Taliban Says US Will Provide Humanitarian Aid To Afghanistan

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A member of the Taliban, left, talks to Afghans gathering outside a government passport office recently re-opened after Taliban announced they would be issuing a backlog of applications approved by the previous administration in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The U.S. has agreed to provide humanitarian aid to a desperately poor Afghanistan on the brink of an economic disaster, while refusing to give political recognition to the country’s new Taliban rulers, the Taliban said Sunday.

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The statement came at the end of the first direct talks between the former foes since the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops at the end of August.

There was no immediate comment from the U.S. on the weekend meeting.

The Taliban said the talks held in Doha, Qatar, “went well,” with Washington freeing up humanitarian aid to Afghanistan after agreeing not to link such assistance to formal recognition of the Taliban.

The United States made it clear that the talks were in no way a preamble to recognition of the Taliban, who swept into power Aug. 15 after the U.S.-allied government collapsed.

Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen also told The Associated Press that the movement’s interim foreign minister assured the U.S. during the talks that the Taliban are committed to seeing that Afghan soil is not used by extremists to launch attacks against other countries.

On Saturday, however, the Taliban ruled out cooperation with Washington on containing the increasingly active Islamic State group in Afghanistan.

IS, an enemy of the Taliban, has claimed responsibility for a number of recent attacks, including Friday’s suicide bombing that killed 46 minority Shiite Muslims. Washington considers IS its greatest terrorist threat emanating from Afghanistan.

“We are able to tackle Daesh independently,” Shaheen said when asked whether the Taliban would work with the U.S. to contain the Islamic State affiliate. He used an Arabic acronym for IS.

Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies who tracks militant groups, agreed the Taliban do not need Washington’s help to hunt down and destroy Afghanistan’s IS affiliate, known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, or ISKP.

The Taliban “fought 20 years to eject the U.S., and the last thing it needs is the return of the U.S. It also doesn’t need U.S. help,” said Roggio, who also produces the foundation’s Long War Journal. “The Taliban has to conduct the difficult and time-consuming task of rooting out ISKP cells and its limited infrastructure. It has all the knowledge and tools it needs to do it.”

The IS affiliate doesn’t have the advantage of safe havens in Pakistan and Iran that the Taliban had in its fight against the United States, Roggio said. However, he warned that the Taliban’s longtime support for al-Qaida make them unreliable as counterterrorism partners with the United States.

The Taliban gave refuge to al-Qaida before it carried out the 9/11 attacks. That prompted the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan that drove the Taliban from power.

“It is insane for the U.S. to think the Taliban can be a reliable counterterrorism partner, given the Taliban’s enduring support for al-Qaida,” Roggio said.

During the meeting, U.S. officials were expected to press the Taliban to allow Americans and others to leave Afghanistan. In their statement, the Taliban said without elaborating that they would “facilitate principled movement of foreign nationals.”


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Comeonman2021
Comeonman2021
2 years ago

Why why why

Triumpinwhitehouse
Triumpinwhitehouse
2 years ago

Silence from aoc and Omar on giving them aid but israel they’re evil amazing . Aipac can never make a legitimate argument anymore

Kol belz
Kol belz
2 years ago

Wonder what so called-humanitarian means for them . Is it Like beheading in town square…

GMalka
GMalka
2 years ago

Who will distribute the humanitarian aid to the Afghans? The Taliban? They’ll keep it for themselves just like that African prince who owned multiple luxury cars while his citizens ate mud.

Kollelfaker
Kollelfaker
2 years ago

Let them sell there tens of billions of weapons to raise moneys. You don’t support your enemy

Mindy Sirkis
Mindy Sirkis
2 years ago

something terribly wrong with the word “humanitarian” in the same sentence with taliban. We do live in a bizarro world where we feed the terrorists and neglect its own citizens.

lovealljews♡
lovealljews♡
2 years ago

they should give actual food and medical supplies and NOT money that way the Taliban cant take it for themselves

Democrats support Jew haters and terrorists.
Democrats support Jew haters and terrorists.
2 years ago

Democrats love giving money to terror regimes.

Just sayin’
Just sayin’
2 years ago

Your Taxes hard at work!

Hashomer
Hashomer
2 years ago

After WW1 the US fed starving Europe. After WW2 the US fed Germany, Italy and Japan for a decade. The US has abundance and should supply humanitarian aid to the Afghan people, especially after being there for 20 years…