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A year has passed since Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. The whole world saw how 13 U.S. service members were killed, victims of a terrorist attack. We saw the Taliban seize weapons, ammunition, and supplies left behind in the midst of a botched withdrawal operation. The evacuation of the embassy in Kabul happened exactly as Biden had said it would not, with American helicopters airlifting people on the very roof of the building. At the Kabul airport, desperate Afghans were trying to hang on, at the risk of their own lives, to any American-flagged aircraft leaving the country.
Biden left hundreds of American citizens and our allies, stranded behind enemy lines, even after Biden had promised there would be no full withdrawal until every last one of ours had been evacuated. It was a whole chain of lies, and as a result of his disastrous withdrawal, Biden left America’s Afghan allies at the mercy of the Taliban, thousands of them, who risked their lives to help our people, found themselves face to face with death, torture and uncertainty. Almost immediately, Taliban leaders began attacking Afghans who helped the United States by executing them in the streets and forcing women to become “wives” of Taliban fighters.
The Taliban marked the first anniversary of their takeover of Afghanistan with celebrations and parades, as children begged in the streets and women hid in their homes. Biden didn’t bother to make a statement, instead he was on vacation. As a result of Biden’s failed withdrawal from Afghanistan, that Asian nation is coming from bad to worse. Since the fall of Kabul, Afghanistan has fallen into a deep economic collapse with a poverty rate of 70 percent. In February, the White House admitted that the Taliban takeover of the country worsened an “already fragile economic situation.” Nearly 19 million Afghans face “life-threatening” hunger and up to 6 million face “near famine conditions.” Some reports show that more than 120,000 children have been sold since the Taliban took Kabul.
The situation for Christians in Afghanistan has become “increasingly dangerous,” as many are now forced to practice their faith underground. Most Christians in Afghanistan are converts from Islam and, if discovered, face almost certain death. The Taliban have been carrying out targeted assassinations of Christians found using public transport, as well as executing anyone found with Bible software installed on their cell phones.
Biden chose to completely ignore the first anniversary of his disastrous withdrawal, but that has not stopped the Afghan people from facing discrimination, violence and death under the Taliban regime. Restrictions on daily life and freedom are controlled by the Taliban, and armed combatants can show up unannounced at people’s homes to loot them at gunpoint and search their phones at city checkpoints. Women are suffering once again under the Taliban regime. There is no access to education nor employment for many women, and the Taliban closed secondary schools for girls indefinitely. Women are now required to be covered from head to toe in public. The Taliban have banned girls from playing sports. Women cannot travel long distances without a male relative accompanying them. There have been reports of numerous disappearances and violence against women activists.
It is for these reasons that Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan has been labeled the worst foreign policy failure in recent US history.
Jaime Florez is the Hispanic Communications Director - Republican National Committe. Public Relations, Public Affairs, Communications, and Marketing Executive with extensive experience in politics, international trade, publishing, and mass media // Jaime Florez es Director de Comunicaciones Hispanas - Comité Nacional Republicano. Ejecutivo de Relaciones Públicas, Asuntos Públicos, Comunicaciones y Marketing con amplia experiencia en política, comercio internacional, publicaciones y medios de comunicación.