Afghan President Karzai Admits to Taking Iranian Cash

To a cynic, an honest politician is one who, once bribed, stays bribed. By that standard, Afghan President Hamid Karzai is not an honest politician. After taking American money (and weapons and equipment, and even US military lives), it turns out he has also been taking money from Iran. In a press conference, he said he gets 700,000 euro once or twice a year in "official aid" from the mullahs. In exchange, Iran "asked for good relations in return and for lots of other things." To him, it is just like taking money from the Yanks, "It's all the same, let's not make this an issue." At least, the Iranians had the decency to deny giving him the money, at first.

Mr. Karzai claims the entirely situation is perfectly normal, and this slush fund allows him to pay expenses and salaries (tax collection is one of those areas in which his government fails abjectly), and it allows him to pay off debts owed to "people outside" his office. Quite who those people are is a matter of conjecture, but one suspects the list includes members of parliament, provincial governors, local warlords and drug gangs. How fortunate that such people can be bought for so little or the nation would be truly corrupt.

As for the Iranians, it would be pure stupidity for them not to offer a few inducements to their neighbor. The Shi'ite government in Tehran does not want a Sunni Taliban government on its doorstep, and indeed, the theocrats there cooperated with the US in the original attack on the Taliban government. To them, Mr. Karzai and his regime are acceptable as neighbors, and if a million here or there helps keep Kabul in line, it is money well spent.

At the same time, Iran is also supplying Taliban-led insurgents with cash, which is far from foolish despite their loathing of the Wahabi brand of Sunni Islam the Taliban preach. Funding both sides of a civil war makes Iran the peace broker, fixing the final settlement to suit itself. Consider how many US corporations donate to both the Republicans and the Democrats at the same time and one understands the strategy -- no matter who wins in Afghanistan, the winner will owe Iran. To make even more sure of its position, Iran has funded a great many candidates in the recent parliamentary elections.

What does this mean for American and NATO policy in Afghanistan? If policy makers have not understood it before, they must surely understand now that the Karzai regime is a thin reed at best. The entire policy of building up Afghanistan into something resembling a modern nation state is flawed conceptually. For the time the troops remain in Afghanistan, they should be hunting down Al Qaeda, entering Pakistan to kill Usama bin Laden if they find him. Beyond that, Mr. Karzai is more of an embarrassment than a partner.

Ironically, Iran's real rival in Afghanistan is not the US but rather Pakistan. Pakistan's funding of the Taliban dwarfs what Tehran is doing on both sides of the war. As the US withdraws, this rivalry just might give the US some leverage with the Pakistanis to get bin Laden, presuming Washington is smart enough to see that as its true objective in the region. Alternatively, it might provide grounds for a small thaw in relations between the US and Iran. Either development would be good for American interests.

© Copyright 2010 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.

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