Free Republic

With billions of dollars in American aid increasingly flowing straight into Afghan government coffers, the United States hired two global auditing firms three years ago to determine whether Afghanistan could be trusted to safeguard the money. The findings were so dire that American officials fought to keep them private. But the money has continued to flow, despite warnings from the auditors that none of the 16 Afghan ministries could be counted on to keep the funds from being stolen or wasted. The problems unearthed by the auditors are detailed in a report to be published Thursday by the Special Inspector...

KABUL, Afghanistan - A remote-controlled bomb hit a convoy of German peacekeepers in northern Afghanistan Wednesday, killing an Afghan driver and three civilians, officials said. The attack came added to deteriorating security ahead of September elections, and just a week after 11 Chinese workers were shot in their beds in the same province. Mutaleb Beg, the provincial police chief, said the roadside bomb exploded in Kunduz, 150 miles north of Kabul. "The convoy was passing through the Gandum Bazaar market when a mine was detonated on the edge of the road by remote control," Beg told The Associated Press. He...