Biden's Dance with the Devil
An Afghan-American Perspective on the Missteps of U.S. Diplomacy
By KUMAYL YUSUF NAZARY | August 01, 2023 | kumayl@wearenrf.org | @knazary
In the grand scheme of the American political theater, the latest act to unfold in the Biden administration reads like a surreal nightmare. A dystopian narrative with serious-minded missteps and, quite frankly, dangerous diplomatic decisions.
No more time for sugar-coating: We desire for further engagement with the Taliban without the will of the people of Afghanistan. Yes, the Taliban terrorists. The one that's systematically dismantled the rights and freedoms of the people, especially women, since they seized power. The one that's tightened its grip around the neck of my ancestral homeland, squeezing out the life, culture, and resilience of a people who've suffered far too long under the yoke of extremism.
Who are the architects of this new approach? Following the footsteps of his predecessor Thomas West along with Rina Amiri. Amiri, the Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls, and Human Rights, and West, the Special Representative for Afghanistan. These two, alongside a team of U.S. officials, journeyed to Qatar to rub elbows with the Taliban. Their task? To “engage” in dialogue, allegedly over critical interests.
PRESS RELEASE: Meeting of U.S. Officials with Taliban Representatives
One could argue that this approach is a desperate move by a beleaguered Biden administration. But it is precisely the type of move that breathes life into a terrorist regime, giving it a patina of legitimacy it neither deserves nor should have. How are we to understand the logic here? Is this akin to taking a family of foxes into the hen house for a meaningful discussion about the rights and well-being of chickens?
And here's the kicker: as a direct response to this display of diplomacy, the women of Afghanistan, both those living under the iron fist of the Taliban and those exiled, responded with outrage. They are crying out that the U.S. has misinterpreted their pleas for help as a call for dialogue with their oppressors. They don't want engagement with the Taliban; they want their rights reinstated under a legitimate, inclusive, popular government.
Even as my fingers punch these keys, in the backstreets of Kabul, underground schools are risking everything to educate girls in defiance of the Taliban's ban on education. Meanwhile, just days ago, dozens of brave women protested the Taliban's ban on beauty salons in Kabul, only to be dispersed with fire hoses, stun guns, and gunfire. These acts of defiance are not whispers in the wind but a desperate cry for true liberation.
In the grim theater of Taliban's Afghanistan, women brave as lions stand defiant against the ban on beauty parlors. Undeterred by a fusillade of water, stun guns, and live rounds, they persist - a living rebuke to our government's head-scratching diplomacy.
The Taliban, meanwhile, peddles loathsome fiction to young minds, attributing the HIV/AIDS epidemic to the “Westerners” via their revamped curriculum. Simultaneously, they stifle the sacred Ashura rituals of Shia Muslims. And what's our response? An unsettling nod of “engagement,” a carte blanche to the pyromaniacs fueling the fires of terrorism.
Afghanistan: Three Shia mourners martyred due to Taliban shooting at Ashura procession
Taliban's reign of fear doesn't discriminate - it suffocates even the innocent sentiments of love, as a young boy and girl recently found out. Endorsing their public stoning, they again expose the true face of the beast we're engaged in a risky tango of legitimacy.
The Hill: UN criticizes Taliban over public executions, lashings, stoning
But the women of Afghanistan are far from broken. Their dissent echoes through the streets of Kabul, painting a picture of an alternate Afghanistan that refuses to bow to the Taliban's draconian rule. Their undefeatable spirit - the true north in this storm of chaos. And this resistance isn't an end in itself - it's a testament to the endurance of human spirit, a stinging rebuke to the Biden administration's botched Afghanistan policy.
So, how could the Biden administration have misread the situation so dramatically? Could it be that this is not a case of misinterpretation but an intentional act of selective hearing?
On one side, we have women literally risking their lives to say no to the Taliban, to resist oppression and fight for their rights. On the other hand, we have Amiry, who tweets: “Having been urged extensively by Afghans & human rights defenders on the need to directly engage the Taliban on human rights…” But who are these ‘Afghans’ that are urging further engagement with the very terrorists suppressing them?
Make no mistake, engaging with the Taliban is not diplomacy; it's a betrayal of those who are striving to regain their freedom. It's a betrayal of the principles upon which America was built, and it's a betrayal of the hopes of those who thought that America would stand with them against such oppression.
The Biden administration must redirect its efforts towards supporting those fighting the good fight within Afghanistan, not legitimizing their oppressors. As an American citizen with deep roots in Afghanistan, I implore my fellow citizens to penetrate the smoke and mirrors of this misguided diplomacy. Our government may be waltzing with the devil, but for us, silence is not an option.
For the brave women and the people of Afghanistan, the fight continues. Their determination is evident in every protest, every underground school, and every plea for their voices to be heard. Their struggles, their courage, their lives - they matter. It's about time our administration recognized that.