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Iran bribes Afghani government

Pardalis

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/24/world/asia/24afghan.html

The bag of money is part of a secret, steady stream of Iranian cash intended to buy the loyalty of Mr. Daudzai and promote Iran’s interests in the presidential palace, according to Afghan and Western officials here. Iran uses its influence to help drive a wedge between the Afghans and their American and NATO benefactors, they say.

The payments, which officials say total millions of dollars, form an off-the-books fund that Mr. Daudzai and Mr. Karzai have used to pay Afghan lawmakers, tribal elders and even Taliban commanders to secure their loyalty, the officials said.
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No wonder their government is so corrupt.
 
I love the suitcase switch. It's almost worth becoming a drug dealer just to do it.
 
Karzai's comments came the same day the Iranian embassy in Kabul slammed the Times report as "ridiculous and insulting," according to the AFP.
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I wonder how they're going to spin that one.
 
Captain.Sassy said:
Asked whether the U.S. actually gives bags full of cash to the presidential office, Karzai responded: "Yes, it does give bags of money."
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Why did they ask Karzai only? Would be relevant to ask this question from many a government around the world.
 
Does this mean that the afgan goverment is a sucess in that it is actualy worth bribing?
 
So they get paid by two groups who hate each other and thus can claim to both their contributers that doing nothing is a success as at least the other side didn't benefit?

Smart move I'd say. I wish I had that kind of set up
 
ehh....doesn't the USA bribe Afghani tribal leaders and such?

in the war for hearts and minds, sometimes less than happy tactics are needed.
 
pet peave: the correct adjective is 'afghan'

the 'afghani' is a currency

I think 'afghani' may also have been a term used by Brzezinsky to describe non-afghan mujahedeen when the US was waging a proxy war against the ivans

I've looked and looked for the latter but haven't found corroboration on da net. I am pretty sure it's out there somewhere though.
 
The fact that Iran denied it at first actually makes me think they are completely clueless as to Afghanistan, especially the Pashtun. Did they really think Karzai would deny it? Karzai, and Afghans in general, would have to think it's wrong to take sacks of cash from people currying favor in order to feel it's worth denying.

eta: old saying "you can rent an Afghan, but you can't buy one".
 
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Elind said:
There's a good article on it in the WSJ today, from the perspective that it is not really corruption there, it's culture. Any foreigner is welcome to give them bags of cash any day.

Makes sense in a goat herder sort of way.
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you say no when a foreigner offers you a bag full of money?
 
I wonder if Iran gave them US dollars, you know, like the US does.
If they were in cloth sacks with dollar $igns on the outside, who could refuse.
 
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