Brother of Afghan president denies CIA pay

Brother of Afghan president denies CIA pay
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Oct 28, 2009 7:10:52 EDT

KABUL — Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of the Afghan president, on Wednesday denied reports that he has received regular payments from the CIA for much of the past eight years.

The New York Times, citing current and former American officials, reported Tuesday the CIA pays Karzai for a variety of services, including helping to recruit an Afghan paramilitary force that operates at the CIA’s direction in and around Kandahar.

Karzai called the report “ridiculous.”

“I work with the Americans, the Canadians, the British, anyone who asks for my help. They (CIA) do their own recruitment. I have no idea where they get their recruits. It’s absolutely ridiculous,” he told The Associated Press in Afghanistan.

The CIA’s ties to Karzai, who is a suspected player in the country’s illegal opium trade, have created deep divisions within the Obama administration, the Times said.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/10/ap_karzai_cia_102809/