AFGHAN PREZ CONFIRMS THAT HE GOT CIA CASH
Kabul/New York, April 29: Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Monday confirmed that his government received money from the US Central Intelligence Agency, following reports of cash being handed over in suitcases and backpacks.
“Yes, the NSC of Afghanistan has received money from CIA in the past 10 years. The amount was not big, rather it was small,” Karzai said in a statement, referring to the National Security Council which is part of the President’s office.
The New York Times reported on Monday that Karzai’s office had received tens of millions of dollars in cash over more than a decade in a CIA effort to win influence.
“We called it ‘ghost money’,” said Khalil Roman, who served as Karzai’s deputy chief of staff from 2002 until 2005. “It came in secret, and it left in secret”, the New York Times had quoted him as saying.
Later, Karzai said the money had been used for good causes in Afghanistan, where endemic corruption is one of the main problems undermining efforts to establish a stable state.
“The money was spent for different reasons: operation objectives, helping wounded and sick (people) and for house rents and others objectives,” the President said.
“These assistances were very productive and we thank them,” he added.
— Agencies