Here is a video followed by the text of a report on Afghanistan corruption, including an interview with the new head of the AFG Oversight & Anti-Corruption group:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jt3fpj9bXbU&feature=player_embedded
Video captures Afghanistan's "dark stain of corruption"
November 14, 8:44 PM
Chicago Geopolitics ExaminerMichael Hughes
Who is policing the police in Afghanistan? A fair question one is compelled to ask after watching an "anti-corruption" video launched by an "oversight" department that was established a year ago by, of all people, Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
A fair question considering President Karzai is being excoriated by the international community for rampant state corruption so prevalent that the U.S. and its allies have threatened to extract forces should Karzai not address and rectify the situation. His administration has been plagued by petty bribery, extortion, and electoral thievery of a sort that would make Boss Tweed blush.
Even worse, Karzai has stocked his cabinet with mujaheddin war criminals in a quid pro quo for assisting him win (or, to be more precise, helped him steal) a presidency that now lacks legitimacy.
Anti-Corruption Video: billions disappear each year
In the clip, Aljazeera's John Hull
reviews the ad campaign produced by Afghanistan's underfunded and
poorly resourced Office of Oversight and Anti-Corruption, which
includes petty bribes actually caught by hidden cameras.
Public coffers provide sustenance and stability
Mr. Hull interviews an official heading the oversight department who
explains that after 30 years of war bribery is the Afghan national
instinct. Because of uncertainty about the future, government officials
at all levels believe they must maximize any and all opportunities
presented before the next crisis hits.
According to the official, the anti-corruption authority lacks the necessary means, resources and power to conduct an effective campaign against malfeasance, adding: "I can't have someone fight corruption if I give them a monthly salary of $50."
Mr. Hull poignantly points out: "If Karzai wants to fight corruption he should empower the very authority he set up to do it." Karzai's latest assurances that he will fight what he calls "the dark stain of corruption" have not been consistent with his actions. In other words, he literally is not putting his money where his mouth is.
Eikenberry's Exasperation
How bad is it? Bad enough that Karl Eikenberry,
U.S. ambassador and a retired Army general who once commanded U.S. and
allied forces in Afghanistan, has implored President Obama not
to send additional troops because of the Karzai regime's utter
ineffectiveness. Eikenberry's assessment clashes with General Stanley
McChrsytal's strategy to increase troop levels anywhere from 20,000 to
80,000 soldiers. However, McChrsytal's strategy to protect the Afghan
people requires an honest and effective Afghan government - a
prerequisite sorely lacking in Kabul, Eikenberry believes, and not one
he sees materializing anytime soon. Many within the Obama
administration go so far as to say that Karzai's incompetence has
directly led to the resurgence of the Taliban.
John Dempsey of the U.S. Institute of Peace describes just how bad conditions are on the ground:
Rights groups accuse soldiers and police loyal to warlords of kidnapping, extortion, robbery and the rape of women, girls and boys. In the countryside, local commanders run their own fiefdoms with illegal militias, intimidate people into paying them taxes, extract bribes, steal land, trade drugs. They essentially rule with impunity and no government official, no judge, no policeman can stand up to them.
Rise of the Warlords
The United States is not without blame and seems to have a short memory
regarding its role in the burgeoning of Afghan corruption. The war
criminals have seized power partly because the U.S. backed and funded
them in 2001 to oust the Taliban.
Thus, Karzai finds U.S. criticism somewhat duplicitous, retorting that
the U.S. backed the same people eight years ago that have recently
facilitated his rise to power.
However, Karzai might have gone a bit too far, seeing that two of his vice presidents are ex-warlords and his outgoing military adviser, Abdul Rashid Dostum, has been accused of overseeing the suffocation deaths of up to 2,000 Taliban prisoners during the 2001 U.S.-led invasion.
As a result, Karzai's solution to winning re-election now might be Afghanistan's biggest problem. Akbar Bai, leader of the Turkmen minority, has said the U.S. and its Afghan allies are fighting the wrong war: "Karzai's No. 1 problem is the warlords. If you don't remove these people from power, you'll never see peace in Afghanistan."
If U.S. involvement in Afghanistan is contingent upon the Karzai administration cleaning up its act, and if decision makers in Washington are honest with themselves, then it's time to start drawing up the withdrawal plan. If we must ceaselessly ask Mr. Karzai "who is policing the police?" as we look under the hood and continue to uncover more and more of Karzai's "stain", the American people must pose an even more critical question to Mr. Obama: "when are America's sons and daughters coming home?"
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