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Obama briefly closes his Instagram's comments section amid flurry of Afghanistan criticism

17 August 2021 05:28 (UTC +04:00)

The situation in war-torn Afghanistan has rapidly deteriorated as millions of people attempt to escape from the country, which was overrun by the Taliban in a couple of days while the government which was supported by the US has de facto ceased to exist, APA reports.

Followers of former President Barack Obama's Instagram page were temporarily restricted from posting any new messages on Monday morning after commenters pushed for him to express his point of view and do something about Afghanistan's Taliban takeover, Fox News reported.

The former president has not yet given his assessment of the events that unfolded in Afghanistan and has not commented on the consequences of the rapid withdrawal of US troops from the country.
According to Fox News, for almost two hours earlier today, Obama's Instagram posts noted, "Comments on this post have been limited." Obama's most recent post, a video on Thursday praising his All on the Line redistricting campaign, received multiple comments regarding the recent situation in Afghanistan.

One of the followers reportedly asked rhetorically: "What did we accomplish in Afghanistan if we turn tail and run now? They need us! That is not the American way! We do not surrender and run! We stay and fight and until the issues are resolved which is true independence!"
Before being cut off, the comments section was reportedly littered with hashtags such as #help_afghanistan and #afghanistanisbleeding, among others. Moreover, during the same timespan, commenting on former First Lady Michelle Obama's Instagram feed was disabled as well.

However, a Sputnik correspondent checked the post a few hours later and found no mention of Afghanistan among the newest comments added after the shut down.
US President Joe Biden's foreign policy pledge of "America is back" has recently drawn significant criticism, in light of images of the US Embassy in Kabul being evacuated less than two months after the president claimed it would never happen. The president's withdrawal of US soldiers from the region and the country's eventual collapse have also been compared to the fall of South Vietnam's Saigon in 1975.