It was common knowledge to everyone on the ground in Afghanistan except for Senator John Kerry that Ahmed Wali Karzai, President Karzai’s brother, heads a massive, lucrative opium trafficking operation.
Kerry said he had asked U.S intelligence agencies “for the smoking gun”, and had not gotten “the hard and fast” evidence.
A few days ago we found out why: the CIA has been keeping Brother Karzai on their payroll since 2001, turning a blind eye to his criminal operations in exchange for helping local contribute paramilitary forces to the NATO effort and acting as a go-between with the Taliban.
The CIA is not exactly a saintly organization, and having A.W Karzai cooperating with the U.S is probably quite helpful, especially during his brother’s presidency.
Yet this is another example of hypocricy from an administration that demands “accountability” and “reform” from the Karzai administration while openly paying off one of its most vice-ridden figures.
