The Afghan military evaporated in the midst of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Ides of August reported:
Afghans did not reject us. They looked to us as exemplars of democracy and the rule of law. They thought that’s what we stood for.
And what did we stand for? What flourished on our watch? Cronyism, rampant corruption, a Ponzi scheme disguised as a banking system, designed by U.S. finance specialists during the very years that other U.S. finance specialists were incubating the crash of 2008. A government system where billionaires get to write the rules.
The U.S. government has long catered to billionaire private equity underwriters (PEU). The bipartisan effort started under Bill Clinton and every following president furthered the PEU agenda.
BIG by Matt Stoller wrote:
U.S. military leaders, like bad consultants or executives, lied about Afghanistan to the point it was routine. Here are just a few quotes from generals and DOD spokesmen over the years on the strength of the Afghan military, which collapsed almost instantly after the U.S. left.
In 2011, General David Petraeus stated, “Investments in leader development, literacy, marksmanship and institutions have yielded significant dividends. In fact, in the hard fighting west of Kandahar in late 2010, Afghan forces comprised some 60% of the overall force and they fought with skill and courage.”
In 2015, General John Campbell said that the the Afghan Army had “proven themselves to be increasingly capable,” that they had “grown and matured in less than a decade into a modern, professional force,” and, further, that they had “proven that they can and will take the tactical fight from here.”
KKR, a New York based PEU, hired General Petraeus in 2013. As a KKR partner Petraeus serves on the board of OPTIV, a government cybersecurity contractor. General Campbell also serves a middle market PEU.
J.F. Lehman & Company, a leading middle-market private equity firm focused on the defense, aerospace and maritime sectors, is pleased to announce the addition of General John F. Campbell, U.S. Army (Ret.) to its Operating Executive Board (””OEB””). The OEB is a group of seasoned industry and government executives who have significant experience in the firm's target industries. Through key relationships and sector-specific knowledge, OEB members contribute to sourcing and evaluating transactions, advising on portfolio company strategy and recruiting senior level portfolio company management.The greed and leverage boys are happy to partner with Middle East strongman Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
Afghan President Ghani fled with either millions of dollars or just the clothes on his back. Using wire transfers he could have left with both. Ghani ended up in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a haven for western financial interests and Afghan graft.
Former Pentagon CFO and PEU Dov Zakheim wrote for The Hill.
For years it was widely known that Afghan leaders were acquiring estates in Dubai with embezzled funds they had deposited in that city state.
DealBook reported in 2008, as did FedInsider:
The Carlyle Group has a scroll like list of ex-government insiders. They even have one of their own, Dov Zakheim, on the President's Commission for Wartime Contracting in Iraq & Afghanistan.
Zakheim facilitated The Carlyle Group's sale of Standard Aero and Landmark Aviation to Dubai Aerospce in 2007
Private equity greed retrograded management practice in their flipping companies for massive profits. Public companies copied PEUs overuse of debt, over-reliance on technology and over-emphasis on achieving that final profitgasm. Government leaders catered to PEU founders, policy making billionaires. Former elected officials and public servants did their best to steer government purses to their private equity affiliates.
The 2020 U.S. State Department report on Afghanistan states:
Officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. Reports indicated corruption was endemic throughout society, and flows of money from the military, international donors, and the drug trade continued to exacerbate the problem. Local businessmen complained government contracts were routinely steered to companies that paid a bribe or had family or other connections to a contracting official.
According to prisoners and local NGOs, corruption was widespread across the justice system, particularly in connection with the prosecution of criminal cases and in arranging release from prison. There were reports officials received unauthorized payments in exchange for reducing prison sentences, halting investigations, or outright dismissing charges.
Freedom House reported inadequately trained judges and extensive corruption in the judiciary, with judges and lawyers often subject to threats and bribes from local leaders or armed groups.
During the year there were reports of “land grabbing” by both private and public actors. Most commonly, businesses illegally obtained property deeds from corrupt officials and sold the deeds to unsuspecting prospective homeowners who were later prosecuted. Other reports indicated government officials confiscated land without compensation with the intent to exchange it for contracts or political favors. There were reports provincial governments illegally confiscated land without due process or compensation in order to build public facilities.
Afghans understood exactly what the U.S. brought them. Management greed and self service is not an inspiring model for the common person, be they citizen or worker.
Update 9-21-21: Former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin formed PEU Liberty Strategic Partners, a $2.5 billion PEU fund whose initial investment came in Cybereason.
Mnuchin will join the Cybereason Board of Directors, and Liberty’s Senior Advisor General Joseph F. Dunford (Ret.), who served as the 19th Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff (2015-2019), will join the Cybereason Advisory Board.
