AFBT Condemns Biden’s Drone Strike in Kabul

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AFBT CONDEMNS BIDEN’S DRONE STRIKE IN KABUL

August 1, 2022

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK – Three years ago, then-Presidential candidate Joe Biden promised to “end the forever wars in Afghanistan and the Middle East.” This past weekend, he broke that solemn promise with a drone strike in the densely populated city of Kabul, on the cusp of the anniversary of a painful withdrawal. Afghans For A Better Tomorrow (AFBT) is closely monitoring reports coming out of the capital city for civilian casualties, a likely occurrence in a large city of roughly six million residents living in 400 square miles. We unequivocally condemn the continued use of drone warfare in Afghanistan and beyond and continue to call for an immediate cessation of their use.

We are deeply skeptical of President Biden's definition of "success." Drone strikes are deadly weapons of war. According to Airwars, a civilian harm monitoring group, US drones, and airstrikes have killed between 22,000 to 48,000 civilians since September 11th. Last August, as the chaotic withdrawal was nearing its final days, an American drone strike killed 10 innocent Afghan civilians, including 7 children.

Drone warfare, under the guise of “counter-terrorism,” keeps neither us safe nor does it protect the Afghan civilian population, who are already suffering from the Taliban’s brutal rule over the country, a withering onslaught of American sanctions, and freezing of $7 billion dollars in Afghan assets. In October 2021, AFBT organized a direct action outside Raytheon headquarters in Arlington, Virginia to hold them accountable for their part in the military-industrial complex. This strike is also further proof that the deeply flawed US-Taliban agreement signed in Doha in 2020 neither served the Afghan or American people.

America’s military intervention has caused enough pain and misery for the Afghan people; enough is enough. End drone strikes now.

Afghans For A Better Tomorrow (AFBT) is a progressive, Afghan American community and advocacy organization whose mission is to bring transformative change for Afghans in the United States and beyond.

Press contact:
Arash Azizzada
arash@weareafghans.org
202-277-5481