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It was only one year ago that the world saw Zabi Rezayee plummet to his death after clinging to the side of a United States CF-17 transport aircraft as it took off from Afghanistan. The 17-year-old and four others, including his 19-year-old brother Zaki, were trying to escape the country as the Taliban regained control. Zabis father found pieces of his son on the runway in Kabul and buried him; he did not find Zaki. Others fell on top of houses in Kabul, and one body was crushed in the landing gear and recovered in Qatar.

This happened at the peak of the chaos and desperation that swept through Afghanistan as the United States conducted a disastrous and hasty withdrawal from the country. In April 2021, Joe Biden announced all American troops would be withdrawn by September 11, blindsiding allies who had troops and foreign nationals there. On July 5, the U.S. left the strategic Bagram airfield in the middle of the night, not even telling the Afghan commander. As the U.S. withdrew, the Taliban went on the offensive.

In less than a month, the Taliban went from controlling some periphery provinces to closing in on the capital. Many of the Afghan troops, seeing they had no American support, fled to Iran. On Aug. 10, 2021, the White House said a Taliban takeover was not inevitable. Biden promised there wouldnt be a Saigon moment, when U.S. personnel were airlifted from the roof of the embassy as the enemy closed in. Only five days later, that very scenario played out in Kabul, in the same humiliating fashion as Saigon.

The U.S. troops were confined by presidential order to stay within the airport compound as thousands of American citizens and Afghans who worked closely with the Americans rushed to the airport gates to try to escape. Desperate mothers passed their infants over crowds to troops on the compound wall. Several infants died in the Concertina wire on either side of the wall.

In the final days, the U.S. shared biometric data with the Taliban, trusting them to bring Americans to the airport. On August 26, two bombs went off outside the airport in the dense crowds, killing 13 marines and 169 Afghans. In response, Biden authorized a drone strike that killed 10 innocent Afghans, mostly children. On August 30, the last U.S. transport plane left Afghanistan, leaving behind over 9,000 American citizens and $80 billion in military equipment, which the Department of Defense now claims was worth only $7 billion.

As this debacle unfolded last year, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote in the October 2021 issue: This has been the worst foreign-policy disaster in the nations history. This terrible defeat was a spectacle seen by the entire worldand they were watching intently! It will mar our history, perhaps for the rest of time. One year later, Afghanistan, America and the world are suffering the disastrous ripple effects of this shameful surrender. This one event changed the world, and it was deliberately designed to do exactly that.

The nation that has suffered the most is Afghanistan. It has reverted back to barbarism and is on the verge of complete collapse. Mr. Flurry wrote that the withdrawal sent an unmistakable message to both allies and enemies worldwide: America does not keep its promises. We do not honor commitments. We cannot be trusted even to protect our own people! Now, millions of people are going to be greatly persecuted and killed. Children and women are going to be abused, raped and murdered. This is exactly what has happened.

As soon as the Taliban had control, they began beating people in the streets for violating sharia law. People were publicly executed in cricket stadiums, and bodies were hung from cranes as a warning. The worse violations have been against women. The New Statesman reported: Womens rights have sharply regressed. Contrary to the Talibans promises before the takeover, women and girls have mostly been prevented from receiving an education, just as they were during the 1990s. Forced marriages and sex slavery have returned. Women and girls, as young as 15, have been taken as war brides for Taliban fighters. In a few cases, girls as young as 1 are being sold off as future brides for men.

The Afghan economy has also collapsed. The New Statesman continued: Afghanistans economy has collapsed in the year since the takeover. International aid, which before the takeover was worth almost half of the countrys gdp [gross domestic product] and funded three quarters of public spending, has dried up. The World Bank estimates that Afghanistans gdp has dropped by between 20 and 30 percent over the past year. Currently 90 percent of Afghans live in poverty. Most live daily with critical food and basic necessity shortages, and the threat of famine is constant. Some are being forced to sell their children into slavery for money to survive.

Joe Biden promised that al Qaeda would never return, but within the last few weeks a U.S. drone strike killed the leader of al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, while he was in a safe house in Kabul. U.S. intelligence also discovered several terrorist groups building training camps in Afghanistan. Once again, the country is a terrorism hot spot.

Twenty years of U.S. influence has been washed away in a matter of months, and with it the hopes and dreams of the Afghan people.

Another deadly ripple effect is how the defeat signaled the end of the American superpower. America is not just declining, it is in the last throes of death, Mr. Flurry wrote. It is being destroyed before our eyes. Many are now in open despair. This Afghanistan disaster is the worst evidence ever of how the United States has collapsed as a superpower! It is no surprise that after this debacle the enemies of America sprung into action. Victor Davis Hanson pointed this out in How to Erode the Worlds Greatest Military:

The global aftermath was eerie. Russia in a few months thereafter invaded Ukraine. Iran proudly announced it would soon have enough fissionable material to make a nuclear weapon. North Korea resumed its provocative missile launches. China openly talked of storming Taiwan.

