WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism, took to the U.S. Senate floor to highlight the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and called on Congress and the Biden administration to take action to save the lives of the Afghan people facing famine and economic collapse.
“President Biden made the right decision to leave. The American people–by a large margin–support that decision,” said Murphy. “But right now, we need to be honest. The question of what to do now—as Afghanistan crumbles into a nightmarish failed state—is a moral knot, almost impossible to untangle.”
On the staggering humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, Murphy said: “By this summer, 97% of Afghans will be living below the poverty line—trying to survive on less than two dollars a day. With nine million people just one step away from famine, this humanitarian crisis could kill more Afghans than the past 20 years of war.”
Murphy laid out the arguments for and against releasing Afghanistan’s frozen assets: “On one side is what sounds like a pretty clear and convincing argument…To send billions to solve the humanitarian crisis they caused would be to bail the Taliban out and incentivize other insurgent groups to make similar rash decisions. But on the other hand is an equally clear and convincing argument. We stood by the Afghan people for two decades, protecting them, working with them…How could we let the Afghan people die, needlessly, if we have the power to stop it?”
“But what if these two points—that the Taliban has to own this and we can’t stand by idly while people die—what if they aren’t in 100 percent contrast? What if we could help the Afghan people without directly empowering the Taliban? Wouldn’t that be the best possible answer? The good news is that this middle road is possible. I’m going to be honest. It’s not easy, but it is possible,” Murphy posed.
Murphy stated: “Over the last twenty years, the U.S. has spent billions in our taxpayer dollars to build schools, and health clinics, and a robust civil service. The number of schools today for instance is five times higher in Afghanistan than it was in 2001, and that’s because of American investment. We can, and we should, find ways to pay the salaries of those who work at these nonpolitical institutions through the UN and NGOs on the ground—going around the Taliban-led government—to keep those essential services running and inject some much needed money into the economy.”
“Make no mistake, Madam President—the Taliban, and frankly twenty years of corrupt Afghan governments—they do own this debacle. The choices they made have led to this day. But our hands aren’t clean. Our mismanaged occupation—it is part of the story. And right now, as the Afghan economy collapses and families face starvation, burying our heads in the sand is not a solution. We can find ways to save lives without unreasonably empowering the Taliban,” Murphy concluded.
On Tuesday, Murphy released a statement on the administration’s decision to send $308 million in humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan. Murphy also defended the Biden administration’s decision to end the forever war in Afghanistan.
A full transcript of his remarks can be found below:
MURPHY: “President Biden’s decision to remove our remaining troops from Afghanistan was the right one. No question about it. President Trump set the Biden administration up for failure. Trump’s agreement with the Taliban committed us to withdrawing all our troops, and had Biden torn up the agreement, he would have had to send tens of thousands of troops into Afghanistan to push back the Trump era Taliban gains. The American public would not have supported another Afghanistan troop surge, and for good reason. The overnight collapse of the Afghan army and the government was frankly proof that twenty years of nation building had failed, and another twenty years wasn’t going to result in a different outcome.
“President Biden made the right decision to leave. The American people—by a large margin—support that decision.
“But right now, we need to be honest. The question of what to do now—as Afghanistan crumbles into a nightmarish failed state—is a moral knot, almost impossible to untangle. And as Chair of the Foreign Relations subcommittee that oversees Afghanistan policy, I’ve thought a lot about this question, and I’ve come to a few conclusions that I want to share quickly with my colleagues.
“First, let’s just take a minute to describe what it’s like to be living in Afghanistan right now. It is a nightmare. Once the U.S. military occupation and all the foreign aid that came with it disappeared, the Afghanistan economy collapsed predictably. Today, winter is setting in, and more than half the population, 23 million people, don’t have enough food to eat. By this summer, 97% of Afghans will be living below the poverty line—trying to survive on less than two dollars a day. With nine million people just one step away from famine, this humanitarian crisis could kill more Afghans than the past 20 years of war.
“And herein lies the quandary. On one side is what sounds like a pretty clear and convincing argument. Essentially, the Taliban has to own this. We warned the Taliban that this collapse would occur if they took the nation by force. That’s why we sat at a table with them and tried to explain that it was in their best interests, and the best interests of the nation, for the Taliban to share power with the elected Afghan government. But the Taliban did not listen—they took Kabul and they should own the results. To send billions to solve the humanitarian crisis they caused would be to bail the Taliban out and incentivize other insurgent groups to make similar rash decisions.
“But on the other hand is an equally clear and convincing argument. We stood by the Afghan people for two decades, protecting them, working with them. We spent hundreds of billions of dollars helping to raise up the future of millions of Afghan families, women and girls. And now, those same Afghans, those same families—the ones that frankly have nothing to do with the Taliban—are dying, potentially by the tens of thousands. And we have the power to do something about it. How could we let the Afghan people die, needlessly, if we have the power to stop it?
“Now, we possess this power because it is U.S. policy toward the Taliban government that is contributory toward this crisis. It’s not the proximate cause, but it’s contributory. When Kabul fell suddenly last August, the administration sensibly froze $7 billion of the former Afghan government’s assets that are held at the Federal Reserve. We didn’t want the Taliban to control it. But that money isn’t ours. It rightfully belongs to the Afghan people. Further, our sanctions on the Taliban—completely justified because of the Taliban’s embrace of terrorism—essentially handcuffs the Afghan economy, and therefore contributes to the country’s economic descent. So, we need to understand that our policies are contributing to the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
“But what if these two points—that the Taliban has to own this and we can’t stand by idly while people die—what if they aren’t in 100 percent contrast? What if we could help the Afghan people without directly empowering the Taliban? Wouldn’t that be the best possible answer? The good news is that this middle road is possible. I’m going to be honest. It’s not easy, but it is possible.
“Over the last twenty years, the U.S. has spent billions in our taxpayer dollars to build schools, and health clinics, and a robust civil service. The number of schools today for instance is five times higher in Afghanistan than it was in 2001, and that’s because of American investment. We can, and we should, find ways to pay the salaries of those who work at these nonpolitical institutions through the UN and NGOs on the ground—going around the Taliban-led government—to keep those essential services running and inject some much needed money into the economy. Again, this isn’t easy to do, but it is worthwhile given the stakes.
“We can also support the UN directly. Yesterday, the UN asked for $4.5 billion call in humanitarian aid to stave off catastrophe in Afghanistan. This is the largest single country appeal in history, and that should tell you about the scale of the crisis that we’re facing. It’s larger than what we see in Syria, or Yemen, or Ethiopia. I support the administration’s decision to dedicate an additional $308 million in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. That money’s going to help save lives, but Congress should authorize more.
“Make no mistake, Madam President—the Taliban, and frankly twenty years of corrupt Afghan governments—they do own this debacle. The choices they made have led to this day. But our hands aren’t clean. Our mismanaged occupation—it is part of the story. And right now, as the Afghan economy collapses and families face starvation, burying our heads in the sand is not a solution. We can find ways to save lives without unreasonably empowering the Taliban.”
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