Afghanistan and Corruption Index

Transparency International has released its 2014 yearly corruption index. In 2013 Afghanistan was ranked as the third most corrupt nation in the world - behind North Korea and Somalia. This year (2014) we see a significant improvement! Afghanistan is less corrupt in 2014 than in 2013. In 2014 Afghanistan is ranked as only the fourth most corrupt nation in the world. Yes, it's true. Somehow, despite Karzai's best efforts the country of Sudan moved into 3rd place. Now the only countries more corrupt than Afghanistan are Somalia, Korea, and Sudan (in that order). So ISAF's efforts at meaningful oversight of the billions of dollars spent in Afghanistan is bearing fruit. Well done, ISAF.

But, let's give NATO (and the U.S.) another chance at this. According to the NATO webpage that describes the key functions of the new Resolute Support mission addressing corruption is very important. The key functions for NATO in RSM are found below:

- Supporting planning, programming and budgeting;
- Assuring transparency, accountability and oversight;
- Supporting the adherence to the principles of rule of law and good governance;
- Supporting the establishment and sustainment of such processes as force generation, recruiting, training, managing and development of personnel.

With this much attention on the problem of corruption one would think that Afghanistan's ranking in December 2015 will be much improved. Time will tell. See the world wide corruption rankings at the link below:

www.transparency.org/cpi2014/results

Corruption Feeds Insurgencies

One of the well-known aspects of the Afghan conflict is that corruption is the number one issue that feeds support and recruits to the insurgency. However, ISAF and the United States has been slow to reduce the corruption; instead, concentrating on military solutions combined with generous amounts of foreign aid for governance and development. However, a good portion of that foreign aid is siphoned off by government, police, and military leaders and officials - thereby reducing the effect of all that aid money. In addition, the excess of aid money without adequate oversight and controls, further fuels the corruption. Read an opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times by Doyle McManus entitled "How the U.S. can fight corruption abroad: start by collecting intelligence" (December 1, 2014).

Corruption Number One Issue in Afghanistan

A columnist, Doyle McManus of the Los Angeles Times, argues that corruption is the number one recruiting tool for the Taliban. Government corruption ". . . makes it easier for insurgent movements to win support among aggrieved citizens". Relatively few Afghans support the Taliban, according to opinion polls, yet the Taliban is still able to attract recruits every year. Read more in "How corruption abroad threatens U.S. national security" (Nov 30, 2014).

ABP- "Masters of Corruption"

General John Allen, a former commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) once said that corruption is the top threat in Afghanistan; that in comparison, the Taliban are "an annoyance". The Afghan government has difficulty in generating revenue to provide services, pay its police and soldiers, and run the government. If the corruption at the borders would subside a bit then more money would be available. Unfortunately most of the revenue that the border crossings generate does not go to the government but into the hands of corrupt provincial governors and police officials. One of the most corrupt organizations within the Ministry of Interior is the Afghan Border Police or ABP. The ABP maintains security and work with the corrupt customs officials to facilitate the activities at the border crossings. Read more in "At Afghan Border, Graft Is Part of the Bargain", The New York Times, November 11, 2014.

Congressional Oversight of Afghan War

The corruption with the Afghan government and national security forces (especially the police) is just as bad now as it has been since Karzai's "reign of corruption". President Ghani has an uphill battle to wage in trying to fix the corrupt Afghan government. In addition, the U.S. military and the civilian governmental agencies lack the will and (in some cases) the ability to perform oversight on the billions of dollars that will be provided to the Afghan government over the next ten years. There seems to be little interest in Congress in the tightening up of oversight procedures; their attention is diverted elsewhere. Read more in "As Afghanistan War Ends, Congressional Appetite for Oversight Wanes", Defense One, October 31, 2014.

U.S. Funding Goes to Afghan Insurgency

According to a recent report (October 2014) by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) the United States refuses to 'suspend or debar' supporters of the Afghan insurgency from receiving lucrative government contracts because the information about these individuals is classified. Read more in "U.S. Refuses to Stop Giving Contracts to Backers of Afghan Insurgency", The Washington Free Beacon, October 30, 2014.

Afghan Corruption Tougher Than Mafia

The head of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) Mr. John Sopko says that it was easier to take on the mafia in Ohio than corruption in Afghanistan. Sopko's organization, SIGAR, has issued over 160 reports during his two years on the job that point to tens of billions of U.S. dollars being squandered due to Afghan corruption or inept oversight on the part of the U.S. military, USAID, and the State Department. Read more in "Afghan Corruption a Tougher Job After Taking on the Mafia", Bloomberg News, October 23, 2014.

