RASC News Agency: In a letter shared publicly by Amrullah Saleh, the former First Vice President of Afghanistan, U.S. Senator Drew McEwen has issued a grave warning about the ongoing flow of international aid particularly from the United States to the Taliban. In his letter, McEwen denounced the continued financing of a regime that has not only dismantled democracy but is also actively fostering extremism, calling such support a “disaster for Afghanistan and a threat to global peace.” The letter references a new legislative initiative the “No Taxpayer Aid to Terrorists Act” which aims to permanently block U.S. funding from reaching the Taliban and similar designated terrorist groups. While McEwen is no longer serving at the federal level, he voiced unequivocal support for the bill, stating:
“Though I am no longer in federal office, I have strongly supported the passage of legislation that bans all financial aid to the Taliban and other terrorist entities. This bill, which is expected to be signed by President Trump, is a necessary step toward halting the rearmament of a group that is actively undermining peace and security not just in Afghanistan, but worldwide.”
Amrullah Saleh, in response, published a copy of the letter on his X (formerly Twitter) account, where he praised the proposed legislation and condemned the moral bankruptcy of financially enabling the Taliban.
“There is no ethical argument none whatsoever that can justify funding a regime that is both illegitimate and tyrannical. Any attempt to justify such aid must stem from moral cowardice or strategic recklessness,” Saleh declared.
“The survival of the Taliban regime is no illusion it is subsidized. Their oppressive grip on Afghanistan is bankrolled through quiet, weekly cash injections from Washington.” Saleh further revealed that billions of dollars in unmonitored aid have been funneled into the hands of the Taliban, empowering them to institutionalize repression, persecute ethnic and religious minorities, and entrench systemic gender apartheid. “This money,” he emphasized, “is not reaching the Afghanistani people it is financing the machinery of terror. It enables the Taliban to suppress over 8 million internally displaced people and refugees, all while eliminating women from public life and criminalizing dissent.”
These developments coincide with a rising chorus of objections from within the U.S. Congress and international human rights circles. Earlier, the U.S. Congress introduced legislation to terminate all financial assistance to Afghanistan under Taliban control. The bill, initially tabled by Republican Representative Tim Burchett, faced procedural delays but has regained momentum following widespread condemnation from women’s rights advocates, civil society organizations, and members of both major political parties. Critics of the current aid model argue that continuing to fund Taliban-controlled Afghanistan amounts to international complicity in authoritarianism. Rather than alleviating suffering, the assistance is being weaponized by the regime to further isolate the country, crush opposition, and extinguish the last remnants of civic freedom.
Senator McEwen’s letter underscores the urgency of confronting this growing ethical crisis. “You don’t fight tyranny by feeding it,” he warned. “The Taliban regime has proven, time and again, that it is unwilling to reform. It has rejected inclusive governance, criminalized women’s education, silenced the press, and used humanitarian aid as leverage to reinforce its grip on power. Supporting such a regime is not humanitarian it is betrayal.” As Afghanistan continues to spiral under the Taliban’s medieval rule, voices like Saleh’s and McEwen’s are amplifying a clear and urgent demand: any future aid to the Afghanistani people must be rerouted through transparent, non-state humanitarian channels that bypass the Taliban entirely.
The Taliban regime has shown no willingness to change. Until the world stops funding their brutality, the suffering of Afghanistan’s people will remain not only a national tragedy but a global disgrace.
