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West claims IEA letter to US Congress ‘misconstrued the facts’

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US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West said on Friday the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) letter to Congress this week “misconstrued the facts” about the country’s economic and humanitarian crises.

In a series of tweets, West said: “The Taliban’s (IEA) letter to Congress earlier this week misconstrued the facts re Afghanistan’s economic & humanitarian crisis. Afghanistan was unfortunately already suffering a terrible humanitarian crisis before mid-August, made worse by war, years of drought, & the pandemic.”

This comes after Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi warned Wednesday that continued “sanctions” will not help the current situation and could instead lead to a major crisis including a mass migration.

In a letter addressed to the United States Congress, Muttaqi said after suffering decades of war, the Afghan people now “have a right to financial security.”

“Currently the fundamental challenge of our people is financial security and the roots of this concern lead back to the freezing of assets of our people by the American government,” he said.

He also said that following the signing of the Doha Agreement in February last year, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) “no longer find ourselves in direct conflict with one another nor are we a military opposition, what logic could possibly exist behind the freezing of our assets?”

However, West said on Friday that “U.S. officials made clear to the Taliban (IEA) for years that if they pursued a military takeover rather than a negotiated settlement with fellow Afghans…then critical non-humanitarian aid provided by the international community – in an economy enormously dependent on aid, including for basic services – would all but cease. That is what occurred.”

He said the U.S. would “continue clear-eyed, candid diplomacy with the Taliban (IEA). Legitimacy and support must be earned by actions to address terrorism, establish an inclusive government, and respect the rights of minorities, women and girls – including equal access to education and employment.”

West also stated that the U.S. will continue to support the Afghan people with humanitarian aid. “We've provided $474 million this year, applaud the robust efforts of Allies and partners in this space, and are making every effort to help the UN and humanitarian actors scale up to meet needs this winter,” he said.

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Trump claims Russia invaded Ukraine due to U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan

Trump claimed that he was in power during a time when “we had no wars,” but now he is “going into a world that’s burning.”

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US President-elect Donald Trump believes the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan was conducted "badly handled." Russia, seeing this, decided to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Trump claimed that he was in power during a time when "we had no wars," but now he is "going into a world that's burning."

The US President-elect criticized how the American withdrawal from Afghanistan was carried out. According to Trump, he would have withdrawn the troops from Afghanistan earlier than President Joe Biden and done so "with dignity and strength."

"The way they got out was outrageous. Leaving billions of dollars of brand new military equipment that I bought in the hands of the Afghans. And specifically to the Taliban," Trump added.

He emphasized that the US withdrawal from Afghanistan was conducted "badly handled."

"And because of that, I think Russia went and attacked Ukraine when they saw that. They said, 'these guys are incompetent - they don't know what they're doing'. But we know what we're doing now," Trump added.

In April 2021, it was announced that the United States had begun withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan, where they had been stationed since 2001. All American soldiers were fully withdrawn from the country by August 31, 2021.

US forces were initially deployed to Afghanistan to combat terrorism following the September 11 attacks.

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US congressman urges Trump to stop aid to Afghanistan

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Congressman Tim Burchett has urged President-elect Donald Trump to halt financial aid to Afghanistan.

Burchett said in a letter that the US government should not fund its enemies abroad.

"I want to express my serious concern about sending foreign aid to the Taliban (Islamic Emirate) and my willingness to work with the Trump administration to prevent the transfer of US taxpayer dollars. The United States should not provide financial assistance to its enemies abroad,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Economy has expressed hope that international aid should not be stopped and that efforts are ongoing to strengthen Afghanistan's infrastructure and move the country towards self-sufficiency.

Abdul Latif Nazari, Deputy Minister of Economy, said: "We hope that international aid to the people of Afghanistan will not be halted. However, at the same time, our focus is on national capacities. We want to strengthen Afghanistan's infrastructure so that the country gradually moves towards self-sufficiency."

Experts, however, do not view international aid as a fundamental solution for Afghanistan's economy but stated that given the country's humanitarian and economic situation, the continuation of such aid remains essential.

Abdul Zuhoor Madaber, an economic expert, said: "Humanitarian aid is not a fundamental solution to the country's economy, but given the economic crisis we are facing, it can be impactful."

The US has provided over $2 billion in aid-to-aid organizations in Afghanistan over the past three years.

The US State Department has stated that this aid is solely for relief and charitable programs, intended to support ordinary Afghan people struggling with poverty, hunger, and food shortages.

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McCall claims Daesh has been revived in Afghanistan

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has however repeatedly said that Daesh has been eliminated in Afghanistan.

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Michael McCall, the chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee said over the weekend that the US is witnessing a resurgence of Daesh in the Afghanistan region.

In a discussion with America’s ABC television, McCall said one thing he was “worried about, is with the fall of Afghanistan and the debacle, ... we are seeing a resurgence of ISIS and ISIS-K (Daesh) in the Khorasan region between Afghanistan and Pakistan that concerns me greatly.”

McCall added that eight people with ties to Daesh recently entered the United States.

“We know that eight ISIS individuals have entered the United States. ... So you really have two types of threats.

“One is operational; the other one is inspired attacks, radicalized over the internet. They're both equally lethal, and they need to be focused on to stop it," he said.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has however repeatedly said that Daesh has been eliminated in Afghanistan.

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