The damage that the U.S. government is now doing to Afghanistan may end up killing more people than 20 years of war and occupation.

Only 2 percent of the people in Afghanistan have enough food. Millions of kids are suffering malnutrition right now. Afghanistan has surpassed Yemen as the worst place on Earth to be a human being.

Email Congress and the White House here.

The problem is U.S. sanctions. As Mark Weisbrot has written: "The biggest and most destructive sanction currently facing Afghanistan is the seizure of more than $7 billion of the country's assets that are held at the U.S. Federal Reserve. This is equivalent to about 40 percent of Afghanistan’s economy, and about 14 months of the country's imports – which include food, medicine, and infrastructure needs that are vital to public health."

The U.S. refusal to release these funds upon supposedly ending its war on Afghanistan has led directly to an extreme scarcity of food, and an inability of businesses to pay workers, exactly as was widely predicted nearly six months ago. Yet the U.S. government has persisted in this deadly policy and exacerbated it by pressing other governments to cut off Afghanistan as well.

World BEYOND War is part of a huge coalition urging Congress and the Biden administration to:

End the Freeze on Afghanistan central bank funds to inject liquidity into the collapsing Afghan economy.
Lift sanctions to mitigate the chilling effect of restrictions on foreign banks and businesses while offering Afghan banks access to their overseas holdings and the global financial system.
Pledge additional emergency funding toward the United Nations' 2022 humanitarian aid appeal, and dedicate the necessary diplomatic capital to encourage Western partners to contribute their fair share.
End practices that block international and humanitarian aid to Afghans.
Increase assistance to Afghan refugees and increase the capacity of the resettlement program here in the United States.

Click here to email Congress and the White House.

This is the most severe immediate humanitarian crisis in the world, where your activism can do the most good.

Please take these steps:

1. Email Congress and the White House.

2. Share this effort far and wide. Please share this link with friends, and share on Facebook and Twitter.

3. Register for a Valentine's Day webinar with Kathy Kelly and Phyllis Bennis on ending sanctions on Afghanistan.

4. Take part in actions around the United States on Valentine's Day.

Thanks for all you do!
--World BEYOND War

Background:
>> Counterpunch: Mark Weisbrot: "U.S. Sanctions on Afghanistan May Kill More Than 20 Years of War"

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