The common denominator was the global perception that any president and military responsible for such colossal, televised incompetence would or could neither deter enemy aggression nor protect allied interests.

Top military and government officials in Europe remarked that Putin would not have invaded Ukraine if Afghanistan had not occurred. Many nations around the world have been strategizing for decades to undermine America as the leading nation. Afghanistan was a green light for Russia, China, Iran and Germany to take the offensive and take advantage of weak leadership.

This has even impacted recruitment in the U.S. Armed Forces, as nearly every major branch faces a shortage. Afghanistan is a black stain on the prestige and reputation of the armed forces, and many Americans are choosing not to serve. It shook Americans, and the soldiers, faith in their leadership and their patriotism.

To this day, none of the leaders responsible for the debacle have been held to account. All of them still have their jobs. The only individuals to lose their jobs were those who criticized the Biden administration for its decision and implementation.

The withdrawal from Afghanistan has sparked the formation of a new world order where America is no longer the head but quickly becoming the tail.

The most important point to remember from this anniversary is why it happened. This is a truth you will only find at the Trumpet. Mr. Flurry explained the real reason this disastrous withdrawal occurred, writing: Many people say it proves Joe Bidens incompetence. But this catastrophe isnt the result of bungling and bad judgment. It is a deliberate, planned effort to destroy America. This is not mere incompetence. It is calculated destruction. It is treachery!

The bitter fruits Afghanistan, America and the world have been tasting over this past year are the fruits of treason. This destruction will be the legacy of the radical-left leadership of the United States, led by Barack Obama.

This somber anniversary is a reminder of the ultimate motive of the Biden administration, which is really Obamas third term: to undermine U.S. power abroad. These radical Communists want to blot out the name of Israel, as the Bible says in 2 Kings 14:27. They attack anything that gives America power and influence. Americas position as a superpower was given as a blessing from God, and the radical left wants to abase America on the world stage and empower its enemies. This is treason. It is the reason behind this foreign policy of destruction.

This history is important to remember. It is the fulfillment of Bible prophecy and a reminder that only the Bible can truly explain what is going on inside America and the world right now. To prove all of this, please read Mr. Flurrys newly expanded book America Under Attack.

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Afghanistan: A Legacy of Treason and Dishonor - theTrumpet.com

Dear Editor,

A year ago Aug. 15, we gave Afghanistan back to the Taliban. We also gave something else away too.

Just before that dismal event, a young man working on my property had just come off Army duty in Afghanistan. When I asked him what we were really doing there after 20 odd years, he replied without hesitation: Guarding the minerals. So now that these minerals, needed for all this greenery that Congress has passed, are given to China or who knows who else, its our additional loss and a gain for our biggest adversary.

Its a gain too, not for us lumpen taxpayers, but for Speaker Nancy Pelosis son, Paul. Hardly an expert on minerology, he is nonetheless being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to sit on various boards of Chinese mineral companies. I wonder why. The Chinese are rapaciously gobbling up the mineral efforts in the Congo, and reports are coming out of the harshest and cruelest treatment of the miners. Meanwhile, efforts here in the U.S. to mine for these essentials are discouraged by this administration. (Full disclosure: I own shares in a U.S. lithium mining company based in Arkansas, but so far I dont hear any calls for its support.)

So I will continue driving my 2009 Ford Fusion until we stop coddling alien efforts and encourage domestic ones like affordable hydrogen cars and geothermal heating for homes and businesses. And until that time, no super-annuated quasi-socialist senator from Vermont, or hyperventilating, squeaking congresswoman from Queens, or some neurotic teenager going around in a $15 million yacht with a diesel engine just in case, have anything to say to me.

Ann Playfair

Woodstock, N.Y.

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Letter: What we gave away in Afghanistan - The Daily Freeman

The Taliban seized control of Afghanistan's capital Kabul in August last year, after the withdrawal of U.S. troops in the country following nearly two decades of war.

Paula Bronstein. | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Humanitarian aid to Afghanistan is not enough to sustain its economy and more investments are needed to support the country's development, according to the United Nations.

"You can't use humanitarian relief to patch up what has been a completely collapsed economy," said Kanni Wignaraja, assistant secretary general and regional director of Asia-Pacific at the United Nations Development Programme.

The Taliban seized control of Afghanistan's capital Kabul in August last year, after the withdrawal of U.S. troops in the country following nearly two decades of war.

Wignaraja said the "massive humanitarian operation" that took place in the second half of last year after the Taliban overthrew the Afghanistan government was "very needed to save lives."

But it's a mistake to suspend investments to rebuild and develop the country, she said.

