Oh my. Did you hear?
Afghanistan, you mean? Yes.
Somber conversations were taking place this weekend and we’re seeing an avalanche of analyses in various media outlets this week.
The Taliban has taken power in Afghanistan. It finally happened and it’s terrifying.
But what’s next?
To answer this question, we have to look not only into the future but very much into the past, too.
- Who created the Taliban?
- Who supported it?
- How did it change, as a political force, throughout the years?
- What’s the role of the US in all this and, more importantly, what are the ways in which it can now start actually helping the Afghan people?
- Can we recognise the Taliban as a ruling force? Wha happens if we do and what happens if we don’t?
- What are the best ways to help the Afghan people now?
Before I present an in-depth analysis of all of this, let me first point to an important difference in concepts here.
Nation-building can be seen as one colonial/imperialist concept.
If “Let us form a certain type of society and government for you…” sounds a bit (white)supremacist, that’s because it is.
Post-war reconstruction and humanitarian aid is a different thing, albeit also not without its criticisms.
The first one failed. The second one can – and should, if we care for the Afghan people – happen.
But how exactly? What would be needed?
I’m very proud to present an emergency webinar put together by CODEPINK, an organisation I have joined recently and am always excited to share what their experts have to say.
This is one long and in-depth conversation. I hope you enjoy.
(You can also listen to it on Spotify!)
Also, if you are wondering how you can actually help the people of Afghanistan, here’s one way:
Please consider donating to our fundraiser the funds of which are already going towards airlifting vulnerable women out of Afghanistan.
This is not the first time CODEPINK is providing this kind of assistance to Afghan women but we need your help to do it again.
Latest from the Blog
An Interview on Iran and Israel You Have to See
This is an absolute must-watch: Jeremy Scahill, one of the few journalists who interviews and is trusted by various actors, including the Iranian government, talks to Samir Mohyeddin about the U.S.-Iranian negotiations and Israel’s “fragile ceasefires” in Gaza and Lebanon. It’s a conversation good for our brains and conscience.
When Words Become Both The Representation And The Represented
The simplest propaganda technique – blatant lies – might be all that Israel and its supporters have left in their toolbox. Yet words with no meaning is what our leaders, too, have been resorting to for years now, following Israel itself.
Israel: The Only Country Whose Actions Never Represent Itself
If it is not its ministers, navy, police, prison guards, people marching on the streets, nor settlers protected by the army, who, then, actually represents Israel?
Updates On The Global Sumud Flotilla: Saif and Thiago Are Free
After their kidnapping and illegal detention in Israel, Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Avila have been released. Our global pressure worked. But our work is far from over.
On The Global Sumud Flotilla, What The World with Israel in It Looks Like, And What It Does to Our Nervous Systems
To exist in the world where Israel, too, exists – to physically be and function in such a world – is hard on our nervous systems. The new horrors of the kidnapping of Thiago Avila and Saif Abu Keshek are yet another reminder of how that heaviness won’t go away, as long as Israel -…
How Did Jon Stewart Miss The Greatest Piece of Satire on His Show?
Here’s a reminder that choosing to interview someone who history – and, hopefully, the ICJ – will remember as a war criminal and a genocide enabler, like Annalena Baerbock, is very much not cool. Especially when you have a massive platform.
What, According to My Government, Other Countries Can Learn from Israel
This is the most straightforward way I can put it: just like there are countries in history known for their collaboration with the Nazi regime, my country, Lithuania, has inscribed itself as one of the staunchest supporters of Israel, no matter the scale, depravity, or geography of its crimes. See if my rage resonates with…
Invest in Decolonising Narratives
Something incredible is happening in Panama – in that how anticolonial it is. I’m inviting you to support it.
What Israel’s Destruction of Lebanon Is Showing Us Painfully Clearly
When Israel shows only contempt for what its greater ally wants, we need no more proof is there’s anything above Israel’s colonial expansionist ambitions.
On Iran, (Ir)rationality, and Those Who Didn’t See Any Destabilisation of The Region in Israel’s Genocide
Remember when Iran used to be called an irrational, unpredictable actor? Well, I invite you to notice any changes when it comes to irrationality, constructed narratives, and how war propaganda looks these days.
Don’t miss an update! Follow The Exploding Head
Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.
The Exploding Head Media 
One thought on “Afghanistan: What’s Next?”