ISAF to Shut Down Anti-Corruption Task Force

The Pentagon will be shutting down a critical task force that has the responsibility to combat corruption in Afghanistan. The Combined Inter-Agency Task Force - Afghanistan (CIATF-A) was established in 2010 to ensure that U.S. money was going to the intended purpose - and not to Karzai's bank account in Dubai or into the coffers of the Taliban as a result of protection schemes. Many observers feel that the biggest problem in Afghanistan is not the Taliban but corruption at every level of Afghan society. Read more in "Afghanistan anti-corruption task force shuttered amid U.S. troop drawdown", The Washington Times, October 20, 2014.

Karzai Clan Wary of Corruption Investigations - Book Ticket for Dubai

Okay. I am just kidding. Hamid Karzai has not booked a ticket to Dubai (where his palatial palaces have been built with western aid money). He doesn't have to book a ticket as he probably has his own private plane. The new president of Afghanistan, President Ghani, has reopened a number of high-profile corruption cases (including the notorious Kabul Bank investigation) and that has the Karzai clan very worried. Two of the Karzai clan (one brother of Hamid) were implicated in the bank scandal and were forced to repay millions of dollars to avoid jail time; however, . . . the money was never repaid. President Karzai granted immunity to the guilty parties and they are still free living the high life in Kabul. Hmmmm, maybe they will need to head to the airport and get on a Safi flight before they end up behind bars. Read more in "Afghanistan: Karzais On The Run", Strategy Page, October 17, 2014.

UNDP Can't Find $200 Million for LOTFA

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is responsible for administering the Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan (LOTFA). A recent investigation by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) finds that there is $200 million that was taken from the LOFTA fund by the Ministry of Interior that is unaccounted for. SIGAR has sent a letter to Helen Clark (admistrator of the UNDP) asking for clarification. The UNDP has had a troubled past in administering and providing oversight on the billions of dollars given by member nations to LOFTA; and it seems that poor performance is continuing . . . as well as Afghan corruption. The Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan is used to support police remunerations, police infrastructure, and police capacity development. The money is provided by the international community - funneled through the UNDP into the LOFTA fund - and then given to the Afghans for "national execution". That means we give the money to the Afghans so they can develop their programs, budgets and execution plans. Sure . . . that sounds good . . . it helps develop "institutional capacity" and "organizational capability". But there is a "BIG BUT"; there should be some rigorous oversight to ensure the Afghan crooks don't run off with the money. And that is something that the United Nations, the international community at large, and ISAF have failed at miserably through the years. There is a horrendous lack of oversight to ensure that crooks (like Karzai) don't run off to Dubai with suitcases filled with greenbacks. Read more in this story in "UN agency blamed after hundreds of millions diverted from Afghan fund", Fox News, October 16, 2014.

Kabul Bank Scandal Revisited

The brother of former President Karzai still owes millions of dollars to the Kabul Bank. Mahmud Karzai was listed as owing $22 million on loans from the Kabul Bank and has only paid back $13 million. As part of his immunity from prosecution he was supposed to pay back the entire loan to avoid prison time. He was spared prosecution under a decree by former President Karzai (his brother) as long as he returned the funds. So . . . does he cough up the other $10 million or does he go to jail? The new president (Ghani) has re-opened up the Kabul Bank investigation. Read more on this topic in "Afghan Watchdog Says Ex-Leaders' Brothers Owe in Bank Scandal", Radio Free Europe, October 7, 2014. 

Millions $ Missing from Afghan Police Trust Fund

Millions of dollars are missing from an Afghan police trust fund that is used to pay Afghanistan's police force. The United Nations agency in charge of the funds seems to be unclear as to where the money went. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has conducted an investigation and has some pointed questions about "irregularities" - and possible mismanagement and corruption. (Corruption in Afghanistan? A shocker!). There is some concern that some of the money is being used to pay 'ghost employees'. Read a news story for more info on this topic - "Millions of dollars go missing from Afghan police trust fund", MSNBC, October 6, 2014. Read a letter sent by SIGAR on September 17, 2014 to the head of the Combined Security Transition command - Afghanistan Ministerial Advisory Groups concerning this matter. It is not a pretty picture. The Afghan's are taking us for a ride!

