U.S. Sanctions Could Starve Millions of Afghans. Will Congress Act?

Designed to punish the Taliban, a U.S. freeze on Afghan assets and aid has inflicted food shortages on the country's people instead.

Lee Fang, Paul Abowd

December 13 2021, 4:44 p.m. ET

The Intercept’s Lee Fang asked U.S. senators if they’ll intervene to pressure the Biden administration to free up $9 billion in Afghan government funds and another $1 billion in humanitarian aid from the World Bank in order to prevent a starvation crisis that could ravage Afghanistan’s people this winter.

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 09: NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani attend an unveiling ceremony for a new 9/11 Memorial Wall at One Police Plaza on September 09, 2026 in New York City. Mayor Mamdani joined NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, family members of first responders, and other NYPD officers as they unveiled a new wall display that honors first responders who lost their lives during the September 11th World Trade Center terror attacks and since. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

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