Afghan president Hamid Karzai has assured the US general picked to lead the Afghan war effort that he did not meet with a leader from the Haqqani insurgency group, General David Petraeus said today.
"In talking to President Karzai in the vehicle on the way over here, he assured me that he has not met with a Haqqani group leader, by the way, in recent days or I think at any time," Gen Petraeus said when asked about reported attempts by Pakistan to broker a deal between the group and the Afghan government.
A key US House of Representatives Democrat said yesterday she is cutting billions of dollars in aid to Afghanistan from spending legislation because she is outraged over reports of corruption and donor aid being flown out the country.
Representative Nita Lowey, who heads the House appropriations subcommittee on foreign aid, vowed not to spend "one more dime" on aid to Afghanistan until she can be sure it is not being abused.
The Democrat also announced hearings on corruption in Afghanistan, where the Obama administration is trying to work with Mr Karzai's government to confront the Taliban insurgency.
An aide to Ms Lowey said the Obama administration requested $3.9 billion for the accounts affected in the fiscal 2011 foreign aid appropriations bill before Ms Lowey's committee.
Ms Lowey said in her statement she would only leave "lifesaving humanitarian aid" in the bill, which her committee will consider tomorrow.
Her statement comes amid increasing doubts among US politicians about President Barack Obama's six-month-old troop build-up strategy against a resurgent Taliban.
She acted after a Wall Street Journal report yesterday said more than $3 billion in cash had been flown out of Kabul airport in the past three years, and that US investigators think some of the money being flown out to safe havens is diverted US aid.
On the same day, a report in the Washington Post said that top officials in Mr Karzai's government have repeatedly derailed corruption investigations of politically connected Afghans.
"The alleged shipment of billions in donor funds out of Afghanistan and allegations of Afghan government insiders impeding corruption investigations are outrageous," Ms Lowey said.
"I do not intend to appropriate one more dime for assistance to Afghanistan until I have confidence that US taxpayer money is not being abused to line the pockets of corrupt Afghan government officials, drug lords, and terrorists," she said.
Ms Lowey said she would have hearings after Congress' recess next week to "get to the bottom" of corruption allegations in Afghanistan.
The stripped-out assistance would include economic support funds for Afghanistan and money for things like narcotics control, military education and training, health and anti-terrorism, an aide said.
Funding to pay for the surge of 30,000 troops that Obama has ordered to Afghanistan would not be affected, although the House also has yet to vote on the $33 billion that the Pentagon requested for that. The Senate has approved those funds.
Reuters