Monday, January 27, 2014

Kam Air - ISAF and DoS Folds Again

In a case of "you can't make this up" we now learn that Kam Air, the Afghan Airlines that has without doubt smuggled large quantities of opium for Karzai and his friends, is now cleared to take part in U.S. contracts. Unbelievable! ISAF and the State Department have rolled over for Karzai once again. When will we learn?

The owner of Kam Air, Zamari Kamgar, is a staunch ally of Karzai. In early 2013 the U.S., after a thorough investigation, decided that Kam Air would be barred from U.S. contracts because of its extensive drug movement activities. However, the U.S. balked and acceded to Karzai's demands that it hold off until the Afghans completed their investigation. Well, the (Afghan) jury is in and the Afghans say Kam Air is innocent (of course). The U.S. Embassy didn't lose much time in sending out a letter stating that Kam Air was free to take part in U.S. contracts. Quite an astounding turn of events but not surprising given the Embassy and ISAF track record of not standing up to the corrupt Karzai regime.

Read more in  "Dubious Afghan airline Kam Air circles back into US orbit", Security Watch Backchannels, Christian Science Monitor, January 23, 2014.


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