attention is given to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force conducting peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan & Pakistani support for the insurgency. A lack of economic assistance is seen to have undermined efforts to defeat the ongoing insurgency; although donors have pledged billions, an absence of implementation has fueled the insurgency as well as the narco-economy. In addition, the government's lack of legitimacy enables the insurgency. It is argued that the Afghanistan Compact, which sets benchmarks & responsibilities for security, governance, & economic development, is the last best chance to achieve sustainable structures in Afghanistan. Preventing Afghanistan from falling into chaos requires that the US & other donors recognize (1) NATO forces are necessary but not sufficient; (2) governance & economic development cannot be subordinated to security; (3) a war on drugs must be avoided; (4) international efforts to establish the rule of war must be redoubled; & (5) greater diplomatic efforts must be made to convince Pakistan to withdraw support for the Taliban. D. Edelman

In an effort to bolster the demonstrably ineffective Abbas, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Robert Mosbacher, president of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), announced a plan to build 10 new neighborhoods for Palestinians in the West Bank, with mortgages available for 30,000 apartments. Instead of encouraging Hamas' move toward moderation, Israel and the U.S. are holding fast to what Carter calls \"pariah diplomacy\" and refusing to deal with organizations they brand as terrorist.\\n Al Sadr's party is the chief rival of al-Maliki's governing party, the Islamic Supreme Council, which both Iran and the U.S. support.

\"It began on October 7, 2001. On that date, U.S. forces began dropping bombs in Afghanistan. Soon, American soldiers arrived in the south Asian nation. For nearly 20 years, the United States fought the war in Afghanistan. On Monday [Aug 30, 2021], the last U.S. troops left the country. This brought an official end to the longest foreign war in U.S. history.\" (News-O-Matic) Learn more about the end of the war in Afghanistan.