[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 24, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H795]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             CORRUPTION IN AFGHANISTAN THREATENS OUR TROOPS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, the United States is reaching a bleak 
milestone in Afghanistan. The death toll for our troops is now 996, or 
it was when this paper was written. It is inevitable that we will reach 
the 1,000 mark. How much further are we going to go in this?
  Under these circumstances the American people have the right to 
demand that the Afghan Government do everything it can to stop violent 
extremism in their country and to keep our troops safe. So far the 
Afghan Government has not lived up to its responsibilities.
  Our Ambassador in Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry, wrote a cable to the 
State Department in November in which he said that President Karzai 
``is not an adequate strategic partner'' and ``continues to shun 
responsibility for any sovereign burden, whether defense, governance, 
or development.'' He also wrote that when it comes to corruption, 
Karzai has a record of ``inaction and grudging compliance.''
  This is outrageous, Mr. Speaker, because this government corruption 
undermines our very efforts in Afghanistan and puts our troops at risk.
  When the Afghan people see the corruption in their government, they 
ask, and they should ask, Why should we help the Americans defeat the 
Taliban when our government isn't any better than the Taliban?
  The Washington Post just recently, well, yesterday, I think, revealed 
a deplorable example of the Afghan Government's shady dealings. It was 
Monday that the article came out. It was written by Andrew Higgins and 
entitled ``Kabul Bank's Sherkhan Farnood Feeds Crony Capitalism in 
Afghanistan.'' The article described the cozy relationship between the 
Afghan political elite and the Kabul Bank. The Afghan Government has 
poured tens of millions of dollars of public money into that bank. At 
the same time, the bank has made shady multimillion dollar loans to 
members of President Karzai's family, his government, and his 
supporters to buy luxury villas in Dubai. The article calls this ``a 
crony capitalism that enriches politically connected insiders and 
dismays the Afghan people.''
  President Karzai's older brother and his former Vice President both 
have Dubai villas, but they're registered under the name of Sherkhan 
Farnood, the chairman of the bank. Presumably this is done to hide the 
goodies that the political big shots have gotten. The bank has plenty 
of money, including more than $1 billion in deposits from Afghans. But 
``the vast majority of this money flows into the hands of a tiny 
minority, some of it through kickbacks and insider deals''--that's from 
the article--for the country's political, security, and business 
elites.
  The bank also helped pay for President Karzai's recent reelection 
campaign, which was filled with charges of fraud. The bank's support 
for Karzai wasn't surprising. Why should it be? The bank is partly 
owned by Karzai's older brother and the brother of his vice 
presidential running mate.
  And at a time when most Afghans are desperately poor, the Kabul Bank 
is spending $30 million to build a fancy new headquarters.
  Mr. Speaker, the American people have a right to ask, Is this what 
our soldiers are dying for? Is this what we're spending tens of 
billions of our tax dollars for? So that well-connected elites in 
Afghanistan can enjoy luxury villas in Dubai?
  We cannot allow this to continue. I have been demanding that we 
change our mission in Afghanistan to focus on SMART Security for a long 
time now. One of the cornerstones of SMART Security is an emphasis on 
better governance. Improving governance in Afghanistan is just as 
important, Mr. Speaker, as any military operation. Actually, it's more 
important.
  That's why President Obama must insist that President Karzai and his 
cronies clean up their act and do it quickly. Without honest 
government, we will never defeat violent extremism in Afghanistan and 
the death toll for our troops will not stop.

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