Afghan President Hamid Karzai admitted Monday that the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been giving Afghanistan “bags of cash” for decades. He claimed the money was used for “various purposes” and described the amounts given as “small,” but former and current advisors to Karzai had said the cash amounts have totaled tens of millions of dollars over the past decade. These payments have been used by Karzai to pay off warlords, lawmakers, and other people whose support is necessary. Mr. Karzai has expressed his gratitude for the money and admitted that he has been receiving support from the US for the past 10 years, paid out in monthly installments. While Karzai is thankful for the assistance, others in the US are not so supportive. Some American diplomats as well as American soldiers were dismayed by the CIA’s cash support, stressing that these payments can lead to corruption. In addition, many feel that the agency is using cash to buy the loyalty of the Afghans. Utah Representative Jason Chaffetz stated, “I thought we were trying to clean up waste, fraud and abuse in Afghanistan.” He stressed that the US has no credibility in trying to clean up corruption when it is guilty of it also.
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