America’s 9/11 victims deserve better.
After months of deliberation, the Biden administration has decided to release the $7 billion in frozen Afghan funds, enabling families of the September 11 victims to pursue half of the amount, with the remaining going toward humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan.
The central bank of Afghanistan has held $7 billion in assets in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The money was deposited prior to the Taliban seizing the country in September of last year.
After winning judgments against the Taliban years ago, relatives of the terror attack victims have been approaching the courts to access the money. In the meantime, the middle eastern country’s economy has collapsed, causing the country to be in desperate straits and prompting calls for Afghanistan to have access to relief spending for humanitarian efforts.
To initiate the process, President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Friday (February 11).
As these events unfold, the White House has been deliberating on the way to distribute the funds to ensure the Taliban wouldn’t be directly benefiting from the money. Discussing the matter, a senior administration official revealed the process could take place in several months and will be completed in coordination with allies.
These funds would be in addition to the trillion of dollars the United States and other international partners spent delivering aid to Afghanistan during the 20-year mission that ended in August 2021.
