You may recall that the United States recently withdrew last year from its 20 year occupation of Afghanistan after the 2001 invasion. Twenty years later, countless lives, trillions of dollars, and another failed state in the Middle East thanks to Uncle Sam. There are several direct consequences of the war, both domestically in the U.S., but most importantly the impact on the lives of ordinary Afghans and their families.

To begin, the country is littered with unexploded ordnance, thanks to the United States and the weapons it has filtered into the country since the 1980’s. These explosives are still active, and when they detonate, people are seriously injured or killed, more often than not innocent children. 

In 2017, the U.S. relaxed its rules of engagement on air strikes, leading to a dramatic increase in civilian casualties. Most recently, a drone strike in Kabul killed at least ten people, including seven children. Naturally, this was labeled as another “honest mistake” by the U.S. military. I think it is safe to assume that if quite literally any other country “accidentally” killed 10 civilians, there would be a bloodbath. Especially if the general responsible for the war crime then refused to acknowledge this as a “failure.” Does that mean the U.S. succeeded in blowing up a truck full of children?

In addition to the immediate effects of 20 years of U.S. occupation, the new Afghan government under the Taliban faces several humanitarian challenges. The most pressing and immediate brewing catastrophe is the price of food. Hunger has skyrocketed in the country, with fewer and fewer people being able to afford food. Lack of food is not the problem, a lack of means to purchase food is. 

This imminent disaster is single-handedly caused by President Biden and the United States. In date, he froze billions of dollars in assets in the Afghan central bank, which could immediately relieve this crisis. Frozen to supposedly stick it to the Taliban, it hurts ordinary people. As the U.S. argues that the Taliban is tyrannical (which it is), and that since the people of Afghanistan did not choose their system of government, then the people are faultless. If this is the U.S. party line, then why directly punish the people in forcing them to starve to death? This is a genocide, perprated directly by the United States in Afghanistan.

President Biden could end the immediate starvation of millions of people, but directly chooses not to. With the world distracted by the war in Ukraine, it’s easy to forget the possibly deadlier crises facing the globe, directly caused by the United States.