That headline is facetious. But here’s a question: can the Afghan government function and assume security responsibilities if it can’t even run a bank?
From the AfPak Channel’s Daily Brief:
The governor of Afghanistan’s Central Bank, Abdul Qadeer Fitrat, announced his resignation Monday from the United States, saying that his life “was completely in danger” in Kabul due to his investigation into the Kabul Bank scandal, where nearly $900 million was allegedly given out in bad loans, including to senior officials and relatives of Afghan president Hamid Karzai (NYT, Reuters, WSJ, FT, BBC, AJE, AFP, Tel, Bloomberg). In his resignation letter and comments Fitrat blamed officials for interfering in his investigation into the Kabul Bank, while a presidential spokesman called his departure “treason” and said Fitrat would be prosecuted as part of the investigation (Reuters, Bloomberg).
No matter who’s right, this is a situation with much wrong—and another reason for Americans to be rather skeptical of any endeavor that depends on a partnership with Karzai and his crew.
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