The lack of investments from the private sector and development agencies is worsening the country's humanitarian crisis and stricken economy, Wignaraja added.

She said investments are needed to revive Afghanistan's economy and its domestic market as small and micro businesses have created job opportunities for men and women in the country for decades.

"A big part of the UN and UNDP's effort is [to] jumpstart the local business sector and get that moving because Afghans will feed Afghans. They will produce their own food," she said on CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" on Tuesday.

Others such as the Red Cross have also pointed out that humanitarian work alone is not sufficient to help pull Afghanistan out of its economic rut.

"Humanitarian organizations alone cannot replace public institutions of a country of 40 million people," Robert Mardini, Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross, told Reuters on Monday.

"So we really urge states and development agencies to return to Afghanistan to support Afghans who continue to bear the brunt of economic turmoil."

State and development agencies remain reluctant to provide funds to Afghanistan unless the Taliban keeps "to their part of the bargain" allowing girls to complete high school, creating jobs for women in the workplace, and becoming a more inclusive government, Wignaraja said.

Afghanistan is "the only country in the world" where girls can't complete high school," she said.

"The dignity and the rights of women" were taken away from them when their right to work was dismissed, and it's cost an estimated billion dollar loss to the Afghan economy, she added.

More than 6,000 American lives were lost and over 100,000 Afghans were killed, during the 20-year conflict, and the U.S. spent more than $2 trillion in Afghanistan.

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Afghanistans 'collapsed economy' can't be patched up by humanitarian relief, says the UN - CNBC

When Marine Corps Maj. THOMAS SCHUEMAN fought against the Taliban in Helmand Province, Afghan interpreter, Zainullah Zaki, was by his side. Zakis work for the American military went far beyond translating the language and culture for the platoonhe fought in combat and risked his life working with the Marines. But when it came to getting Zaki and his family out of Afghanistan, it was almost impossible.

For six years, Schueman fought bureaucracy to no avail. With the U.S. withdrawal last August, Zakis life was in even more peril and the need to extract him became more critical. Schueman will join us to talk about their friendship, the war in Afghanistan, and the hurdles to Zakis evacuation. The two men co-authored a new book, Always Faithful: A Story of the War in Afghanistan, the Fall of Kabul, and the Unshakable Bond Between a Marine and an Interpreter.

But first, we talk with New York Times Afghanistan correspondent CHRISTINA GOLDBAUM about how much life has changed in the country one year after American forces messy withdrawal and the Talibans takeover.

The New York Times, Taliban Rewind the Clock: A Woman Is a Helpless and Powerless Creature A year into Taliban rule, Afghanistan has seemed to hurtle backward in time.

Task & Purpose, This Marine wasnt about to let his Afghan interpreter get captured by the Taliban -Always Faithful is a braided memoir of two lives that intersect at pivotal moments. Tom and Zak write of the chaos of their younger lives and the subsequent beauty that arose from the carnage.

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Afghanistan and the bond between a Marine and an interpreter - WHYY

Turkish institutions continue to stand with the Afghan people, who have recently suffered heavy losses due to earthquakes and floods, with their humanitarian aid activities in Afghanistan, especially with the "Kindness Trains."

In Afghanistan, where heavy losses were experienced due to the earthquake that occurred at the end of June and the flood that followed, the survivors are clinging to life with the help of Turkish institutions.

Institutions performing aid activities in disaster areas delivered humanitarian aid to thousands of Afghan families, both routinely and with the fifth "Kindness Train".

"We aim to continue our aid with the same determination in the coming period. In this context, we are planning to distribute the materials to be brought to Afghanistan by the sixth Kindness Train service to families in need in as many provinces as possible in September, again without discrimination, taking into account the regions in need of priority." the Turkish Ambassador in Kabul Cihad Erginay said.

Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH), Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) and Turkish Red Crescent (Kzlay) cooperated with the Afghan Red Crescent to deliver aid to Afghanistan's disaster areas.

In these regions, in addition to food parcels containing products such as flour, oil, various legumes, sugar, salt, pasta, tomato paste for each family, tents, blankets, carpets, diapers and feeding sets, clothes, shoes, stationery items are also provided for those whose houses are damaged. Humanitarian aid materials were distributed in many items. The aid was planned to meet the needs of each family for several months. Institutions also contribute to the Afghan economy by purchasing aid other than materials from Trkiye through the "Kindness Trains" from the Afghan market.

In this process, IHH delivered 530 tons of food aid to 5,000 families in total with the fifth "Kindness Train". About 100 kilograms of food packages were delivered to each family.

In the coming days, the charity will also deliver over 400 tons of tents, blankets, carpets, clothing, fabrics, shoes, diapers and food, as well as stationery, to those in need, again with the fifth "Kindness Train".

