People walk in a village threatened by unexploded ordnance left by U.S. forces in Farah Province, Afghanistan, July 26, 2023. /Xinhua
Two years have passed since U.S.-led coalition forces exited Afghanistan, but the impacts of war and U.S. sanctions have left the unsettled country with a horrific legacy.
Experts say the United States, which hastily withdrew from Afghanistan in disregard of its responsibilities and obligations, deserves much blame for the mess – a worsening humanitarian crisis, economic dilemma and terrorist attacks – it left behind.
Economic black hole
At the end of August 2021, the last U.S. troops left Afghanistan, but the U.S. presence still has a negative influence on the nation's economy. Experts say the U.S. invasion and occupation have created a "black hole" in Afghanistan's economy by sucking up a lot of wealth that now remains unaccounted for.
According to the latest report by the United Nations Strategic Framework for Afghanistan, released in early July, Afghanistan's economy contracted by about 30 percent between 2020 and 2022. There are 24.4 million Afghan people in need of humanitarian assistance, and a staggering nine people out of 10 live in poverty.
Agriculture has been the first victim of the war-ravaged country's economy. Large areas of land where Afghans used to farm are now useless, as countless ordnance, including the bomblets of notorious cluster bombs, were left under the soil by the U.S. troops, who never had any intention of clearing them.
Sadiq Shinwari, an Afghan military expert, said that unexploded bombs have led to grave consequences for Afghanistan's agriculture, on which the landlocked country's economy is mainly dependent.
The Pentagon has called back its "patriots" while doing nothing to clean up their mess. The "humanitarian aid" the White House bragged about has also turned out be nothing but propaganda.
A man shows the damage of a house destroyed by bombs dropped by U.S. forces in Hesarak District of Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, July 30, 2023. /Xinhua
A power generation facility, including several rows of diesel storage tanks, in the southern city of Kandahar has been abandoned and is no longer in use. Some roads the United States had built were bombarded beyond recognition by the U.S. troops.
"We did not go to Afghanistan to nation-build. And it's the right and the responsibility of the Afghan people alone to decide their future and how they want to run their country," U.S. President Joe Biden said in a briefing on the U.S. army's withdrawal from Afghanistan in July 2021.
However, the dire situation worsened following the Biden administration's decision to freeze some $7 billion worth of assets of Afghanistan's central bank.
Since the U.S. military's withdrawal from Afghanistan, uncertainties faced by Afghans who had worked for the U.S. military have multiplied, Al Jazeera has reported.
The U.S. government previously promised that "Afghan nationals who work side by side with U.S. forces" would have a home in the United States. But subsequent government reports have shown the Biden administration failed to deliver on that pledge, Al Jazeera said, adding that the chaotic U.S. withdrawal left them with little hope for a future in their homeland.
A boy shows his belly hurt by a blast of unexploded ordnance left by U.S. forces in Farah Province, Afghanistan, July 26, 2023. /Xinhua
Unexploded ordnance still claiming lives of Afghans
The U.S.-led forces left Afghanistan after 20 years of military occupation, but the unexploded ordnance (UXO) left over from the U.S. troops have been claiming the lives of Afghans and will continue to do so for years.
The Afghan land is contaminated with unexploded ordnances, which killed and injured tens of thousands of Afghans, especially children, as they travel and go about their daily chores, according to a report from the "Costs of War" project under Brown University.
The International Committee of the Red Cross pointed out that children are the most vulnerable victims of the UXO, noting in its report that 640 children were killed or injured in 541 incidents involving landmine explosions and explosive remnants between January 2022 and June 2023, nearly 60 percent of the total number of civilian casualties of UXO-related explosions.
Statistics showed that during the 20-year U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, over 170,000 Afghan lives were lost, and nearly one-third of the Afghan population became refugees.
In addition, the U.S. military extensively used cluster bombs in Afghanistan, causing immense suffering to the local population. According to the Cluster Munition Coalition, in 2001 and 2002, the U.S. military dropped over 1,200 cluster bombs in Afghanistan, containing more than 240,000 sub-munitions. Shatir Village in Herat, Afghanistan, was a target of the bombing. Over two decades have passed, and the most heavily affected areas of the village remain in ruins.
Read more: Afghans haunted by U.S. cluster bomb attacks more than 20 years ago
(With input from agencies)