Why Americans strongly oppose aid to Afghanistan

A majority of American voters oppose providing humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, as they fear the money will end up in the pockets of the Taliban (under UN sanctions for terrorism), according to a Morning Consult/Politico poll out on Wednesday.

Earlier in January, the United Nations and its partners launched the largest single-country funding appeal for Afghanistan in 2022, worth over USD 5 billion, to overcome the humanitarian crisis that emerged after the Taliban came to power as reported by Sputnik news agency. "60 per cent of American voters, including 47 per cent of Democrats and 3 in 4 Republicans, oppose sending financial aid to mitigate Afghanistan's multiple humanitarian crises because the money could end up with the Taliban," the poll said.

As the Taliban entered Kabul in August, President Ashraf Ghani resigned and left the country. The United States withdrew from Afghanistan in the same month, ending its 20 year-long presence, as mentioned by Sputnik news agency. In December, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a US resolution allowing humanitarian aid payments to Afghanistan despite current sanctions. The US has since allowed certain transactions and activities involving the Taliban or Haqqani Network (both under UN and US sanctions) for governmental and non-governmental organizations doing humanitarian work in Afghanistan. Since October 2021, the US has allocated nearly USD 782 million in humanitarian assistance for the Afghan people, the White House reported in January, according to Sputnik news agency.

(ANI)