In addition, IHH prepared hot meals for 1000 people every day for a month in the Giyan and Bermel districts of Paktika province, which was most severely affected by the earthquake, and provided food, tents, blankets, hygiene kits, tents and cash aid to hundreds of people.

Continuing the distribution of aid to a total of 15 thousand families in 10 provinces, IHH also provides aid for the development of agriculture in Afghanistan.

Accordingly, a total of 45 tons of saffron seeds and various agricultural kits were donated to 133 farmers in Kandahar and Herat.

IHH Afghanistan Coordinator Mcahid Kl stated that saffron seed aids will be an alternative to the cultivation of agricultural products such as poppy and hemp and have the potential to distract farmers from the drug trade.

"With the new government banning the cultivation of such products (poppy and hemp), most of the farmers became unemployed. We, as IHH, decided to distribute saffron seeds, which are an alternative to such products and have a high value, to orphaned and widowed farmer families in need. Because Afghanistan saffron is all over the world. It is shown as one of the most valuable and high-quality saffron."

Kl also noted that a protocol was signed between the Afghanistan Ministry of Education and IHH last week for an education complex to be established in the capital Kabul, where 1000 orphans will be sheltered and educated, and that the construction will begin soon.

AFAD, on the other hand, delivered a total of 515 tons of humanitarian aid to 3,500 families, the majority of whom were in earthquake and flood areas, and provided tents, blankets and carpets to 1200 families who suffered severe damage.

In addition to the aid, various items of aid were also delivered to orphanages and drug treatment centers.

AFAD Afghanistan Team Coordinator Serhat Grbz told Anadolu Agency (AA) that they successfully completed a difficult process to deliver the aid.

"Despite the difficult physical conditions in earthquake and flood areas, we were able to deliver humanitarian aid materials to those in need without any problems. We were extremely happy to be a little relief for the problems of families in need. From now on, our aid will reach Afghanistan in the near future. It will continue with the sixth Kindness Train."

The Turkish Red Crescent was one of the first institutions to run to the regions where earthquakes and floods occurred. In addition to the aid that covers thousands of families in these regions, the Turkish Red Crescent provided food aid to 1000 families last week.

Turkish Red Crescent, which has provided 200 tents to the disaster victims in the said regions, will deliver food aid to 3,500 families in need in the coming days.

Farid Ahmed Ziya, head of the Turkish Red Crescent Delegation to Afghanistan, stated that 350 tons of humanitarian aid will be distributed to families in need, together with the aid they have carried out and planned recently, and that the aid will continue.

Ambassador Erginay also stated that the humanitarian aid materials that have come with five "Kindness Trains", the last of which are predominantly disaster areas, have been delivered to families in need in all provinces of the country.

He expressed that they support various institutions and women's groups in Afghanistan, adding: "We continue to carry out social support projects with the aid that comes with the fifth Kindness Train. In this context, we donate beds and wheelchairs to be used in hospitals and anti-drug clinics. Likewise, we provide support to women who earn their living from tailoring by donating sewing machines in Mazar-i-Sharif."

After the Taliban, while the world left Afghanistan materially and morally alone, Trkiye made a great contribution to alleviating the deepening humanitarian crisis.

In line with the instructions of President Recep Tayyip Erdoan, more than 6,000 tons of humanitarian aid, which came with five "Kindness Trains" sent from Trkiye to Afghanistan, was delivered to hundreds of thousands of people in need, considering the large family structure in Afghanistan.

Various kinds of food items, tents, blankets, wheelchairs, sewing machines and stationery items were prepared in many items, giving hope to the needy in 34 provinces of the country.

The first "Kindness Train," which departed from Trkiye to contribute to the mitigation of the humanitarian crisis that the Afghan people were in, arrived in Afghanistan on Feb. 7 and the distribution of aid to all provinces had begun.

Aid groups describe Afghanistan's plight as one of the world's most rapidly growing humanitarian crises. According to the United Nations, half the population now faces acute hunger, over 9 million people have been displaced and millions of children are out of school.

Previously, the U.N. and its partners launched a $4.4 billion funding appeal to avert a humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan in 2022. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has also warned that millions of Afghans are on the verge of death, urging the international community to release Afghanistan's frozen assets and jump-start its banking system.

The Turkish government has taken a pragmatic approach to the events in Afghanistan, including the emergence of the Taliban after the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces. Underlining that new realities have emerged in the country, Ankara said it would move forward accordingly while keeping communication with all relevant leaders open.

NATO member Trkiye maintained its embassy in Afghanistan after Western countries withdrew following the Taliban takeover and have urged those countries to step up engagement. At the same time, it said it will only work fully with the Taliban if they form a more inclusive administration.

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Trkiye continues to lend helping hand to disaster-hit Afghanistan | Daily Sabah - Daily Sabah