Karzai is really corrupt

NYT via HuffPost Hill:

The New York Times posted a bunch of WikiLeaks cables on Christmas Day and put together a major scoop from them: The DEA, it turns out, is big. The cables offer an equally surprising revelation about our top ally in Afghanistan: Hamid Karzai is hopelessly corrupt and can't be persuaded by U.S. diplomats to stop releasing drug traffickers: "President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly released well-connected officials convicted of or charged with drug trafficking in Afghanistan, frustrating efforts to combat corruption and providing additional evidence that the United States' top ally in the country is himself corrupt. "On numerous occasions we have emphasized with Attorney General Aloko the need to end interventions by him and President Karzai, who both authorize the release of detainees pre-trial and allow dangerous individuals to go free or re-enter the battlefield without ever facing an Afghan court," reads a diplomatic cable obtained by WikiLeaks and provided to The New York Times. "Despite our complaints and expressions of concern to the [government], pre-trial releases continue."