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Grand Theft Afghanistan: Huge Amounts of U.S. Aid to Kabul Consumed by Corruption While Karzai Aides Derail Investigations
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You're getting robbed by our "allies" in Afghanistan. Big time.
Fleeced by corrupt Afghan officials, billions of dollars have been flowing out of the Kabul airport to Dubai.
When investigators seek to track the money or pursue corruption charges, top officials in Karzai's government interfere--which is understandable, given that many of the people stealing the money are his family members or senior members of the government.
Congress may be about to ask you to pony up $33 billion more to fund a war that props up a government full of people that are robbing us blind.
With friends like these...you know the rest.
--DC
Wall Street Journal:
The Washington Post:
Photo credit: USAID
Please share this Note with your friends and invite them to join us at http://facebook.com/RethinkAfghanistan.
You're getting robbed by our "allies" in Afghanistan. Big time.
Fleeced by corrupt Afghan officials, billions of dollars have been flowing out of the Kabul airport to Dubai.
When investigators seek to track the money or pursue corruption charges, top officials in Karzai's government interfere--which is understandable, given that many of the people stealing the money are his family members or senior members of the government.
Congress may be about to ask you to pony up $33 billion more to fund a war that props up a government full of people that are robbing us blind.
With friends like these...you know the rest.
--DC
Wall Street Journal:
Afghan Aid on Hold as Corruption Is Probed
By PETER SPIEGEL in Washington and MATTHEW ROSENBERG in Kabul
The chairwoman of the House subcommittee responsible for foreign aid said she was stripping from pending legislation $3.9 billion in funding for Afghanistan following revelations that billions of dollars, including large amounts of U.S. aid funds, were flowing out of the country through Kabul's main airport.
Rep. Nita Lowey (D., N.Y.) called the revelations "outrageous," and Capitol Hill aides said she had the backing of Rep. David Obey (D., Wis.), the chairman of the full House Appropriations Committee.
"I do not intend to appropriate one more dime for assistance to Afghanistan until I have confidence that U.S. taxpayer money is not being abused to line the pockets of corrupt Afghan government officials, drug lords, and terrorists," Ms. Lowey said.
At least $3.18 billion in cash has been flown out of Afghanistan since 2007 after being legally declared to customs officers, according to documents reported Monday in The Wall Street Journal.
...But the removal marks the latest in a series of moves on Capitol Hill, including increasingly vocal criticism of the war effort, that have begun to signal weakening political support for the conflict.
By PETER SPIEGEL in Washington and MATTHEW ROSENBERG in Kabul
The chairwoman of the House subcommittee responsible for foreign aid said she was stripping from pending legislation $3.9 billion in funding for Afghanistan following revelations that billions of dollars, including large amounts of U.S. aid funds, were flowing out of the country through Kabul's main airport.
Rep. Nita Lowey (D., N.Y.) called the revelations "outrageous," and Capitol Hill aides said she had the backing of Rep. David Obey (D., Wis.), the chairman of the full House Appropriations Committee.
"I do not intend to appropriate one more dime for assistance to Afghanistan until I have confidence that U.S. taxpayer money is not being abused to line the pockets of corrupt Afghan government officials, drug lords, and terrorists," Ms. Lowey said.
At least $3.18 billion in cash has been flown out of Afghanistan since 2007 after being legally declared to customs officers, according to documents reported Monday in The Wall Street Journal.
...But the removal marks the latest in a series of moves on Capitol Hill, including increasingly vocal criticism of the war effort, that have begun to signal weakening political support for the conflict.
The Washington Post:
U.S. officials say Karzai aides are derailing corruption cases involving elite
By Greg Miller and Ernesto Londoño
Monday, June 28, 2010
Top officials in President Hamid Karzai's government have repeatedly derailed corruption investigations of politically connected Afghans, according to U.S. officials who have provided Afghanistan's authorities with wiretapping technology and other assistance in efforts to crack down on endemic graft.
In recent months, the U.S. officials said, Afghan prosecutors and investigators have been ordered to cross names off case files, prevent senior officials from being placed under arrest and disregard evidence against executives of a major financial firm suspected of helping the nation's elite move millions of dollars overseas.
By Greg Miller and Ernesto Londoño
Monday, June 28, 2010
Top officials in President Hamid Karzai's government have repeatedly derailed corruption investigations of politically connected Afghans, according to U.S. officials who have provided Afghanistan's authorities with wiretapping technology and other assistance in efforts to crack down on endemic graft.
In recent months, the U.S. officials said, Afghan prosecutors and investigators have been ordered to cross names off case files, prevent senior officials from being placed under arrest and disregard evidence against executives of a major financial firm suspected of helping the nation's elite move millions of dollars overseas.
Photo credit: USAID
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