US – Afghanistan Funds -- WEB- FIXED
Metadata
- US – Afghanistan Funds -- WEB- FIXED
- February 12, 2022
- The Taliban and the families of 9/11 victims are condemning the Biden administration’s move to split $7 billion in frozen assets from Afghanistan's central bank and reserve half the amount while U.S. courts consider claims for compensation by families of victims of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report.
- Content Type Package
- Language English
- Transcript/Script US – Afghanistan Funds TV HEADLINE: Biden Keeping Half of Afghanistan’s $7B in Assets for 9/11 Victims TEASER: The rest, $3.5 billion, will be set aside in a trust fund slated for humanitarian assistance in the country PUBLISHED: 2/11/2022, BYLINE: Patsy Widakuswara CONTRIBUTOR: Ayaz Gul DATELINE: White House VIDEOGRAPHER: PRODUCER: SCRIPT EDITORS: Reifenrath, DJ OK, Jepsen VIDEO SOURCE (S): Skype, AP, AFP PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __ TRT: VID APPROVED BY: TYPE: EDITOR NOTES: Web already filed. Radio track included. Sorry no SOT from admin sources )) ((INTRO: )) [[ The Taliban and the families of 9/11 victims are condemning the Biden administration’s move to split $7 billion in frozen assets from Afghanistan's central bank and reserve half the amount while U.S. courts consider claims for compensation by families of victims of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report. ]] ((Afghans getting bread, AFP V000_9WE6UC)) ((NARRATOR)) Desperate Afghans queue for free bread as the country’s humanitarian crisis has worsened since the Taliban takeover in August, when Western countries froze international aid and access to assets held abroad. ((AFP V000_9WE6UC TC 4:24)) ((Muhajira Amanallah, Afghan Housewife)) ((Need female English VO)) "Our situation has been bad like this for almost one or two years. Before this, I used to find some bread and water.” ((Biden latest, AP 4365665)) ((NARRATOR)) On Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order allowing ((Afghans handling money, AFP V000_9UL2M8)) ((NARRATOR)) half of the $7 billion in frozen assets from Afghanistan's central bank to be set aside in a trust fund slated for humanitarian assistance in the country. ((911 file, AFP 5/2/2011)) ((NARRATOR)) The rest, $3.5 billion, is held back while U.S. courts consider claims for financial compensation by families of the 9/11 victims. The Taliban, which was in control of Afghanistan at the time of the 2001 attacks ((bin Laden file, AFP V001_MMV91914_TEN)) ((NARRATOR)) refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, the attacks’ mastermind. ((https://app.frame.io/projects/ae30dd8f-b6c4-418a-b02d-530603115a58/d3cceb25-2247-4113-83f0-16e412dd5ffa)) ((NARRATOR)) A senior administration official told VOA that a judge had ordered those funds frozen in place so the claimants could have their case heard. ((Radio track: Jacob Kurtzer, director of the Humanitarian Agenda at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, via Skype)) (( https://app.frame.io/player/cae2b450-277c-49cd-aa6e-d41a9b33a1ef TC 5:03)) ((Jacob Kurtzer, Center for Strategic and International Studies)) ((Skype)) “These are the reserves of the Afghan people. They're not the reserves in the Taliban. And so freezing them and starting to divvy them out based on our own internal calculations I think sends the wrong message to the people of Afghanistan about what role the United States is playing in terms of responding to the humanitarian, and really, to the economic crisis that they're experiencing.” ((Taliban protest “give us our money” AFP V000_9V26QU)) ((NARRATOR)) The Taliban also criticized the move. Spokesperson Mohammad Naeem tweeted that ((https://app.frame.io/projects/ae30dd8f-b6c4-418a-b02d-530603115a58/d3cceb25-2247-4113-83f0-16e412dd5ffa)) ((NARRATOR)) "stealing the Afghan people’s money that was frozen by the United States is the lowest a country could stoop to morally and humanly.” ((Taliban fighters’ parade, AFP V000_9WC39Z)) ((NARRATOR)) The Taliban have taken Afghanistan by force and have no right to speak about morality, said Husain Haqqani, director of South & Central Asia at the Hudson Institute, via Skype. ((https://app.frame.io/player/5aae911b-1381-4293-a235-8e4ab401d828 TC 3:39)) ((Husain Haqqani, Hudson Institute)) ((Skype)) “They are trying to get money to which they have no right to claim anyway. This money was accumulated under the Afghan Republic, which the Taliban constantly fought. The Taliban never liked the idea of international assistance coming to Afghanistan under the Republic, so it is rather disingenuous of them to try and now say that, 'Hey, this is the money of the Afghan people.'” (Various Kabul market, AFP V000_9V84A9)) ((NARRATOR)) Many 9/11 families support distributing the frozen assets to help the Afghan people, said Brett Eagleson, son of a 9/11 victim. But he said leaving the distribution of the fund for 9/11 to the court ((https://app.frame.io/projects/ae30dd8f-b6c4-418a-b02d-530603115a58/d3cceb25-2247-4113-83f0-16e412dd5ffa)) ((NARRATOR)) will force the families to fight one another — that is wrong, unfair and unjust. ((Various Kabul market, AFP V000_9V84A9)) ((NARRATOR)) It is still unclear how the Biden administration plans to distribute the $3.5 billion for humanitarian needs in Afghanistan. Patsy Widakuswara, VOA News at the White House.
- NewsML Media Topics Politics
- Topic Tags Funds Afghanistan
- Network VOA
- Embargo Date February 11, 2022 21:31 EST
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America - English