Afghan warlords feed on US contracts, say critics

Source: Financial Times

The US government is facing fresh questions on its oversight of war funding amid mounting evidence that a $2.16bn trucking contract is enriching Afghan warlords linked to the controversial half-brother of President Hamid Karzai.

As the Afghan president arrives in Washington, congressional investigators are looking into whether millions of taxpayers’ dollars are being paid to militia commanders to protect convoys ferrying supplies through Kandahar province, where US troops are preparing an offensive.

Critics say the militias form part of a mafia-like network that has bolstered the influence of the president’s younger half-brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, the powerful chairman of Kandahar’s provincial council.

Senior US military officers fear these private armies will complicate their strategy to contain the Taliban in Kandahar by bolstering the Afghan army and police and breaking Mr Karzai’s grip over the provincial government.

Read more: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/12098812-5c53-11df-93f6-00144feab49a.html?ftcamp=rss&nclick_check=1

What a wonderful world it is for Warlords in Afghanistan. :evilgrin: