Friday, December 03, 2010



Cablegate: US stole Afghan aid

Today's big cablegate story is about an Afghan Vice-President who showed up in Dubai with US%2 million in cash. But the Afghan government aren't the only people stealing aid. Another piece, also in the Guardian reports on the US's handling of Afghan aid money. Back in 2007, they set up a "trust fund" to buy equipment for the Afghan army, and solicited donations from their NATO allies. They then transferred the money to the US treasury, sat on it, and charged a 15% "handling fee" into the bargain. Strangely, the Germans, who had donated 50 million Euro to the fund, weren't too happy about this...

(So, there's a question for kiwi journalists: did NZ donate to this fund? If so, is the government happy with being ripped off by our "very very good friend" like this?)