Afghan corruption

LA Times:

NATO forces swooped down on the home of a senior Afghan police official, arrested him and accused him of helping insurgents make and plant roadside bombs, Western military officials said Sunday.

The incident, which took place last week in Kapisa province, east of the capital, Kabul, is likely to raise tensions between foreign forces and the Afghan national police. That partnership is considered a crucial element of plans by the Obama administration to pave the way for a drawdown of American forces starting next year.

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If the charges against the arrested official are borne out, the case would represent one of the most serious instances to date of complicity by a ranking Afghan security official with the Taliban or other militant groups.

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In addition to alleged involvement with the IED ring in Kapisa, the arrested man was also accused of corruption in connection with a road project, of unspecified illegal activities in the district of Bagram in neighboring Parwan province, where the country's biggest American base is located, and had been linked to a murder last year, NATO said.

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NATO said both Afghan and Western troops, backed up by helicopters, took part in the raid. The statement did not specify the nationality or service branch of the foreign forces leading the raid, but Ayar identified them as American.

Most of the foreign soldiers in Kapisa are French, but U.S. Special Forces sometimes carry out operations in the area.

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It sounds like a special ops raid. The Afghans are acting as if this is some big mistake. That is probably evidence of how deep the corruption is in the country. With this guy out of the way, we should get an idea of his involvement by the number of IED attacks in the coming weeks. The Afghans claim that corruption is one of the most important issues they face. They need to start acting like it when arrest like this are made.