What right does one country have to freeze the assets of another one?
What about when the country sanctioned is undergoing a major crisis?
These are the questions we have to ask about what the U.S. has been doing to Afghanistan.
In my previous article, I’ve pointed to the grim predictions that various aid agencies as well as UN bodies have given us about Afghanistan. I also asked three questions about the frozen Afghan funds: who’s holding them, how could they be released, and what would that mean to the people of Afghanistan? There is an excellent video inside of this article that I highly recommend you watch.
Now, just last week, on February 11th, President Biden announced he would release half of the Afghan funds to aid agencies while another half will be attrbuted to the victims of 9/11.
At this point, we have to ask even more questions – and we have not to be afraid to make loud statemens, to make normative (value) judgements, and to even more strongly than before condemn what the U.S. is going with the Afghan money.
This is what I do in my podcast episode.
I describe how the situation on the ground in Afghanistan is being presented, I quickly summarise what has been happening with the Afghan funds, and why we have to question this recent move by President Biden.
Inevitably, touch upon the topic of sanctions that I promise to more thoroughly (as it is a huge topic) explore in my upcoming episodes.
I do say that there are many ways we can stand with the Afghan people. Here is a petition by my organisation, CODEPINK, that calls for President Biden to release all the funds to Afghanistan.
Also, here is a video I simply HAVE to share:
Latest from the Blog
International Law is No More, Fascism is Here: How Will You Choose to Operate in This Reality?
Fascism has never been a thing of the past; now, to disregard it means to disengage from reality. As international law has crumbled, Israel is still destroying Gaza, and masked agents are snatching people of the streets in the U.S., I invite you to ask yourself how you choose to show up in this reality.
As the US Attacks Venezuela, Notice Who Bows Down to Empires and Spreads Their Propaganda
You would think we would be beyond cheering military aggression by empires. Yet be aware of this cheering, as well as of consciously erasing international law considerations in the coverage of recent U.S. attacks on Venezuela.
A Visual Summary of What Our Governments Have Allowed Israel to Do to International Law
When the UN premises are raided and the UN flag is replaced by the Israeli flag, it’s not even international news. It’s not a scandal. Because of the impunity our governments continue to generously gift to Israel (which in turn has rendered international law itself completely battered).
What Is The Opposite of Giving Israel a Gift This Holiday Season
If holidays are about what’s important, why wouldn’t they be about what’s been on our hearts and minds for years now — Palestine. I have a holiday reminder and an invitation for you.
My Invitation to Rebuild a Media Company from Gaza
If you are looking for a very concrete opportunity to change someone’s life, here it is. I am inviting you to join me in rebuilding a media company that used to operate in Gaza. We don’t need that much — but we need you to be in.
How the European Broadcasting Union Just Gave Eurovision Fans an Opportunity to Show Some Spine (Thanks to Israel)
Israel was just allowed to compete at Eurovision in 2026. This shows nothing new about Europe’s literally unstoppable desire to maintain good relations with Israel. Now, the spotlight is on all the fans of Eurovision itself: we’ll see how unstoppable their love for this contest is, and whether it is above a genocide that has…
What Calling Israel’s Continuation of Its Mass Murder a ‘Fragile Ceasefire’ Shows
There is no ‘fragile ceasefire’ when children’s bodies continue to be laid on dirty, destroyed hospital floors.
How Football Reminded Us about Two Parallel Worlds Recently — And Invited Us to Choose One
People like to talk about teams: “What team are you on?” In my video about two football matches that happened recently in Spain and Lithuania, quite literally, there are two teams. You can either be with those who organise a charity game for the people currently undergoing genocide, or you can be with those who…
How Talking About Ecocide in Palestine Helps Us Better Describe What Is Being Done — And By Whom Exactly
To describe Israel’s complete annihilation of Gaza better, I invite you to add one more word to your vocabulary: ecocide. Not to by any means diminish the horrors of the intentional massacres committed, but to expand the definition of this total destruction.
Israel Is Bombing Gaza Again (The Coloniser Continues to Colonise)
Israel won’t stop until it’s stopped. It will colonise, occupy, dominate, and murder until it cannot do so. This exactly what its new airstrikes on Gaza show, and it is exactly why our solidarity work remains important.
Don’t miss an update! Follow The Exploding Head
Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.
The Exploding Head Blog & Podcast 
2 thoughts on “What Do We Have To Know About The Frozen Afghan Funds?”