The fight against corruption has gained fresh impetus in Afghanistan with the formation of a new task force to investigate allegations of graft inside the contracting system that has poured billions of dollars into Afghanistan over the past eight years. Dubbed Task Force 2010, the group, set up by the U.S.- government, is attempting to stamp out the problem that has beset the Afghan government since its inception, undermining support for the central authority and making life miserable for countless Afghans.

It has also complicated relations between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the international community, particularly the United States. The issue has reared its head on numerous occasions, including in the wake of the fraud-plagued elections last year, when the United States gave Karzai’s second administration six months to begin to make headway against the problem. It became a focus of the London Conference in January of this year, after which Karzai set up an Anti Corruption Commission

Transparency International has ranked Afghanistan the second most corrupt country in the world according to its Perceived Corruption Index. Only Somalia scores lower.

Allegations of corruption span all branches of the government, all levels of officialdom, and permeate all aspects of life.

Some analysts believe that corruption in Afghanistan is now at its worst level ever, and is endangering the entire system.

“No effort has been made to tackle corruption for the past eight years,” said Faqir Mohmmad Bayanger, a political analyst in Herat. “There is no enforcement of the Constitution, no system of reward and punishment, and no attention paid to merit-based appointments,” he said. “”These factors will cause the gradual death of the system.”

Bayanger is not optimistic that task forces and special commissions will do the trick.

“The establishment of symbolic bodies to tackle corruption will never have positive results unless and until the abovementioned problems are addressed,” he insisted.

Ahmad Joyenda, a Member of Parliament, believes that the appointment of high-ranking officials based on expediency rather than professionalism, as well as the economic mafia, are playing a major role in the weakening of the administrative system in the country.

He pointed to the case of Esmatullah Alizai, former Chief of Police in Herat.

“He was a hard-working guy, but he was sacked by those who oppose the establishment of a sound administration in Afghanistan,” said Joyenda.

Alizai was transferred to Balkh province in April.

Parliament is also riddled with corruption, according to Mawlawi Gul Ahmad, deputy chairman of the parliamentary commission on justice, governance reforms and combating corruption in Afghanistan.

“Corruption is a cancer which invades all branches of government,” he said. “Delegates from the parliament’s secretariat who are responsible for financial affairs are embezzling. In addition, the relationship between parliamentarians and some powerful figures is a sign of corruption.”

For more than a year now, U.S. and NATO officials frequently accuse Afghan government of inattention to corruption and warn that their financial contributions to the Afghan government could be stopped if corruption is not addressed.

President Karzai acknowledges that corruption exists in his government but he also blames foreigners for this dire phenomenon. In April Karzai accused the U.S. and other Western powers of being responsible for fraud in the 2009 presidential elections.

The West has reacted harshly to such allegations; the public spats between Karzai and his foreign backers in the wake of the elections created tensions that weakened the bond between the two sides.

The rift seems to have been patched over during Karzai’s recent visit to Washington.

But officials inside Afghanistan are prepared to agree with their president that the foreign community bears a healthy dose of responsibility for corruption.

“Millions of dollars have been contributed to Afghanistan over the past eight years and three-quarters of their contributions have been spent irresponsibly,” said MP Joyenda.

Mawlawi Gul Ahmad agrees.

“Foreigners play a two-faced face policy in Afghanistan,” he said. “On the one the hand, they talk about tackling corruption and on the other hand, they spread corruption. Failure to tackle corruption will be followed by the failure of the Afghan government and the international community in Afghanistan.”

But MP Faqir Mohammad disagrees; the blame, he said, lies solely with the Afghan government. “The international community cannot eliminate corruption unless the government of Afghanistan undertakes strict measures,” he said.