Even as the US government draws flak for abandoning Afghanistan in a hopeless pit of despair, photos and videos shared by the US military, showing soldiers tending to Afghan children, have garnered a lot of attention on social media.
Ever since the Taliban took control of the country, social media has been flooded with harrowing footage from Kabul airport, where swarms of Afghans have been seen queueing up everyday, in an attempt to flee the country.
But, amid the unfolding humanitarian crisis, photos shared on Twitter by the official accounts of US Marines Corps and the US Department of Defense showing soldiers in uniform cradling and comforting Afghan children, have attempted to paint a contrasting image of tenderness and goodwill.
A viral video that came to depict the pathos of the situation in Afghanistan showed a US soldier pulling up an infant across barbed wires, as her parents tossed her over the perimeter in a desperate attempt for her to escape the Taliban regime.
In other photos, soldiers are seen providing food and fresh water to Afghan children at the Hamid Karzai International Airport.
They are also seen playing and interacting with them and aiding Afghan nationals in rescue operations, in the middle of the chaos that has gripped the country.
Although several US citizens and politicians applauded the US military for their 'humane response' to this crisis, others have criticised the country for attempting to create a compassionate narrative for itself.
Just 'US Propaganda'
Many social media users were quick to point out that it was the US' actions, over the past 20 years, that had led to the crisis in Afghanistan in the first place.
A few other tweets claimed that the US was trying to "whitewash" the situation and create a "saviour image" for itself amid widespread criticisms against for the unplanned withdrawal of forces from Afghan soil.
Thousands of Afghan Children Victims of the 20-Year-Long 'War Against Terror'
The past two decades of violence in Afghanistan has left thousands of Afghans dead.
According to data provided by Save the Children a UK-based non profit organisation, at least 26,025 children were killed or maimed from 2005 to 2019 due to “ground engagements between pro and anti-government forces or of improvised explosive devices in both suicide and non-suicide attacks".
But the US' 20 year long "war against terror" on Afghan soil, which ended with the withdrawal of its military, virtually plunged the country into utter turmoil as the Taliban reinstated its regime once again.
Even as the unplanned move by the US government has triggered a humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan, US President Joe Biden has maintained a defiant stance.
While many people have fled the country fearing the return of the dark days of the Taliban rule, millions of Afghans are still waiting for their escape.
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