Afghanistan graft sharply up as insurgency grows too

Afghanistan's government came under fresh pressure on Thursday to tackle widespread graft after a survey found soaring corruption was giving political strength to Taliban insurgents ahead of a fresh U.S. and NATO war push. Corruption in the country had more than doubled since 2007 and nine years after the start of the war to oust the Taliban, was now at levels well above fundamentalist rule, costing $1 billion a year in an $11 billion economy. One in seven Afghans now regularly paid bribes. "There is a clear link between the increased power of the Taliban and increased corruption in the state," survey author Lorenzo Delesgues of local anti-graft watchdog Integrity Watch Afghanistan told reporters. International donors and military commanders want President Hamid Karzai to drastically improve governance standards or risk counterbalancing a U.S. and NATO offensive against insurgents in ahead of a U.S. troop phase-down starting in July 2011.