America’s Corruption Racket in Central Asia by Scott Horton

[Jefferson23]

August 26, 2010


In another significant piece datelined Kabul, Dexter Filkins and Mark Mazzetti reveal that the man in the eye of the storm of an Afghan-American corruption scandal, Mohammed Zia Salehi—the chief of administration for Afghanistan’s National Security Council—is on the payroll of the Central Intelligence Agency:

appears to have been on the payroll for many years, according to officials in Kabul and Washington. It is unclear exactly what Mr. Salehi does in exchange for his money, whether providing information to the spy agency, advancing American views inside the presidential palace, or both. Mr. Salehi’s relationship with the C.I.A. underscores deep contradictions at the heart of the Obama administration’s policy in Afghanistan, with American officials simultaneously demanding that Mr. Karzai root out the corruption that pervades his government while subsidizing the very people suspected of perpetrating it…

These ties underscore doubts about how seriously the Obama administration intends to fight corruption here. The anticorruption drive, though strongly backed by the United States, is still vigorously debated inside the administration. Some argue it should be a centerpiece of American strategy, and others say that attacking corrupt officials who are crucial to the war effort could destabilize the Karzai government.

This detailed, persuasive story merits a few additional notes. First, when a public official accepts payments from a foreign power in wartime–in exchange for information he has secured in the course of his official duties to the foreign power or to influence his government for the benefit of a foreign power–it may constitute treason or espionage, even though it may not be prosecuted if the foreign power in question is a close ally. In any event, however, the acts constitute an acute form of public corruption. In this case, then, it puts the case quite softly to say that the contradiction is that the United States is “subsidizing” the very people suspected of corruption. It would be more accurate to state that the United States is inducing corrupt acts from the very people it seeks to prosecute for corruption. In legal terms, such a claim could be met with a defense known as in pari delicto (namely, “you’re guilty of the same offense yourself”) or its more recent and subtle variant, graymail.


remainder: http://www.harpers.org/archive/2010/08/hbc-90007549

[blm]

1. And some people still think BCCI matters being deepsixed in the 90s was no big deal.

It's still the key to ALL of this.

[blm]

2. Sorry, Jeff23...many Dems STILL don't get it. They claim to...but...they don't.

.

[Jefferson23]

3. As they say, sometimes accurate information can be inconvenient.

Thank you for the post and recommend blm.

[blm]

7. no problem..yours was one of the most important posts of the week...a shame people can't put

two and two together. The matters involved in your post ARE the reason much of the worst crap they do post about is happening today....pretty much all across the board.

[BeHereNow]

4. Oh, they "get it" alright-

It's just that they are making too much money from it to
act in OUR interest.

BHN

[KoKo]

5. What can we do about it....that's the question....

:shrug: Keeping ourselves informed is all we seem to be able to do.

BTW: "Paris Hilton has a problem with cocaine" and Glen Beck had "10's of Thousands" show up in DC to celebrate the Anniversay of MLK's "I have a Dream Speech." BTW: Sara Palin was there...and did you know he daughter Bristol will appear on "Dancing with the Stars" next season...and her ex-boyfriend says "I don't lie." And, Billionaires are running our Political System because IRS and deregulation allows them to have more money than anyone else. But, don't worry....Paris Hilton will go into rehab and be good as new until her next escapade. :crazy:

[KoKo]

6. And don't forget America's Corruption Racket here at home..which morphs

across the world...

----

Right-wing groups receiving major grants from the Koch Family Foundations
Cowboy hat By Jim Hightower - Sun., 2/7/10
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Right-wing groups receiving major grants from the Koch Family Foundations (Charles Koch, David Koch, and Claude Lambe Foundations)
Amounts granted from 1976 through 2007, the latest year for which data is available.

Organization: Amount

* George Mason University Foundation, Inc.: $25,808,987
* Cato Institute: $13,349,240
* Citizens for a Sound Economy/Freedomworks: $12,906,712
* Mercatus Center: $8,024,000
* Institute for Humane Studies: $4,668,957
* The Heritage Foundation: $3,272,000
* Americans for Prosperity Foundation: $3,176,500
* Institute for Justice: $2,615,000
* Reason Foundation: $2,354,212
* Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies: $2,002,700
* Bill of Rights Institute: $1,667,000
* Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment (FREE) : $1,305,000
* Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy: $1,160,800
* Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, Inc.: $1,125,000
* Washington Legal Foundation: $1,105,000
* Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, Inc.: $850,000
* Intercollegiate Studies Institute: $706,250
* Competitive Enterprise Institute: $666,420
* Capital Research Center: $605,000
* National Center for Policy Analysis: $600,000
* American Enterprise Institute: $500,000
* Tax Foundation: $475,000
* American Legislative Exchange Council: $465,000
* Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research: $300,000
* Center for Equal Opportunity: $240,000
* Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty: $297,500
* Texas Policy Foundation: $296,516
* Philanthropy Roundtable: $263,700
* Institute for Energy Research: $237,000
* Property and Environment Research Center: $219,500

More at:

http://www.hightowerlowdown.org/node/2246