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"When it comes to corruption in Afghanistan, the time may be now for the United States to look in the mirror and see what lessons can be learned from contracting out parts of that war."

"Anti-corruption programs established to combat graft and fiscal malfeasance in Afghanistan are struggling with a daunting mission. "

" As Americans pull back from Afghanistan, Kabul Bank's Mr. Farnood exemplifies how the United States is leaving behind a problem it underwrote over the past decade with tens of billions of dollars of aid and logistical support: a narrow business and political elite defined by its corruption, and despised by most Afghans for it. "

"Transcending its traditional Pashtun base, the Taliban is bolstering its influence in the central-eastern provinces by installing shadow governments and tapping into the vulnerabilities of a central government crippled by corruption and deeply dependent on a corrosive war economy. Collusion between insurgents and corrupt government officials in Kabul and the nearby provinces has increased, leading to a profusion of criminal networks in the Afghan heartland."

"A close look at Mr. Karzai's growing alienation from the U.S. helps to explain why so many of America's war objectives in Afghanistan remain unfulfilled. It seems increasingly likely that the U.S. will leave behind both an undefeated Taliban insurgency and a dysfunctional government mired in corruption and utterly dependent on foreign aid."

"According to journalist Douglas Wissing in his new book, Funding the Enemy, once the unholy alliance was forged between the brothers Karzai, rapacious warlords and incestuous multinational corporations, U.S. taxpayer dollars began to "lubricate an entire system of corruption that eventually extended to the Taliban.""

"After examining hundreds of combat support and reconstruction contracts in Afghanistan, the U.S military estimates $360 million in U.S. tax dollars has ended up in the hands of people the American-led coalition has spent nearly a decade battling: the Taliban, criminals, and power brokers with ties to both."

Trucking contractors pay off the Taliban, warlords and government officials to ensure safe passage for U.S. military goods in Afghanistan , a senior military official told a congressional oversight panel. "Some of that money, for sure, is going to the insurgency," Brig. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend said. "I can't quantify how much is going to attacks against us. . . . I don't think you can completely stop it, but we've got to minimize it.""

"JALALABAD, Afghanistan-One of Afghanistan's top power brokers has been freeing suspected insurgents, running an open extortion scheme and traveling with suitcases of undeclared cash earned from criminal activity, according to internal U.S. documents. "

The Great American Folly Machine:

My interview on the Jerry Doyle Show discussing the CIA "ghost money" payments to Pres. Karzai, and our dysfunctional war in Afghanistan.