From the day the first American bomb fell on Afghanistan, U.S. government officials have claimed that the country is fighting the war on two levels -- trying to unseat the Taliban with bombs, and fighting a humanitarian battle against poverty and gender-based persecution. Even before the bombing Afghans had been facing decades of civil war that had forced hundreds of thousands to flee to neighboring countries. Those who remained faced a landscaped riddled with landmines, a Taliban government that punished women daily with supposed religious justification and, most recently, a devastating three-year drought. International aid agencies had tried to clear landmines and stave off starvation in Afghanstan by painstakingly removing mines, one by one from the countryside, and shipping in thousands of tons of food and supplies. Since the bombing began both efforts have halted; hundreds of thousands more Afghans have fled for the (closed) Pakistani border. U.S. bombs have destroyed several humanitarian facilities, such as the office of a mine-clearing program, killing four aid workers, and twice on Red Cross food warehouses. The Taliban have also been condemned for targeting aid organizations.
Since the U.S. began to drop bombs on Afghanstan U.S. cargo planes have dropped almost a million daily food rations. Have these food drops alleviated the increasing humanitarian crisis in Afghanstan or simply served as propaganda for the U.S. military? Has the U.S. helped Afghan people by supporting the questionable Northern Alliance/United Front, or will U.S. actions result in even more war, oppression and poverty for the Afghan people?
Join the Philadelphia IMC in gathering links about the humanitarian situation in Central Asia, including articles about the effect of food drops and questions about human rights in Uzbekistan.
Listen to reports from Between the Lines Radio and other IMC-Radio associates on the humanitarian situation.
