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The governor of Afghanistan's Central Bank, Abdul Qadeer Fitrat, announced his resignation Monday from the United States, saying that his life "was completely in danger" in Kabul due to his investigation into the Kabul Bank scandal, where nearly $900 million was allegedly given out in bad loans, including to senior officials and relatives of Afghan president Hamid Karzai (NYT, Reuters, WSJ, FT, BBC, AJE, AFP, Tel, Bloomberg).More on that here: September 03 2010 Travus T. Hipp Morning News & Commentary: Bank Run In Afghanistan - What WILL Be Left When The Bank Has Been Run And Looted? (Go), here, and here: "All this money magically appears from nowhere," - The Looting Of Afghanistan's Wealth By It's U.S. Installed Kleptocracy Begins In Earnest (Go)
In his resignation letter and comments Fitrat blamed officials for interfering in his investigation into the Kabul Bank, while a presidential spokesman called his departure "treason" and said Fitrat would be prosecuted as part of the investigation (Reuters, Bloomberg). [In full with all links]
Spike in U.S. Deaths in Iraq Raises WorriesDo Tell?
By TIM ARANGO
June 26, 2011
BAGHDAD Two American soldiers were killed Sunday in Iraq, the military command said, making June the worst month in combat-related fatalities for United States forces in Iraq in more than two years. The casualties also reflected the dangers ahead as the United States prepares to withdraw all its troops from Iraq by the end of the year.
The June total of so-called hostile-related deaths of American soldiers is now 11, the most since May 2009, when 12 were killed, according to icasualties.org, an online database that tracks the deaths of foreign forces in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
In a statement issued Sunday night, the American military said the two soldiers were killed conducting operations in the north... [More @ The NYTimes]
What has the war in Afghanistan really achieved?They mean two different things ya know?A new report argues that violence and billions in aid have produced a new criminal oligarchyThe IoS takes stock after one of the bloodiest months since the conflict began, and a week in which President Obama announced a speeding up of troop withdrawals.
By Jonathan Owen, David Randall, Jane Merrick and Rupert Cornwell
Sunday, 26 June 2011
At least 60 people died in a suicide bombing just 25 miles from Kabul yesterday. In a few days' time, a report on Afghanistan from the International Crisis Group will say that violence and the billions of dollars in international aid have brought wealthy officials and insurgents together. As a result, "the economy is increasingly dominated by a criminal oligarchy of politically connected businessmen".
The negatives column in the Afghan war's balance sheet does not get any shorter. So far, the conflict has lasted nine years, eight months and 17 days, cost the lives of 2,547 coalition troops, and between 14,000 and 34,000 civilians, created millions of refugees, and opened up a black hole in Western economies that has sucked in more $500bn dollars. Afghanistan costs the US around $10bn (£6.3bn) a month; and Britain will pay £4.5bn this year.
Such is the change in mood that the Foreign Secretary, William Hague, has openly admitted the prospect of parleying with the Taliban, the very people we went to war to remove... [In Full, Independent UK]
Get Out, or Get the Hell Out? That Is the Big Question in Afghanistan
A Foreign Policy Magazine Roundtable
Anthony Cordesman and Adam Mausner: A Race Against Time
Thomas Ruttig: Where's the Progress?
Ejaz Haider: Let's Face It, the Surge Didn't Work
David J. Rothkopf: When Withdrawal Is a Big Step Forward
Kori Schake: President Obama Changes Direction on Afghanistan, Again
Michael Waltz: Obama's Dangerous Message [Discussion in full]
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