Karzai Allegedly Taking Iranian Bribes

The Washington Times reports:

Iran began delivering money to Afghan President Hamid Karzai as early as 2003, a former Afghan official says.

“It started in a sort of transparent manner when I was the foreign minister, ” Abdullah Abdullah, now Afghanistan’s top opposition leader, said in an interview with editors and reporters of The Washington Times.

“So it was during [Iranian] President [Mohammed] Khatami’s time, and President Khatami mentioned it to President Karzai, that ‘from my own office, I have a budget at my discretion. If you agree with it, I would like to give some money for your office.’ So it started that way.”

Mr. Abdullah, who served as foreign minister from 2001 to 2005, recalled the Iranian offer coming in 2003 or 2004. He said Mr. Karzai briefed hisnational security council on it and told him that he had “raised the issue” with U.S. officials.

“In the first year, it was twice or three times that this happened — each time, perhaps around $1 million,” Mr. Abdullah said of the Iranian payments to Mr. Karzai.

Mr. Karzai’s Iranian payments were first reported in October bythe New York Times, which wrote that Mr. Khatami used the money to “pay Afghan lawmakers, tribal elders and even Talibancommanders to secure their loyalty.”

Mr. Abdullah said that Cabinet members also received a portion of the Iranian funds in the form of a “gift” each month that was four times as large as their official wages.

“Sometimes, in passing [Mr. Karzai] would say that this is from that money,” he said.

Mr. Karzai has publicly acknowledged the Iranian money, reportedly delivered as bags of cash, but said the process was “transparent.”

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