Kabul Bank Investigation Re-Opened by Ghani

President Ghani is stepping up to the plate having just assumed office. He signed the Bilateral Security Agreement the day after his inauguration. And true to his word of coming out against corruption. He has reopened the investigation into the Kabul Bank scandal. Over $1 billion dollars went missing - much of it to relatives of former President Karzai; to include two of his brothers. Neither of the brothers served time in jail and very little money was paid back to the bank. The re-opening of the investigation is a step in the right direction. Now let's put some of the crooks into jail! Read more in "New Afghan president re-opens inquiry into Kabul Bank scandal", Thomson Reuters Foundation, October 1, 2014.

Ghani Says He Won't Tolerate Corruption

The president-elect of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani, has said he will not tolerate corruption. During an interview with the BBC Mr. Ghani set out his vision for Afghanistan and stated that he was not corrupt. The video is about 8 minutes long. Ghani, a very good English speaker, says Afghanistan has great opportunities ahead. He mentions Afghanistan's supply of water, minerals, and business acumen. He acknowledges the immense corruption in the Afghan government. Watch the video at the following link - www.bbc.com/news/world-29312884.

Ghani, Abdullah, and DC Lobbyists

An interesting article on the lobbying efforts of Ghani (the new PoA) and Abdullah (new 'CEO') to work the PR machine in DC. Both candidates have been spending thousands of dollars per month to curry the favor of influence makers among Congress, the media, and think-tanks. Read more in "Afghan president-elect seeks favor in Washington", Kansas City Star, September 23, 2014.

Sarah Chayes Comments on Election Results

Sarah Chayes, a long-term observer (and resident) of Afghanistan, has posted her opinion on the results of the Afghan election at the LA Times. She believes that despite the huge turnout for the April 5th and June 14th elections the Afghan people were short-changed by Karzai's corrupt election mechanisms and the bargaining for the sharing of power between Ghani and Abdullah. Her opinion is that Afghanistan will not see a significant increase in good governance but just more corrupt officials taking their turn at the spoils. Read her Op-Ed in "New Afghan government; same old problems", Los Angeles Times, September 22, 2014. Chayes is a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment and a contributing writer. She reported from and later lived in Afghanistan for most of the past decade and also served as special assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (Photo by U.S. Navy Captain Debbie Trader-Miller, 2007).

Remarks by John Sopko (SIGAR) on Afghanistan

John F. Sopko, the head of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), presented some prepared remarks to an audience at Georgetown University on September 12, 2014. In his remarks he describes the mission of SIGAR, the immense reconstruction effort underway in Afghanistan, the vast amounts of money spent and to be spent, the problem of Afghan corruption, the lack of oversight in the past, and the challenges of monitoring billions of dollars in aid in the future. He provides an argument on why oversight of reconstruction aid is mission-critical and provides recommendations for the future. You can read his speech online.

Corruption in Afghanistan - Sarah Chayes

Sarah Chayes spent years in Afghanistan living among the Afghan population over the past twelve years. She has seen first hand the good and bad that ISAF has accomplished in that country of perpetual conflict. Part of the bad is the support the United States and its allies provide to corrupt Afghan leaders at the local to national level. She has just penned an article about corruption in Afghanistan appearing in the March / April 2014 issue of Politico Magazine entitled "The Money Pit".  Sarah is a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and served as a special adviser to two commanders of the the international troops in Afghanistan.

Companies Make Windfall Profits in Afghanistan

Some companies both foreign and domestic have fared very well over the past 12 years as a result of no-bid contracts provided by the U.S. government. Read more in "Windfalls of War: Companies with spotty records making billions off Afghanistan", Fox News Politics, February 20, 2014.

SIGAR Warns About Corruption as Drawdown Looms

The Special Inspector General for Reconstruction in Afghanistan (SIGAR) is warning the U.S. public and members of Congress that a good portion of the $5 billion plus we will likely send to Afghanistan each year for the next few years may go to waste. Currently the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have inadequate safeguards to ensure the money is used for the designated purpose. As there will be less and less troops on the ground (as of February 2014 there are 32,000) as time goes on it will become harder and harder to provide the proper oversight needed to inspect development projects and place advisers in the proper places to ensure money is used properly. Compounding this problem of inability to provide oversight (because bad security prevents observers to go out to over 80% of the country side) is the immense corruption found within the highest reaches of the Afghan government to include the current president - Hamid Karzai. Read more in "As Afghanistan Drawdown Looms, Inspector General Warns of Graft", The Huffington Post, February 18, 2014.