Afghan leader says U.S., Iran have given cash

KABUL - President Hamid Karzai acknowledged yesterday that he receives millions of dollars in cash from Iran, adding that Washington, too, gives him "bags of money" because his office lacks funds.

U.S. officials said the money flowing from Tehran was further proof that Iran is playing a double game in Afghanistan, wooing the government while helping the Taliban who are fighting U.S. and NATO forces.

The United States has itself used cash as a weapon in both Afghanistan and Iraq, from local development projects to win public support, to salaries for Iraqi insurgents who switched sides, to cash payoffs to influential community leaders willing to back the United States and its allies.

Karzai said that once or twice a year, Iran gives his office $700,000 to $975,000 for official presidential expenses.

"This is transparent. This is something that I've even discussed while I was at Camp David with President [George W.] Bush," Karzai told a news conference.

"It is not hidden," he said. "We are grateful for the Iranians' help in this regard. The United States is doing the same thing." And when pressed, he said the United States "does give bags of money."

David Sherzer, a spokesman for Bush, declined to comment.

But U.S. officials in Washington said both countries have given Afghanistan assistance in cash payments, a widespread practice in a country where few have bank accounts or credit cards.

The New York Times reported Sunday that Iran was giving bags of cash to the president's chief of staff, Umar Daudzai. Karzai said yesterday he had instructed Daudzai, a former ambassador to Iran, to accept the money from Tehran. - AP