It sounds better to say ‘Afghanistan attended COP29’ instead of laying the truth out in bold print: the Taliban are at COP29.
Yes, the internationally recognised terror group, guilty of countless crimes against humanity both past and present, has sauntered into the COP29 conference to watch people talk about Net Zero and guilt climate cash out of the gullible West.
If the internationally recognised Islamic terror group is strapped for cash and struggling to keep their murderous, oppressive, and vile regime afloat, perhaps they could try flogging the $7 billion worth of US military equipment left by Biden’s disastrous withdrawal on Ebay? Russia might be interested, or even Australia, for that matter.
Considering the Taliban are high-profile terrorists, you might be wondering how they slipped into Azerbaijan and why other nations, particularly Western nations, did not withdraw in protest.
The UK is famous for teenagers pulling down historic statues, renaming streets, and mulling over reparations for things that happened hundreds of years ago, and yet we are expected to believe that the UK Labour Party is having nothing to say about oppressors waiting in the coffee line beside them?
It is worth noting that the terrorist regime (of Afghanistan…) is not recognised by the international community, so where did the invitation come from?
Indeed, I would love to know how they made it through airport security.
Can you imagine the scene?
World leaders are there taking off their shoes and putting watches and laptops into plastic trays for the X-ray machine while a buff security chick inspects a passport from the Afghanistan contingent.
‘What’s your occupation, sir?’
‘Terrorist delegate.’
‘No problem. Head on through.’
Don’t worry, the Taliban have only been given observer status. They are observing the transfer of wealth from the West to the Global South under the banner of Net Zero.
I nearly fell off my chair when I heard one commentator say that it was ‘very important for the human rights of Afghan girls and women that the Taliban go to Cop29 and that Afghanistan starts to regain access to climate financing’.
Yeah. I’m going to have to disagree on that point and say the girls and women of Afghanistan have Buckley’s chance of seeing a single green dollar.
Wanting the world to ‘get involved’ with Taliban-held Afghanistan to help the country deal with climate change sounds about as sensible as funding UNRWA.
Even more remarkable are the talking news heads that nod-along to these answers without protest.
Asked if the international community can trust the Taliban when it comes to the promises they might make on climate, the standard reply is: ‘A lack of trust is one of the hallmarks of the international system.’ We are then reminded that there are problems with countries having dubious human rights records at these conferences, citing China (fair enough) and the United States…
Don’t worry though, apparently the Taliban have positioned themselves as environmental stewards and they don’t do anything crazy like deny climate change.
You should be imagining a very hefty eyebrow raise between these lines of text.
The better question is why any Australian representative gives COP the time of day.
At best, the global climate movement presents a danger to Australia’s freedom, finances, and future.
Another commentator described COP as an event where ‘the world comes together to wring their hands in despair, to give grand speeches, and achieve nothing of value’.
As they go on to state, the host nation of Azerbaijan, an Islamic nation with sketchy human rights, is using COP to legitimise the Taliban. In February, they sent a letter to the Taliban regarding the reopening of the embassy in Kabul and indicated their desire to resume diplomatic and economic relations. The UN Secretary-General has also made it clear that the United Nations wishes to ‘assist the people of Afghanistan’ which no doubt means handing over cash to the Taliban under one humanitarian banner or another.
Azerbaijan is not alone. Other Central Asian countries are keen to work with the Taliban and those who sit far enough away to avoid security concerns are more interested in Afghanistan’s resources than the behaviour of the regime. To them, those climate-impacted women we are hearing so much about this week are invisible.
Officials in Russia, for example, submitted a proposal to their leader, Vladimir Putin, to take the Taliban off the terrorist list. This happened as recently as the beginning of October, although it awaits some legal box-ticking. There is some dispute about whether this is strategic in their fight against other, more aggressive Islamic terrorists or if this is about resources. Maybe both. Having Russia in bed with the Taliban is something we should side-eye.
The histories in these regions are messy and the current ambitions of their leaders are opaque. What nations like Australia need to understand is that our hard-earned money, money that we desperately need to build power stations, roads, military equipment, water resources, and a million other things, could be headed straight into the arms of terrorists if we sign up to any more Woke, green, humanitarian payouts just so that our ministers can pretend they are saving the world rather than stuffing cash in the pockets of abusive regimes.
It is an outrage that Australia continues to partake in a conference that allows the Taliban to observe.
Even more bizarre is the endless silence from the left-wing activists who scream bloody murder to cancel women who defend biological gender, yet they haven’t got a single whisper to criticise this climate love-in.