Afghan President Reveals He’s Getting ‘Bags of Money’ from CIA
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SHAH MARAI/AFP/Getty Images(KABUL, Afghanistan) — Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Monday that the CIA has been dropping off “bags of money” to him over the past decade, presumably to buy support for his regime and other purposes. Critics maintain it’s essentially a slush fund that continues today.
Making his comments during a conference in Finland, Karzai claimed what he received was “not a big amount. A small amount, which has been used for various purposes.”
However, those close to Karzai contend that the “small amount” was in the tens of millions of dollars over the past decade.
The CIA money is not directly sanctioned by the U.S. government. Americans diplomats and others maintain that these pay-offs only contribute to corruption that is inherent in Afghanistan, regarded as the worst in the world.
Meanwhile, Karzai’s statements have elicited response from Capitol Hill lawmakers. Utah Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz remarked, “We’ve all suspected it. But for President Karzai to admit it out loud brings us into a bizarro world.”
In a statement, Karzai’s office in Kabul claimed the CIA money was used for “assisting wounded Afghan soldiers and paying rent.”
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