Friday, 11 September 2020_Almost every Afghan knows how the 9/11 terrorist attacks brought their country into the center of global politics. Immediately after the attacks, the US under Republican George W. Bush’s presidency and its allies invaded Afghanistan on October 7, 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban regime from power, but after more than one and a half decades, the foreign troops are still deployed in the country.
About two decades on, the US has not only failed to achieve its declared goal that is to uproot terrorism, it has also sat for talks with the Taliban militant group as a negotiation partner as part of efforts to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan.
And now as the world is marking the anniversary of the invasion, the main question lingering in mind is: "Was invasion worth it?"
A report by Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission says over 150,000 Afghan civilians and foreign forces have been killed since the US invasion of the country.
Today, Afghans say they have inherited a devastated country due to the US war. With almost all infrastructures ruined during the war, the Afghans are wondering how they can reconstruct their country.
Based on reports of international bodies such as the United Nations Office on Drug and Crimes (UNODC), Afghanistan has turned into one of top opium producers around the world after the US invasion the country.
Today, with the Afghan intra-talks to begin soon, Afghans are mainly concerned that what they have achieved in civil and human rights over the past years are not taken seriously. They have urged their government not to give an inch in their talks with the Taliban when it comes to human rights and freedom of speech.
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