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United States President Joe Biden. Alamy Stock Photo

Anger as Joe Biden takes $3.5 billion of Afghan assets to fund 9/11 families

$7 billion in frozen Afghan assets is to be split between humanitarian relief and a 9/11 fund.

DEMONSTRATOR’S IN AFGHANISTAN’S capital have condemned US president Joe Biden’s order to give $3.5 billion in Afghan assets held in the US for families of America’s 9/11 victims.

Protesters who gathered outside Kabul’s grand Eid Gah mosque asked America for financial compensation for the tens of thousands of Afghans killed during the last 20 years of war in their country.

On Friday, Biden took $7 billion in frozen assets belonging to the previous Afghan government held in the US. The White House said that $3.5 billion would be provided for humanitarian aid in Afghanistan with the other half being provided as funds for 9/11 families.

Afghanistan’s economy is teetering on the brink of collapse after international money stopped coming into Afghanistan with the arrival of the Taliban last August.

Torek Farhadi, a financial adviser to Afghanistan’s former US-backed government, questioned the UN managing Afghan Central Bank reserves.

He said those funds are not meant for humanitarian aid but “to back up the country’s currency, help in monetary policy and manage the country’s balance of payment”.

He also questioned the legality of Biden’s order.

“These reserves belong to the people of Afghanistan, not the Taliban … Mr Biden’s decision is one-sided and does not match with international law,” said Farhadi.

No other country on Earth makes such confiscation decisions about another country’s reserves.

Afghanistan has about $9 billion in assets overseas, including the $7 billion dollars in the United States.

The rest is mostly in Germany, the United Arab Emirates and Switzerland.

af AP AP

The demonstration’s organiser, activist Abdul Rahman, asked: “What about our Afghan people who gave many sacrifices and thousands of losses of lives?”

Mr Rahman said he planned to organise more demonstrations across the capital to protest against Mr Biden’s order.

“This money belongs to the people of Afghanistan, not to the United States. This is the right of Afghans,” he said.

Placards accused the United States of being cruel and of stealing the money of Afghans.

Yesterday, Taliban political spokesman Mohammad Naeem accused the Biden administration of showing “the lowest level of humanity … of a country and a nation”.

Biden’s order generated a social media storm, with tweets and other posts repeatedly pointing out that the 9/11 hijackers were Saudi nationals, not Afghans.

Obaidullah Baheer, a lecturer at the American University in Afghanistan and a social activist, tweeted: “Let’s remind the world that #AfghansDidntCommit911 and that #BidenStealingAfgMoney!”

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was brought to Afghanistan by Afghan warlords after being expelled from Sudan in 1996. Those same warlords would later ally with the US-led coalition to oust the Taliban in 2001.

However, it was Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar who refused to hand over bin Laden to the US after the devastating 9/11 attacks that killed thousands in September 2001.

Some analysts took to Twitter to question Biden’s order. Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Programme at the US-based Wilson Centre, criticised the scheme to divert funds from Afghanistan.

“It’s great that $3.5 billion in new humanitarian aid for Afghanistan has been freed up. But to take another $3.5 billion that belongs to the Afghan people, and divert it elsewhere–that is misguided and quite frankly heartless,” he tweeted.

Kugelman also said the opposition to Biden’s order crossed Afghanistan’s wide political divide.

“I can’t remember the last time so many people of such vastly different worldviews were so united over a US policy decision on Afghanistan,” he tweeted.

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    Mute Mick McGuinness
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    Jan 20th 2022, 7:11 AM

    He’s been Tangoed.

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    Mute Justin Gillespie
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    Jan 20th 2022, 12:51 PM

    @Mick McGuinness: For all the worry about Trump’s appointees being in his pocket, the Supreme Court judges seem to be immune to his shenanigans.
    This is not the first time they have ruled against him.

