Mullen voices alarm at level of Afghan corruption

Top US military officer Admiral Mike Mullen expressed serious concern Wednesday over corruption in the Afghan government, warning President Hamid Karzai to crack down on offenders.

Newly re-elected Karzai “has got to take significant steps to eliminate corruption,” the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff warned. Karzai’s brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, head of the province of Kandahar, has been accused of having ties to Afghanistan’s lucrative illegal opium trade. Mullen suggested sending additional US troops to Afghanistan would not make sense if the Kabul government failed to earn credibility.