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U.S. Watchdog: Afghanistan on the Brink of Blacklisting - US News

U.S. Watchdog: Afghanistan on the Brink of Blacklisting

Afghan elections, U.S. efforts to fight corruption are central to the wartorn country's fate, special inspector general says.

Supporters listen to Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah during a campaign rally on Thursday in Charikar, Afghanistan. The country's April election is the third presidential contest since the fall of the Taliban.

By Paul D. Shinkman

March 21, 2014

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World powers are on the brink of blacklisting Afghanistan, further isolating the war-torn country and torpedoing its chances of ever joining the global marketplace, a top U.S. watchdog official said Thursday. At the end of this year, Americas longest war will come to an end, said John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction. The ongoing drawdown of U.S. troops will leave, at most, a few thousand for training and quick-response sanctions. The reconstruction mission, however, is far from over. Sopko heads a powerful organization established by Congress, known as SIGAR, to oversee the reconstruction in Afghanistan that runs simultaneously to the war and diplomatic efforts there. He points to the pernicious problem of corruption rooted in the Afghan system of government, propped up by the NATO countries involved in the fight. [READ: Corruption Plagues Afghanistan Ahead of U.S. Withdrawal] He faults the U.S. government for not having any unified plan for fighting this corruption, which he says has led to three key issues as the U.S. plans its withdrawal this year: whether the Afghan security can last without U.S. support, whether Afghanistan can hold free and fair elections this spring and restore the public faith in the local government, and whether the U.S. and Afghanistan can agree on a post-

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2014 military plan.

U.S. Watchdog: Afghanistan on the Brink of Blacklisting - US News

Allowing corruption to continue unabated will likely jeopardize every gain we have made over the last 12 years, Sopko said Thursday in remarks at D.C.-based think tank the Atlantic Council. In other words, rampant corruption may be the spoiler for all three issues. The Financial Action Task Force, an international body that sets standards for fighting corruption, downgraded its score for Afghanistan in February. It stated that the fledgling government was not making sufficient progress in stopping issues such as money laundering and terrorist financing. Sopko says this could spell disaster if left unchecked. If there is no sign of improvement, experts cautioned me that Afghanistan will be blacklisted, he said. A blacklisting could be devastating to Afghanistans financial sector and the overall economy. Any country, particularly one in Afghanistans stage of development, requires foreign investment to make economic progress. Without overseas confidence to invest in Afghanistan, Sopko said, it essentially remains a welfare state leaning heavily on the U.S. government for financial support. [ALSO: Obama to Karzai: Get Ready for 'Zero Option' in Afghanistan] He pointed to the upcoming Afghan elections, slated for April 5, for some hope that the country may be able to right itself under new leadership, following 8 years under President Hamid Karzai. Sopko would not, however, qualify the likelihood that the election will be conducted freely or fairly, or if Karzai will fulfill his constitutional obligation to step down. Observers, including top military officers, have questioned the veracity of these elections, following widespread fraud in 2009 when Karzai was reelected. Sopko's remarks also come amid renewed civil violence in Afghanistan. A militant group attacked an upscale hotel in Kabul on Thursday, killing 9. Taliban militants who have already targeted police facilities have said they will also attack election sites and voters. I think its appropriate that it is the first day of spring, Sopko said, Because what I will be talking about is really the possibility of a new spring in Afghanistan, particularly with the new elections. Next months presidential and provincial council elections provide a new and unique opportunity to help Afghans tackle this problem," he said. "All the major candidates say they want to combat corruption. Lets help them."
TAGS: Afghanistan, elections, Taliban + More

Paul D. Shinkman is a national security reporter for U.S. News & World Report. You can follow him on Twitter or reach him at pshinkman@usnews.com

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