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The US president will revoke Afghanistan’s particular standing, nearly a 12 months after the Taliban takeover
US President Joe Biden notified Congress on Wednesday that he’ll formally revoke Afghanistan’s standing as a ‘Main Non-NATO Ally’, nearly a 12 months after the final American soldier left the nation on his orders – and the Washington-backed authorities in Kabul melted away earlier than the Taliban.
Biden has despatched an official discover to the US Home of Representatives and the Senate of his intent to rescind Afghanistan’s designation, the White Home mentioned. It was not clear when the change would take impact.
Afghanistan was initially designated as an MNNA beneath then-President Barack Obama in 2012, over a decade after the US invaded and overthrew the Taliban authorities in Kabul, accusing it of harboring worldwide terrorist Osama Bin Laden. The designation helped Washington absolutely fund Kabul’s army price range for years.
The designation is “a strong image of the shut relationship the US shares with these international locations and demonstrates our deep respect for the friendship” with them, based on the State Division. Whereas it supplies some army and financial privileges, it “doesn’t entail any safety commitments to the designated nation.”
A complete of 20 international locations and territories – together with Taiwan, an island China considers its rightful territory – have been formally or informally granted this standing for the reason that class was created in 1987. Among the many advantages the designated international locations can anticipate are the power to purchase surplus US weapons and ammunition, use US financing to purchase or lease army tools, entry to upkeep contracts, and the power to affix Pentagon analysis initiatives on a shared-cost foundation.
Biden’s choice to revoke Afghanistan’s standing isn’t shocking as a lot as overdue. The final US soldier left Afghanistan on August 30, 2021, with the nation firmly in Taliban palms by that time. The US-backed authorities had successfully surrendered Kabul to the Taliban two weeks prior, ensuing within the deliberate departure of US troops turning right into a mass evacuation involving diplomats, Western nationals, and over 100,000 Afghans who managed to get to the airport.
Washington has refused to acknowledge the brand new authorities, and has since frozen and partly confiscated the Afghan central financial institution belongings in its possession.
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