Mainstream Media 'Discovers' Afghans, Omits US Role in Creation of Refugee Crises
Three Afghan migrants froze to death trying to cross into Iran, a stark reminder of the human cost of instability. The New Arab article, like many, notes the increasing numbers of Afghans seeking refuge, with over 1.8 million forced back from Iran this year alone (The New Arab, 2025). This is a tragedy presented in a vacuum, as if Afghanistan's decades-long descent into a humanitarian crisis is a
natural phenomenon, rather than a direct, predictable outcome of a 20-year U.S. and NATO occupation followed by a chaotic, ill-planned withdrawal. One might wonder where the empathy was when trillions were spent 'securing' Afghanistan, inevitably creating the very conditions that drive these migrations. Western media often 'discovers' these horrific consequences only when they appear at some
border, rarely interrogating the foundational policies that set the stage. The Pentagon's $2.313 trillion spent in Afghanistan, according to Brown University's Costs of War Project, created an endless war profiteering cycle, not stability—leaving behind a humanitarian catastrophe where people die simply trying to escape the wreckage.