“The basic problem in Afghanistan is not too much Taliban; it’s too little good governance. Afghans need a government that deserves their loyalty and trust; when they have it, the oxygen will be sucked away from the insurgency,” writes de Hoop Scheffer. “Crucially, Afghan officials must make the difficult choices necessary to create an efficient and corruption-free government in which its people can believe.”

De Hoop Scheffer’s remarks echoes those of the UN’s top envoy to Afghanistan, Kai Eide, who recently called the fight against corruption “one of the single most important issues for the future of the young democracy,” reports the UN News Service.

“We must all demonstrate – every day and at all levels that we reject corruption. The example we all set will shape the future. It can restore trust. It can bring development. It can meet the most basic human needs. It can turn resignation into hope,” said Eide during an event which was attended by Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Similarly, US General Robert Cone, commander of the force that trains the Afghan army and police, told Reuters in an interview in December 2008: “The final point is corruption, corruption, corruption; it is endemic.”

According to Reuters, “Senior officers and Interior Ministry officials are renowned for taking a cut of the salaries of policemen, who then exact bribes from the populace to make up their pay. Public confidence in the force is undermined and the Taliban gain support.”

A New York Times article published in January claims that: “the state built on the ruins of the Taliban government seven years ago now often seems to exist for little more than the enrichment of those who run it.”

The article details how: “Everything seems to be for sale: public offices, access to government services, even a person’s freedom,” noting that US President Barack Obama “may be required to save the Afghan government not only from the Taliban insurgency – committing thousands of additional American soldiers to do so – but also from itself.

In response to de Hoop Scheffer’s comments, an Afghan foreign ministry spokesman, Sultan Ahmad Baheen, told the BBC that “the government was committed to trying to eliminate corruption.” Baheen also accused Nato member countries with a presence in Afghanistan of supporting “their own favourite warlords”.

In a parliamentary session in January, Karzai said, "We admit that there is corruption in our administration. But there is even more corruption regarding international aid. If we can stop this kind of corruption, God willing, our administration will soon become free from corruption," reports the BBC.