Mullen calls for ending Afghan corruption

Mullen calls for ending Afghan corruption
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (UPI) -- The U.S.-led NATO campaign in Afghanistan's Taliban-controlled Kandahar Province can succeed only if corruption is checked, the top U.S. commander warned.
"We will be unable to succeed in Kandahar if we cannot eliminate a vast majority of corruption there," Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday, The Times of London reported.
The admiral's visit to Afghanistan follows that of U.S. President Barack Obama, who during his unannounced six-hour trip last Sunday, also expressed hope of seeing improved governance and anti-corruption efforts.
The Kandahar campaign is reportedly set to start in June on the heels of the offensive by the 15,000 U.S., NATO and Afghan troops in neighboring Helmand, where the coalition forces now control key cities once held by the Taliban.
The Times reported the United States hopes to complete the Kandahar campaign before the August start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. It said U.S. leaders know any withdrawal of forces from that country would depend, among other things, on winning the confidence of Afghans in their government, which critics say is beset with corruption.
The Kandahar operation would be different from the one in Helmand's Marja as Kandahar city is Afghanistan's second largest and the birthplace of the Taliban, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier.
"Kandahar is a political problem," Frank Ruggiero, the top U.S. civilian official in southern Afghanistan, told the Journal. "And the campaign in Kandahar will be led by governance."
The report said the Afghan government in Kandahar is so weak and corrupt more residents seem to respect the Taliban.
"The specific objective is to make the Afghan government a more viable option for people to turn to," Ruggiero said.

Copyright 2010 by United Press International
This news arrived on: 03/31/2010