WTF? Karzai's brother calls for U.S. to shore up Kabul Bank

[mod mom]

DUBAI - As depositors thronged branches of Afghanistan's biggest bank, Mahmoud Karzai, the brother of the Afghan president and a major shareholder in beleaguered Kabul Bank called on Thursday for intervention by the United States to head off a financial meltdown.


"America should do something," said Karzai in a telephone interview, suggesting that the U.S. Treasury Department guarantee the funds of Kabul Bank's clients, who number about a million and have more than a billion dollars on deposits with the bank.

Kabul Bank handles salary payments for soldiers, police and teachers. It has scores of branches across Afghanistan and holds the accounts of key Afghan government agencies. The collapse of the bank would likely spread panic throughout the country's fledgling financial sector and wipe out nine years of effort by the United States to establish a sound Afghan banking system, seen as essential to the establishment of a functioning economy.

Action by the United States, said Mahmoud Karzai, would prevent a run on Kabul Bank and protect other banks, too. He said Kabul Bank is "stable and has money" but cannot withstand a stampede by panicked depositors.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/02/AR2010090202266.html?hpid=moreheadlines

The audacity!

[Better Believe It]

1. Use the billions stolen by Karzai and his pals to cover the deposits.

[mod mom]

4. "America should do something," yes like learn from the Soviet's mistakes.

This asshole should be locked up and his (OUR) assets confiscated!

[atreides1]

2. Not just Hell No

FUCK NO!!!!!

[rurallib]

3. they learned from American corporations quickly, did they not?

[Donnachaidh]

5. oh HELL no!

:grr:

[aquart]

6. Can we leave now?

[gratuitous]

7. I'd like to think that we would at least ask "how much"

But for some reason, I suspect the blank Treasury check is already on its way overseas.

[mod mom]

10. We'll probably cover it as he probably has dirt on the bush cabal & the Dems won't

want them exposed. One big $Money$ Party :mad:

[bullwinkle428]

8. "Hey...I've been looting it for years!! It really needs help now!"

[KamaAina]

9. Didn't we already bail out the banks?

Oh, right, we haven't officially annexed Afghanistan as the 51 state just yet. :eyes:

[global1]

11. "Cannot Withstand A Stampede By Panicked Depositors" - A Stampede That He.......

is creating by making statements like this.

[Octafish]

12. KFEE wants more to steal.

Must be a sub-set: Too Corrupt to Fail?

Moving the money from one bank to another, or the President’s dubiously wealthy brother moving himself from one villa to another, doesn’t really count as doing something about corruption. Or, if it does, then we have a long way to go in Afghanistan. It’s a bit like moving soldiers from one war to another, and calling it victory.

[Canuckistanian]

13. Cut off ALL funding to the Afghan government

Humanitarian and reconstruction funds only.

As fast as money is going to the Karzais and their cronies, the faster it's LEAVING Afghanistan to buy villas in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

[mod mom]

14. I think "Humanitarian and reconstruction funds" probably go directly into their pockets as well.