ANP/AFP: Afganistan’s top prosecutor Tuesday accused US ambassador Karl Eikenberry of threatening to have him removed from his job if he did not take action against an Afgan banker allegedly involved in fraud. “Against all diplomatic ethics, the US ambassador tells me: “If you don’t jail him, you must resign,” Alko told reporters, citing...
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Afghan attorney general says US envoy “threatened” him
Afghanistan Again
The Huffington Post: After nine years of war the U.S. occupation of Afganistan lacks support at home and is widely recognized as a drain on the domestic economy in a time of severe economic contraction. The billions of dollars in U.S. economic assistance to the Hamid Karzai government has created an unsustainable class of...
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Warlords and Taliban receive millions of dollars from the USA
The New York Times: American taxpayers have inadvertently created a network of warlords across Afganistan who are making millions of dollars escorting NATO convoys and operating outside the control of either the Afgan government or the American and NATO militaries, according to the results of a Congressional investigation released Monday.
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Fewer than 100 Al Qaeda in Afghanistan: CIA chief
AFP: CIA director Leon Panetta has estimated there are only 50 to 100 Al Qaeda militants operating inside Afganistan, as US forces work to “flush out” mastermind Osama bin Laden. Mr Panetta said US forces had killed or captured at least half the Al Qaeda leadership, making the terrorist group the weakest it has...
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Blackwater deal in Afghanistan questioned by Congress
The Guardian: The Obama administration has awarded $220m (£146m) in new contracts to the military contractor formerly known as Blackwater to provide security in Afganistan. This is despite accusations against the company of murder and indiscriminate killings of civilians in Iraq and investigations into alleged corruption and sanctions busting. The contracts have drawn stinging...
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U.S. officials say Karzai aides are derailing corruption cases involving elite
The Washington Post: 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 Afganistan’s authorities with wiretapping technology and other assistance in efforts to crack down on endemic graft. In recent months, the U.S. officials said, Afgan prosecutors and investigators have...
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