U.S. military commanders in Afghanistan are developing a strategy that would tolerate some corruption in the country but target the most corrosive abuses by more tightly regulating U.S. contracting procedures, according to senior defense officials.
American officials here have not spoken publicly about countenancing potentially corrupt local power brokers. Such a stance would run somewhat against the grain of a counterinsurgency doctrine that preaches the importance of building competent governance.
But military officials have concluded that the Taliban insurgency is the most pressing threat to stability in Afghanistan and that a sweeping effort to drive out corruption would create chaos and a governance vacuum that the Taliban could exploit.
"There are areas where you need strong leadership, and some of those leaders are not entirely pure," said a senior defense official. "But they can help us be more effective in going after the primary threat, which is the Taliban."
In his Beirut office, Dr Ghassan Abu Sittah is going over his operating list for the...
Three Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza, while Israeli forces and Jewish settlers wounded...
Israel has rejected US President Donald Trump's 15-point plan for Gaza and will not withdraw until...
A pause in fighting between the U.S. and Iran came to a screeching halt after Tehran...
