U.S. President Joe Biden late last week notified the country’s Congress of his intent to rescind the designation of Afghanistan as a major non-NATO ally.
“In accordance with section 517 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, I am providing notice of my intent to rescind the designation of Afghanistan as a Major Non-NATO Ally,” Biden said in the letter. The United States designated Afghanistan as a major non-NATO ally in July 2012.
In reaction to the U.S. President’s intent to rescind designation of Afghanistan as a non-NATO ally, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid in a tweet has said that the IEA is not worried about the U.S. intention, which has said that it will rescind designation of Afghanistan as a non-NATO ally.
“In the past 20 years, Afghans have suffered from this area and they do not have good memories of it. Of course, in both diplomatic and trade sector, the IEA wants good, positive and reliable relations with the world countries,” Mujahid added.
In July 2012, U.S. President Barak Obama designated Afghanistan as a major non-NATO ally, which made it easier for Kabul to receive defense equipment from Washington. Its status as a major non-NATO ally allowed Afghanistan to receive military assistance and training from the military alliance, which, along with the U.S., withdrew all its troop forces in August 2021 following the swift retaking of the country by the Islamic Emirate (IEA).
After the designation of Afghanistan as a non-NATO ally, Afghanistan immediately turned into a testing ground for western and U.S. military weapons, and the country dragged into the puddle of corruption, and the spirit of the country’s dependency on other countries was promoted among the society.
During the period of its affiliation with NATO and the West, Afghanistan not only lost its political and military achievements, but also found itself as the third country affected by corruption as all saw the consequences of this affiliation on the day of the collapse of the republic in mid-August.
Unlike the United States and NATO allies, which have a common defense treaty, there are no bilateral defense assurances for non-NATO allies.
Under the U.S. law, major foreign allies of the United States can benefit from certain interests in the areas of defense and security cooperation, such as loans, use of U.S. military equipment, contracts for the purchase of weapons, equipment, and major repairs of military equipment.
Besides, the allied countries are also provided with economic and military privileges, but no security commitment to them at all.
The U.S. Department of State, by rescinding the designation of Afghanistan as a non-NATO ally, it will then have 18 other major non-NATO allies, including Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, New Zealand, and Pakistan. , Philippines, Qatar, South Korea, Thailand and Tunisia.
The U.S. left Afghanistan last year after about 20 years of war in the country, in which 2,461 American soldiers were killed and more than 20,000 others were wounded. Although the U.S. no longer has a military presence in Afghanistan, it has provided $774 million as part of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan in the past one year.
Zarabi
“IEA not worried of U.S. intent to rescind designation of Afghanistan as non-NATO ally”
