President Joe Biden’s refusal over the past year to allow the Afghan central bank access to its own reserves has caused an economic crisis that has pushed most of the population into extreme poverty and malnutrition. (Economist Andrés Arauz describes Biden’s plan as “starting a parallel private foundation ‘central bank’ from scratch,” and argues that it’s a “terrible idea”—CEPR, 9/15/22.) The earmarking of half the funds for 9/11 families—which a group of economists including Joseph Stiglitz called “arbitrary and unjustified”—is particularly galling. The Afghan people are not responsible for 9/11, they’re victims of 9/11 the same way our families are. Missing: women’s voicesEven those the West most professes concern for, Afghan women, have deeply criticized Biden’s handling of the funds.

Source: CNN September 20, 2022 21:13 UTC