Freezing Afghan cash

Wars may be painted as about one thing or another, but are unmistakably about access to resources

The misery of Afghans is exacerbated every year with the freezing weather in winter. However, this time around, there is a double freeze: the weather as well as the freezing of the Afghan foreign reserve totalling about $9.5 billion. The Biden administration not only decided to withdraw from the country but also blocked Taliban access to those billions of much-needed dollars.

While many people have put forth their rationale behind either side winning the war in Afghanistan, given this reality, the United States might have actually won the war against the Taliban. For much of human history, ever since the dawn of civilisation, wars have been fought over land. Following the Agricultural Revolution, humanity decided to abandon the lifestyle of the hunter gatherer and adopted the life of a farmer. Man was no longer hunting to eat. Instead, he started laying claims to land where he grew food.

The Cold War was not a war between two ideologies — Capitalism and Communism — but rather it was a war between two competing economic systems, which competed against each other over access to resources and the ability to exploit those resources. In a nutshell, it was about money.

The Taliban demand for vacating their land was met when the United States left the country overnight last year. Nationalism, which is the Taliban DNA instead of Jihad as is routinely misunderstood, is also on a deeper level a manifestation of the same claim over resources. Exclusive rights over certain parts of a real estate is all about financial power. The wars may be painted as about one thing or another on the surface, but the roots are unmistakably about access to resources.

Regardless of faith and nationality, everyone believes in the undeniable power of money. The Taliban hate the American way of life and have a strong urge to stand up against any semblance of the Western culture in their country. However, it is fighting even more aggressively to be able to use those one-eyed dollars. People of any faith can raise their right hand and say In Dollar We Trust.

The United Nations report has concluded that one million children in Afghanistan could die due to starvation. The freezing of the billions of dollars will only turn this grim prediction into a reality. Yet, the Biden administration remains stubbornly unflinching about freezing the billions of dollars that belong to Afghanistan. This is a double war. When America wants to punish a defenseless state, it attacks or invades the nation. When the defiant nation is not a defenseless country such as Russia or China, then Washington imposes sanctions. In the case of Afghanistan, after the invasion and occupation for decades, the next phase of global sadism is sanctions. Let us remember that sanctions over Iraq after the end of the Gulf War had resulted in the deaths of about a half a million children about which the US Secretary of State at the time had said, “we think the price is worth it.”

I have no doubt that the same mindset today would justify twice the number of children deaths based on some similar ludicrous argument. Remember Biden won the election based on his calls to respect human lives, human dignity, equality, and so forth. I also have no doubt that when he stands up on a podium in future, he will tout the same credentials. That doublespeak has been the norm in Washington. Biden isn’t an exception.

The US withdrawal from Afghanistan appears to be a Taliban victory. However, if the war over land is about resources and money then the US is the real winner. The Taliban remain financially broken and Afghanistan remains a starved nation. Perhaps worse than before the Taliban took control. The Taliban may have the land but the Americans have what the land war was about. A dollar in hand is worth more than the billions frozen in a distant adversarial bank.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 3^rd, 2022.

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