- Khalid Payenda, Afghanistan’s final finance minister, known as America’s battle for democracy in his nation a “pretense.”
- Payenda instructed The Washington Submit that he blames Individuals, his fellow Afghans, and himself for his nation’s fall.
- Payenda drives for Uber in Washington, DC, and teaches at Georgetown College to assist his household.
Afghanistan’s final finance minister, who now drives for Uber in Washington, DC, stated America’s battle for democracy in his former nation was a “pretense.”
Khalid Payenda instructed The Washington Submit he has been haunted by the autumn of Afghanistan to the Taliban. Amongst these he blames are the Individuals who touted their mission as upholding democracy and human rights within the area.
“Perhaps there have been good intentions initially, however the USA most likely did not imply this,” Payenda stated.
America withdrew from Afghanistan in August of 2021 after 20 years of conflict.
A number of months earlier than the Taliban swiftly seized management over Afghanistan, former President Donald Trump’s administration signed a conditional peace deal with the militant group in February 2020, promising to drag out US troops over the course of 14 months. The deal notably didn’t embody the Afghan authorities.
The unique date for the total withdrawal of US forces in Afghanistan was September 11, the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 assaults. In the meantime, in July, President Joe Biden had been rejecting the prospect of Taliban takeover. The forthcoming collapse of Afghan safety forces and fast advance by the Taliban took officers without warning.
The messy withdrawal from Afghanistan proved to be a low level for Biden. A terrorist assault close to the Kabul airport had killed at the least 169 Afghans and 13 US service members, marking the deadliest day for US navy members within the nation since 2011. Days later, a US drone strike supposed to stop one other ISIS-Ok assault mistakenly focused an help employee — killing 10 civilians, together with seven youngsters.
Biden defended the choice to remain the course and withdraw troops by the September deadline, blaming the Taliban’s success on Afghanistan political leaders who he stated “gave up and fled the nation.” He later selected to launch solely half of Afghanistan’s $7 billion reserve funds held within the US to the nation for humanitarian help, because the nation started to spiral into immense poverty and Afghans have taken determined measures to remain alive. The transfer triggered backlash from critics who stated the sum of the cash belongs to the folks of Afghanistan.
“We gave them each likelihood to find out their very own future. What we could not present them was the need to battle for that future,” Biden stated in an handle to the nation on August 16 final yr.
Payenda instructed the Submit he blames Afghans as effectively, but in addition Individuals for giving up on the values that have been imagined to be the very cause for his or her battle.
“We did not have the collective will to reform, to be critical,” stated Payenda, who grew to become the deputy finance minister in 2016 earlier than leaving authorities in 2019.
Payenda additionally stated he blames himself, telling the Submit that he wished he by no means accepted the place as finance minister close to the top of 2020.
“I noticed loads of ugliness and we failed. I used to be a part of the failure,” Payenda stated. “It is tough whenever you take a look at the distress of the folks and you are feeling accountable.”
Payenda works as an adjunct professor at Georgetown College, which pays a mere $2,000 per semester, however he instructed the Submit he would not do it for the cash. Moderately, Payenda stated, he desires to show college students who might sometime be authorities officers to see the battle from the perspective of those that want US help and intervention.
Payenda instructed the Submit he is “extremely grateful” for his gig with Uber, which he stated helps his spouse and 4 youngsters.
“It means I haven’t got to be determined,” he stated.