Afghan gov't corruption called 'pervasive'

KABUL, Afghanistan, May 20 (UPI) -- The Obama administration's plans to funnel more foreign aid to Afghanistan will be hindered by entrenched government corruption in Kabul, U.S. analysts say.

A report written last month by consultants to the U.S. Agency for International Development contends the Afghan government and court system are beset by "pervasive" and "entrenched" corruption and dishonesty, USA Today reported Wednesday.

U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke told Congress last month he wants to boost the percentage of U.S. aid to Afghanistan that passes through the government of President Hamid Karzai from 10 percent to "at least 40 or 50 percent" -- the United States has spent $8 billion in Afghanistan since 2002, the newspaper said.

But, the USAID report indicated, "Seven years after the fall of the Taliban government, corruption has become more than the standard-issue bribery, nepotism, and extortion," instead becoming systemic, with "the officials and agencies that are supposed to be part of the solution … instead (being) a critical part of the corruption syndrome."

Tom Schweich, a former top U.S. counternarcotics official, told USA Today the Kabul government can't distribute aid well because of corruption and "bureaucratic incompetence."