Afghanistan: Politics, Elections, and Government Performance
"The weak performance and lack of transparency within the Afghan government are a growing
factor in debate over the effectiveness of U.S. strategy in Afghanistan. In a December 1, 2009,
policy statement on Afghanistan, which followed the second of two major Afghanistan strategy
reviews in 2009, President Obama stated that “The days of providing a blank check [to the
Afghan government] are over.” Since early 2010, the Administration has been pressing President
Hamid Karzai to move more decisively to address corruption within his government, but Karzai’s
backlash against the criticism has caused the Administration to try to work quietly with Karzai
and to emphasize building the capacity of several emerging anti-corruption institutions. However,
these same institutions have sometimes targeted Karzai allies and undermined the U.S.-Karzai
partnership, compelling Karzai to strengthen his bond to ethnic and political faction leaders who
are often involved in illicit economic activity and who undermine rule of law. Some of the effects
of corruption burst into public view in August 2010 when major losses were announced by the
large Kabul Bank, in part due to large loans to major shareholders, many of whom are close to
Karzai. While prodding Karzai on corruption—including some moves in Congress to link further
U.S. aid to clear progress on this issue—another clear trend over the past two years has been to
reduce sole reliance on the Afghan central government by strengthening local governing bodies.
This is being implemented, in part, by expanding the presence of U.S. government civilians as
advisors outside Kabul..."