Obama asked to explain cash transfers to Karzai

WASHINGTON (PAN): An influential Republican senator on Thursday dispatched his third letter to President Barack Obama alleged transfer of cash to his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai by the CIA.  

“I am deeply concerned that these alleged cash payments, if they actually happened, undermine these efforts and may indeed enhance corruption in Afghanistan,” Senator Bob Corker said in his letter to Obama, a copy of which was released to the press.

Writing his third letter to Obama on the same issue, Corker expressed his frustration that he had not received any response from the White House.

“Even if these alleged payments may gain us some short-term value from a national security or intelligence perspective, they may be severely counterproductive in the long run,” the lawmaker argued.

The lack of coordination and access to information, both within the executive branch, as well as in Congress, might contribute to the potentially contradictory and incoherent nature of US policy in Afghanistan and elsewhere, Corker added.

The senator made his initial request for answers in a letter to the president on May 2, which was followed by a second dispatch on May 14,  “Our national interests are ill-served by a US policy that is incoherent. Strong leadership from the White House can help solve this problem.”

Corker wrote: “In addition, I hope that you will personally commit to ensuring that appropriate committees, like the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on which you served and, in particular its leadership, are kept fully and currently informed of all US government activities …

“Consistent with this principle, I want to reiterate my request for information regarding the alleged payments to the Karzai government, including a classified briefing, as appropriate,” Corker said.

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