Maroc - EURASIAREVIEW.COM - A la une - Aujourd'hui 01:52

Cutting Off Terror’s Lifeline – OpEd

Yet once again, a troubled geopolitical landscape in Afghanistan has become the focus of international attention. The fears were revived that nation could once again become a fertile breeding ground for global terrorism since the U.S. withdrew in 2021. The development of this crisis hinges on the deeply disturbing fact that donations of humanitarian and monetary aid meant to assist Afghanistan’s civilian population are being used to perpetuate terrorist networks. U.S. legislators, however, have rose up rising to the situation in the form of the ‘No Taxpayer Funding for Terrorists Act’—a legislative move that aims at reconstructing the United States approach in providing aid for than the Taliban has profited with the help of international help. The financial leakage is overwhelmingly high. The United Nations and non-governmental organizations, according to reports, receive roughly $40 million a week in U.S. aid to flow into Afghanistan’s Central Bank. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has confirmed that the transfers to these funds are ostensibly earmarked for humanitarian relief, but the Taliban regime withdraws nearly $10 million from these transfers in tribute to the oppressive governance it implements — and to its army of influence including Al-Qaeda and ISIS-K. This diversion points to a depressing paradox: well-intended aid is in fact subsidizing precisely the perpetrators of violence and instability for whom the world’s most severe humanitarian crisis is desperately needed. A further tactic of Taliban’s strategic co-opting of international aid channels and stealing the goodwill of the greater global sympathy is that it leaves Afghan citizens caught between their deprivation and terror.   Senator Tim Sheehy’s legislation is aimed at cutting this lifeline. The law, called ‘The ‘No Taxpayer Funding for Terrorists Act’, introduced by Congressman Tim Burchett, prevents U.S. financial aid to Afghanistan under current oversight guidelines, a status critics say creates loopholes and easy avenues for them to funnel money in. Wading into unfamiliar territory with a change of face to the Taliban has given momentum to the bill that previously languished in Senate committees. The sort of hardening consensus reflected by the act, with robust support in the House, is that America’s $2.35 billion per year in aid to Afghanistan should entail stringent safeguards or outright cessation to avoid further infiltration by malign actors. By pushing further, Sheehy pursues a broader Biden administration strategy to recalibrate counterterrorism to financial attrition through economic erosion of the economic infrastructure supporting extremist operations. Nevertheless, there’s dissent among lawmakers. It is humanitarian organizations that warn about the potential increase in Afghanistan’s crises, as the 28 million people there rely on external aid for their very survival. Afghans survive on 3$ a day and there is rampant food insecurity and collapsing healthcare systems, says the UN estimates, 97 percent live in poverty. They argue that isolating the Taliban economically would merely expose it to collective punishment, further destabilize the area and help radicalization. However, proponents say it is necessary to suspend the system because the current aid arrangement is not transparent enough to prevent abuse and it should only resume when clear safeguards are in place. What you have here is this idea of dichotomy, moral obligations to civilians being soothed against this imperative of neutralising the existential threats, this is the ethical dilemma of modern counter terrorism. The U.S.’s stance also represents a drastic change in foreign policy from a reactive military to a pre-emptive financial containment. Washington is targeting revenue streams to tear down terrorism’s economic underpinnings, a tactic adopted around the world after it was proven successful in forcing melancholy on Iran and North Korea. This approach forces Afghanistan to rely on multilateral collaboration to shut down the banking operations of Taliban financed institutions and facilitate aid through other delivery mechanisms, either through direct partnerships at the grassroots level or via secure digital platforms. The problem involves not only fashioning a method neither entirely leaving Afghan civilians nor stiffening up at their oppressors but doing so with diplomatic delicacy and technological flair. Following Recommendations Build up a NATO, EU and UN partner team to develop a unified task force to audit aid disbursement and implement tough accountability protocols.   The aid should proceed through decentralized ledgers in real time to bypass Taliban controlled channels.   Imposing secondary sanctions against foreign entities that engage with Taliban linked businesses to disrupt illicit financing related to narcotics, mining, or taxation.   Work with neighbouring countries Pakistan and Uzbekistan to agree on an aid route on the border managed by trusted NGOs and international observers.   Public and diplomatic pressure on to delegitimize the Taliban’s governance, amplify the voices of Afghan civil society through international platforms.