Corruption - Still the Number One Enemy

General John Allen (retired) once said that "Corruption is the existential strategic threat to Afghanistan". The former International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) commander was correct. Not much has changed since his statement a few years back.

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has just released a report entitled Corruption in Conflict: Lessons from the U.S. Experience in Afghanistan, September 2016. This 164-page document contains 'lessons observed' (versus 'lessons learned') from the Afghan conflict. The report contains some recommendations on how to do stability operations in a remote, impoverished, conflict-ridden country. You can view the report (Adobe Acrobat PDF) at this link:

www.sigar.mil/pdf/lessonslearned/SIGAR-16-58-LL.pdf

Read one writers thoughts on the report and corruption in Afghanistan in "How Corruption Defeated Afghan Reconstruction", by Matthew Gault, War is Boring, September 21, 2016.

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