A12 From Page One afghanistan from A1
everything” and because Karzai often seems unaware of moves that members of his own govern- ment make. The disclosure comes as a cor-
ruption investigation into one of Karzai’s senior national security advisers—and an alleged agency informant — puts new strain on the already fraying relationship betweenWashington and Kabul. Top American officials includ-
ing Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) have expressed concern about Karzai’s efforts to rein in anti-corruption teams, as well as intervention in the case against the security adviser. The aide, Mohammad Zia Salehi, is accused of accepting a $10,000 car as a bribe in exchange for his assistance in quashing a wide- ranging corruption probe. The issue carries enormous
stakes for the Obama administra- tion. Concerns that the Afghan government is hopelessly corrupt have prompted a congressional panel to withhold billions of dol- lars in aid, and threaten to erode American support for the war. But Karzai supporters accuse
theirU.S. counterparts of exploit- ing the issue, and the Salehi arrest in particular, to humiliate the Afghan leader while ignoring more pressing priorities. In the latest sign of his vexa-
tion, Karzai said Thursday that President Obama’s timeline for withdrawingU.S. troops “has giv- en courage to the enemies of Afghanistan,” and complained that the United States wasn’t doing enough to force Pakistan to stop supporting the Taliban. “We haven’t progressed in the
war against terrorism,” Karzai said in a statement. The CIA has maintained rela- tionships with Afghan govern- ment officials for years. But the disclosure that multiple mem- bers of Karzai’s government are on the CIA’s payroll underscores the complex nature of the Ameri- can role in Afghanistan. Even as agency dollars flow in, U.S.-backed investigative units are targeting prominent Afghans in the government and trying to stem an exodus of more than $1 billion in cash annually from the country.
BRENNAN LINSLEY/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Pfc. SethMattox of Altavista,Va., left, of 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, 2-502 Infantry, 101st Airborne, mans a sniper post as an Afghan soldier watches for threats from another direction during guard duty at a jointly operated tower in the Zhari district of Kandahar province.
Gimigliano, the CIA spokes-
man, declined to comment on the agency’s financial ties to Afghan officials. “This agency plays an essential role in promoting American goals in Afghanistan, including security and stability,” he said. “Speculation about who may help us achieve that is both dangerous and counterproduc- tive.” The agency’s approach has
drawn criticism from others in the U.S. government, who accuse the CIA of contributing to an atmosphere in which Afghans are conditioned to extend their hands for secret payments in almost every transaction. “They’ll pay whoever they
think can help them,” the U.S. official said. “That has been the CIA attitude since 2001.” A second U.S. official defended the agency’s activities and allud-
ed to a simmering conflict within the U.S. government over the scope of American objectives in Afghanistan, and the means re- quired to achieve those goals. “No one is going to create
Plato’s Republic over there in one year, two years, or 10,” the official said. “If theUnited States decides to deal only with the saints in Afghanistan, it’s in for both lone- liness and failure. That’s the risk, and not everyone in our govern- ment sees it.” U.S. and Afghan officials said
the CIA is not the only foreign entity using secret payments to Afghan officials to influence events in the country. A prominent Afghan with knowledge of the inner workings of the palace said it operates a fund that rewards political allies withmoney that flows in from the Iranian government and foreign
intelligence services as well as prominent Afghan companies ea- ger to curry favor with Karzai. The source said the fund distrib- utes $10 million to $50 million a year. A U.S. official said Turkey and
Saudi Arabia areamongthe other countries funneling money into Afghanistan. Salehi, the target of the corrup-
tion probe, is accused of taking a bribe in return for his help in blocking an investigation of New Ansari, a money transfer busi- ness that has helped elite Af- ghans ship large sums of cash to overseas accounts. U.S. officials worry that the stream includes diverted foreign aid. But authorities said the Salehi
investigation is also focused on his involvement in administering the palace fund — doling out cash and vehicles to Karzai sup-
porters — as well as his role in negotiations with the Taliban. Salehi’s job put him at the
center of some of the most sensi- tive assignments for the Afghan government. Another national security official, Ibrahim Spinza- da, has orchestrated the govern- ment’s talks with the Taliban and traveled with Salehi to Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Russia. The payments from the palace
are “part of the politics here,” said a second senior Afghan official. Some people receive “a special salary. It is part of intelligence activities.” Rangin Dadfar Spanta, Af-
ghanistan’s national security ad- viser and Salehi’s boss, said in an interview that he had spoken with Salehi on Thursday and that Salehi denied working with the CIA. “I don’t think that Salehi is a spy,” Spanta said, adding that
EZ SU
KLMNO
FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 2010 CIA making secret payments to members of Karzai government
Salehi was “shocked and he abso- lutely rejected it.” U.S. officials did not dispute
that Salehi was on the CIA pay- roll, which was first reported by TheNewYork Times. But officials sought to draw a distinction be- tween agency payments and cor- ruption probes. “The United States govern-
ment had nothing to do with the activities for which this individu- al is being investigated,” the sec- ond U.S. official said. “It’s not news that we sometimes pay people overseas who help the United States do what it needs to get done. . . . Nor should it be surprising, in a place like Afghan- istan, that some influential fig- ures can be both helpful and—on their own, separate and apart — corrupt to some degree.” The flow of CIA money into the
region dates to the agency’s sup- port for mujaheddin fighters who ousted Soviet forces three de- cades ago. The spigot was tightened dur-
ing the 1990s but reopened after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.Much of the money went to support warlords whose militias helped to overthrow the Taliban regime, whichhadprovided sanc- tuary for Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda training camps. Salehi had served as an interpreter for one of the most prominent of those warlords, Abdurrashid Dostum, an ethnic Uzbek whose forces played a critical role in the campaign against the Taliban. The CIA bankrolled Afghani-
stan’s intelligence service, and its financial ties to government offi- cials has proliferated in recent years. “There are probably not too
many officials we haven’t met and contacted and paid,” a former CIA official said. The CIA has a long-standing
relationship — though not a fi- nancial one — with Karzai him- self. The agency’s station chief in Kabul traveled with Karzai dur- ing the war against theTaliban, at one point shielding him from the blast of a misdirected bomb. The station chief has since served two tours in the Afghan capital at Karzai’s behest.
millergreg@washpost.com partlowj@washpost.com
Partlow reported from Kabul.
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