Afghanistan Government too corrupt to consolidate US military's efforts

Kabul, Sep 28(ANI): Though the US commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, has urged the US to repeat an Iraq-style surge in Afghanistan, the Obama administration thinks all the efforts will come to nought as the Hamid Karzai Government is too corrupt.

General McChrystal has reportedly asked for another 40,000 troops, over the 21,000 troops that Obama has already sent. But, it has not garnered enough support from the Obama administration yet.

Although, the US is confident that its military has the intelligence and adaptability to fight a successful counterinsurgency in Afghanistan, it is concerned that the Afghanistan government has become so corrupt that it cannot consolidate the gains the US military makes, Csmonitor.com reports.

Even, General McCrystal had made fighting corruption a top priority, and said in an assessment: "Some of these major power brokers hold positions in the ANSF (Afghan National Security Forces), particularly the ANP (Afghan National Police), and have been major agents of corruption and illicit opium trafficking."

He had also released a statement demonstrating the depth of the problem, in which he said: "There are no clear lines separating insurgent groups, criminal networks (including the narcotics networks), and corrupt government officials."

Another issue that is being underlined is that the US will never be able to leave Afghanistan unless there's at least a minimally effective government to help in the near term and then take over in the future, the report said.

The doubts are well-founded, as analysts have struggled to invent terms to describe the depth of corruption in Afghanistan. Earlier, the US Drug Enforcement Administration had accused Karzai's brother, Ahmed Wali, of running the opium trade in Kandahar, the report adds.

It is also said that law and order in the country has collapsed as many police use their posts primarily as a platform for bribe-taking. And before the general election, Karzai had lost broad public support in the country due to his government's inability to stifle corruption. (ANI)