Publications

Introduction

Combating corruption in Afghanistan, Katherine Tiedemann, Foreign Policy, 30 September 2009

Starting with the Afghan side, the Afghan government is riddled with corruption and has been mostly unable to deliver basic services and security or establish minimal rule of law standards. This, in turn, has enabled the Taliban to return in a far more lethal and networked manner than a decade ago. Elections that are increasingly being viewed as illegitimate have only provided additional fodder for the Taliban propaganda machine, and undermine what little support the Afghan government may still have with its people.

While most Afghans would not welcome a return to Taliban rule, at the same time, the Taliban are generally perceived as less corrupt than the government and have provided some basic services and "rough justice" at local levels (which many view as better than no justice or delayed justice). For example, citizens can wait years before getting a simple case heard if they attempt to navigate through official channels, but Taliban courts can take as little as a week or so per case.

The Afghan government has failed to deliver, but the U.S. and other international efforts suffer from their own serious challenges. Let's focus here on development assistance, the "build" component that is fundamental to any counterinsurgency campaign. Nearly eight years into the mission, the vast majority of the funding spent thus far on non-military assistance -- more than $38 billion by the U.S. government alone since 2002 -- has not gone directly to the Afghan people. Rather, it has been channeled through many layers of contractors and implementing partners, each of which takes a slice of the pie along the way. One recent study found that international contractors receive three-quarters of U.S. development assistance in Afghanistan, and nearly 60% of all international assistance. One wonders what percentage of every dollar is getting to the Afghan people, particularly given the enormous security and other costs associated with international personnel in Afghanistan.

 

Analysis

Tomgram: Pratap Chatterjee, Afghanistan as a Patronage Machine, Pratap Chatterjee, 17 November 2009

Can there be any question that there is a plethora of corrupt officials to arrest? The president's brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, reportedly on the CIA payroll, is also, as it's politely put in the press, a "suspected player in the country's booming illegal opium trade." Ahmad Rateb Popal, the president's cousin and another figure long linked to the drug trade, runs a local security company protecting American supply convoys that, according to Aram Roston of the Nation magazine, is involved in an industry-wide protection scam, using American Army money to pay off the Taliban not to attack. In addition, American arms and ammunition are clearly ending up in Taliban hands. The recent presidential election was a spectacle of fraud; the Afghan Army, despite years of training, may hardly exist (as Ann Jones reported for this site in September); the ill-paid, ill-trained Afghan police are known to operate on the principle of corruption; and a surprisingly small percentage of foreign reconstruction funds actually makes it out of the pockets of big private contractors and western specialists, as well as security firms, and into Afghan hands.

• Paying off the warlords, Pratap Chatterjee, 17 November 2009
  

  Afghan political analysts observe that Ghazanfar and Zahid Walid are striking examples of the multimillion-dollar business conglomerates, financed by American as well as Afghan tax dollars and connected to powerful political figures, that have, since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, emerged as part of a pervasive culture of corruption here. Nasrullah Stanikzai, a professor of law and political science at Kabul University, says of the companies in the pocket of the vice-president: "Everybody knows who is Ghazanfar. Everybody knows who is Zahid Walid. The [government elite] directly or indirectly have companies, licenses, and sign contracts. But corruption is not confined just to the Afghans. The international community bears a share of this blame."
  
  While Zahid Walid has won close to $100 million in diesel contracts from the Afghan government in these years, there is hard evidence that the money for this once-needed fuel is now essentially being squandered. Earlier this year, KEC, an Indian company, completed the first of two high voltage power lines from neighboring Central Asian countries that will bring cheap and reliable electricity into the capital.

Abdullah rules out Karzai coalition, Mark Tran, Guardian.co.uk, 4 November 2009

Abdullah Abdullah – Hamid Karzai's main challenger in Afghanistan's disputed presidential election – has ruled himself out of the incoming government.

"A government which is derived from such an illegal decision will not be able to deliver ... [It] cannot deal with all the challenges, especially the threat of terrorism, security problems, poverty, unemployment and many others."

Policing in Afghanistan: Still Searching for a Strategy, Asia Briefing No. 85, International Crisis Group, 18 December 2008

Police reform in Afghanistan is receiving more attention and resources than ever before, but such increased efforts are still yet to be matched by significant improvements in police effectiveness and public confidence. Too much emphasis has continued to be placed on using the police to fight the insurgency rather than crime. Corruption and political appointments are derailing attempts to professionalise the force. The government and the international community need to reinforce the International Policing Coordination Board (IPCB) as the central forum for prioritising efforts and drive forward with much greater unity of effort. Tangible steps such as appointing a career police commissioner and establishing community liaison boards will build professionalism and wider outreach. A national police force able to uphold the rule of law is crucial to state-building and would help tackle the root causes of alienation that drive the insurgency.

Project coordinator: Richard Tanter
Additional research: Ronald Li
Updated: 30 March 2010