As demonstrated by the recent parliamentary election, international efforts to support anti-corruption activities in Afghanistan have faltered. The revelation that Mr Karzai admitted to receiving cash from the Iranian government has further dented his image abroad. It has also heightened concerns that Iran is attempting to buy influence in Afghanistan; allegations that surfaced after the story broke included an assertion that Mr Karzai's spokesman, Mohammad Umer Daudzai, had specifically been given money to buy his loyalty. Mr Daudzai was Afghanistan's ambassador to Iran 2005-07 and is believed to have come under Iranian influence. He is also a member of the political wing of Hezb-i-Islami, which is an offshoot of the militant group, Hezb-i-Islami Gulbuddin (HiG), run by Gulbuddin Hekmetyar. The story first broke in the Afghan media a year earlier, but had not been picked up by foreign outlets. Mr Karzai's representatives attempted to defend the payments, saying the government is accountable to Iran for the way that it spends the money.

US efforts to tackle corruption seem to be failing. Investigations into alleged tax evasion by Mr Karzai's brother, Mahmood Karzai, have commenced, but other anti-corruption initiatives have been sidelined. The two foreign-backed Afghan task forces that are supposed to be dealing with high-level corruption have been unable to move from investigations to prosecutions. Moreover, the president's intervention to release one of his aides from prison in August, after the aide was arrested on corruption charges, has blunted the impact of their work. The case was further complicated by the fact that the aide in question was on the payroll of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); some observers have therefore speculated that others who are on the CIA's payroll may believe they are immune from prosecution for corruption.

Meanwhile, Afghan government officials from the High Office of Oversight and Anti-corruption claimed on December 7th that 80% of corruption in Afghanistan involves foreigners. This angry riposte came after General Petraeus claimed that corruption was part of Afghanistan's history and culture.