Brooklyn For Peace welcomes the decision of President Biden to adhere to the agreement the U.S. signed with the Taliban in February 2020 to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan, although we acknowledge that his September 11, 2021 date is in violation of the May 1, 2021 deadline under the agreement. We hope that in the months ahead President Biden will resist strong pressures from the military and others to alter that decision.

This 20-year failed war illustrates the folly of using American military power to direct the internal affairs of another country. In the case of both Afghanistan and Iraq, the Bush Administration transformed an international crime into an opportunity for the invasion and prolonged occupation of those two nations.

Brooklyn For Peace hopes that the U.S. will commit to a lasting solution in Afghanistan by also ending airstrikes, Special Ops and covert operations, and that the tragic experience in Iraq as well as in Afghanistan can be an occasion for the U.S. to reassess its reliance on military power in all forms as the cornerstone of American foreign policy in other nations.

We will continue to advocate for peaceful solutions to international problems, and for redirecting federal funding away from military spending and toward increased spending on education, housing and health care at home as well as on international human needs.

Please use Take Action tool from the Friends Committee on National Legislation to encourage our elected officials to support this decision and to make public statements to that effect.

Biden’s announcement of the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Afghanistan is a welcome step in the right direction. But it’s not enough! We shouldn’t be lulled into thinking that this war is really at an end.
Check out these items:

1. What’s Needed for a More Lasting Peace in Afghanistan
2. Contrary to What Biden Said, US Warfare in Afghanistan Is Set to Continue

To really end the war in Afghanistan, we need to end the use of sanctions and weaponized drones.
Learn more about how sanctions are used as a tool of war:

Learn about weaponized drones
Sign this petition to ban weaponized drones.