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My experience in Afghanistan was only 8 months advising the Afghan Army in Southeast part of the country near the Pakistan border. From interactions of the Army leaders, local law enforcement, and tribal leaders you can tell there was a thin line between quid pro quo and outright bribery. You can also see the further away from Kabul you were the less likely you saw logistical support unless you knew the right people in government. I also saw US leaders, military and civilian, using bad judgement of giving nice things in order for an Afghan commander will play ball; such as, a nice fancy command post that the Afghans were incapable of sustaining. So yeah, some points made in this article I agree with.
Afghanistan’s Corruption Was Made in America
Posted from foreignaffairs.comPosted in these groups: 
Afghanistan
Corruption
Afghanistan Corruption
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 2
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I reject this whole Afghans were just babes in the woods and America made them all power hungry in greedy. Go back to the Silk Road or the British Evacuation. Bribes, corruption, theft, et al are a way of life. The difference was opportunity.
The Pashtuns and others live in a culture where patronage is how you get things. Influence wielded by tribal elders who control their tribes.
Accepting Sarah Chayes article at face value, let’s say the Afghans only became corrupt. They sure picked it up aweful fast and took it to new heights
The Pashtuns and others live in a culture where patronage is how you get things. Influence wielded by tribal elders who control their tribes.
Accepting Sarah Chayes article at face value, let’s say the Afghans only became corrupt. They sure picked it up aweful fast and took it to new heights
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MAJ James Woods
That wasn’t her premise at all. Her premise was the US sponsored Afghan government was rooted with corruption that the US didn’t try to fix. Of course, the Afghan culture has been filled with corruption prior to the US invasion but her anecdotal story along with my own addresses one aspect to how the Afghan people saw no difference in the existing levels of government and business operations than under previous regimes. So yes. Afghanistan like the US has always had corruption built into the culture in one form or another.
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LTC Jason Mackay
MAJ James Woods it’s a perpetual motion machine. If their culture and existing power base is patronage, then people with influence wield power, so you tap into local power brokers to get things done. Which then builds their power and influence.
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