Former President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani has been granted asylum in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after he escaped from Taliban's takeover of Kabul, Hindustan Times (HT). Such was the speed of Taliban's advance that, "I was evacuated in a condition where I couldn't even put on my shoes," said Ghani, news18.com. "People who didn't speak the local languages stormed the presidential palace and were looking for me, I was evacuated." Who were these people who did not speak local languages? "Pashto and Persian (Dari), both Indo-European languages, are the official languages of the country. More than two-fifths of the population speak Pashto, the language of Pashtuns, while about half speak some dialect of Persian," Britannica. Were they Al Qaeda fighters who originate from many nationalities, Britannica, or Pakistani Army soldiers majority of whom are Punjabis, The Indian Express (TIE). It has been a disaster for US President Joe Biden. "President Biden assured Americans that the Taliban would not storm the US Embassy in Kabul the same way the North Vietnamese stormed the US Embassy in Saigon in 1975", but "Just weeks later, US troops flew helicopters to the embassy in Kabul, rescuing diplomats as the Taliban stormed the building," "It was the most contemptible speech by a US president (Biden) in modern times -- a speech that shames America and leaves its global reputation in the dirt," Daily Mail (DM). "His abject surrender to the Taliban was dressed up as political reality and common sense. His scuttle from Kabul, still ongoing, was depicted as geopolitical wisdom and a refocusing of US priorities. Any mistakes or problems were the fault of others, from Trump to the Afghan army." "President has been slammed for the 'bald-faced' lie that chaos in Kabul during the final stages of withdrawal was inevitable after saying for months it was not," DM. The former administration of Donald Trump was negotiating a peace deal with the Taliban in Doha which entailed a withdrawal of all US troops from Afghanistan, lawstanfordedu. Was Joe Biden handcuffed by this peace deal, as he is claiming? "Still, Trump spoke cautiously about the deal's prospects for success, warning of military firepower if 'bad things happen'," AP. Biden started reversing all of Trump's policies from the moment he came into office by issuing a series of executive orders, BBC, so his claims of being bound by Trump's agreement with the Taliban is a shameful lie. "Many see what has unfolded on Biden's watch in Afghanistan as a linear continuation of Donald Trump's America First policies -- and as some have joked cruelly, not as well organised. That is potentially deeply damaging," (Trump hating) BBC. Biden sneaked into the White House in a hotly disputed election, with over half of Republican voters suspecting that the election was "rigged", Reuters. Biden must be finding that winning was easy compared to occupying the Oval Office. After the initial euphoria, the Taliban will probably find that winning was a cakewalk compared to running the country. The US has halted "bulk shipment of dollars headed for Afghanistan" and "is also blocking Taliban access to government accounts managed by the Federal Reserve", foxnews. "Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) has reserves of roughly $9bn, most of which is held in America," BBC, and "The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said Afghanistan will no longer be able to access the lender's resources," BBC. Afghanistan economy is dependent on foreign aid, without which the currency will fall, inflation will rise and the poor will be badly hurt. Though Afghanistan remains poor and a center of opium supply to the world, much has changed in the last 20 years, BBC. Especially women, many of whom have attended schools and college, earn their own money and have discovered western fashion. Now that people have discovered western decadence will they accept the Taliban's version of the Sharia? The Taliban, like Biden, may find winning was easy. But, how do they win the peace?
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