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    Mute David A. Murray
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    Jan 20th 2022, 7:17 AM

    I wonder what the security measures are for a Supreme Court Justice? Given how many times they have ruled against Trump’s lawyers, or refused to hear their case, hard core Trump/MAGA supporters must be inclined to take a dim view of the SCOTUS members.

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    Mute Felicity Rawson
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    Jan 20th 2022, 7:26 AM

    @David A. Murray: If anyone were to murder any member of SCOTUS at the monent, Biden would be appointing their replacement. You’d have to be pretty stu… to do it, if you’re a MAGA bot. Ah. Right. Yeah. Point taken

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    Mute David A. Murray
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    Jan 20th 2022, 7:34 AM

    @Felicity Rawson: Given the GOP’s tactics under Obama and Trump, I wouldn’t be confident Biden would be ‘allowed’ to select any SCOTUS replacement.

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    Mute Colm O' Shea
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    Jan 20th 2022, 7:53 AM

    @David A. Murray: Democrats have control of the house and senate (at the moment), the GOP would be powerless to stop an appointment

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    Mute Tricia G
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    Jan 20th 2022, 9:13 AM

    @Colm O’ Shea: Tell that to Manchin and Sinema…..

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    Mute Colm O' Shea
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    Jan 20th 2022, 9:41 AM

    @Tricia G: just playing devils advocate, those two are not elected to represent the DEMs, they are voted to represent the people of their districts (which are red/purple). Do their constituents want the same thing as the wider DEM party?
    They are stuck in a position where they cant be seen as too liberal as it will alienate their voters and they’ll do themselves out of a job.

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    Mute David A. Murray
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    Jan 20th 2022, 10:25 AM

    @Colm O’ Shea: While that’s technically true, the GOP are (almost entirely) completely shameless in leveraging whatever ‘process’ they can dig up to block how things are supposed to work in Congress, until they then do a complete flip when the timing is right. Rick Wilson recently described Congressional politics in these terms: “The Democrats are playing chess. The GOP are responding by simply eating the playing pieces.”

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    Mute Colm O' Shea
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    Jan 20th 2022, 12:45 PM

    @David A. Murray: love the quote!! Absolutely agree, Dems are playing by the rules and GOP are trying to change the rules to suit themselves. What shocks me is that the electorate is so entrenched that no one seems to see what they are doing and how it conflicts with their morals.
    Would be interested to find out what % of the GOP politicians actually believe what they are saying and what % are taking making cynical calculations

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    Mute Nameo Maximus
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    Jan 20th 2022, 7:21 AM

    Thought this was a Stephen Hawking article based on the pic!

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    Mute James Kerins
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    Jan 20th 2022, 7:37 AM

    @Nameo Maximus: why? Cos you’re blind?

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    Mute alan scott
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    Jan 20th 2022, 8:05 AM

    @Nameo Maximus: lol, I see the similarity

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    Mute Colm O' Shea
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    Jan 20th 2022, 9:44 AM

    @alan scott: what similarity? Hawkins was a leading intellect with spasticity, Trump was just a sp- (fill in for yourself)

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    Mute Nameo Maximus
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    Jan 20th 2022, 10:33 AM

    @James Kerins: Can spot a stable genius a mile away

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    Mute alan scott
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    Jan 20th 2022, 12:26 PM

    @Colm O’ Shea: it’s called having a sense of humour. Hawking was a intellect for sure. We are just saying that facial expression looks looked hawkings. Read what I actually said.

    It seems you just go though the comments each day to look for a argument and by chance you strolled on mine.

    Sorry to burst your bubble pal, but I have way more important things to do then get into a argument. Byeeee

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    Mute Colm O' Shea
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    Jan 20th 2022, 12:41 PM

    @alan scott: as was mine a joke, not trolling but bye. Toodle pip

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    Mute Anthony Ross
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    Jan 20th 2022, 6:27 PM

    Maybe the BOZO LIER MURDERER TRUMP WILL BE IN JAIL SOON

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