Ungrateful American allies prompt questions about aid

The two countries that owe their free existence to the United States are the two that have turned out to be the most ungrateful. And as the number of Americans questioning the purpose of our foreign excursions continues to rise, the demands for the White House to reassess its commitments will increase. If Afghanistan and Iraq hope to continue being in America’s good graces, their leaders had better stop thumbing their noses at President Barack Obama.

With billions of dollars being spent in those two countries to keep them free and reverse centuries of dictatorial rule, it is foolhardy for Afghanistan’s president, Hamid Karzai, and Iraq’s prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, to bite the hand that’s feeding them. And yet, that’s what they’ve done.

In Afghanistan, Karzai’s government has shut down a highly publicized investigation into an influential provincial governor accused of taking bribes; in so doing, it has prompted questions about its commitment to cracking down on widespread corruption.

From President Obama on down, Americans have been demanding that the Afghans prosecute to the fullest government officials who are enriching themselves while the war-torn country struggles to keep from imploding economically and socially. Despite Karzai’s insistence that cracking down on corruption is a top priority for his government, the decision to end the investigation of the former governor of Kapisa province, Ghulam Qawis Abu Bakr, sends a very different message.

Abu Bakr is accused of receiving a $200,000 bribe in exchange for a contract to build a cell tower. He was suspended as governor after CIA Director David Petraeus, then the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, presented Karzai with documentation showing that the ex-governor was colluding with the Taliban, the Associated Press reportedly recently in an exclusive investigative story.

But now, not only has the probe ended, but the prosecutor has been transferred to a unit that does not handle corruption cases.

Two years ago, Karzai, under pressure from the United States, unveiled an anti-corruption task force, and while powerful government figures have been accused of corruption and even investigated, few have been taken to court. Most of the 2,000 cases investigated have stalled, the Associated Press reported.

Karzai has not taken kindly to charges that he is aiding and abetting the corruption and contends that Americans do not understand how difficult it is to keep the central government in Kabul intact. However, the president should be aware that American taxpayers have grown impatient with the pace of progress and the demands for an end to the financial assistance are growing.

National security interest

We continue to believe that a politically and economically stable Afghanistan is in the national security interest of the United States, but after the billions of dollars that been spent, we think it’s time for Karzai to step up and do what’s right, or to step aside.

In Iraq, Prime Minister al-Maliki has repeatedly snubbed the Obama administration over the issue of Syria. The Iraqi leader, who is in office today because the U.S. -led coalition got rid of long-time dictator Saddam Hussein, has shown he is more interested in appeasing Iran, which is backing the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad, than joining with the U.S. in its opposition to the hard line tactics against the popular uprising.

Obama is rallying international support for oil and gas sanctions and has called for Assad to step down.

Iraq, on the other hand, has moved closer to Iran, an avowed enemy of the United States.