There's been lots said, correctly, about rampant corruption in th government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

But corruption amongst contractors, both international and Afghan subcontractors, is also rampant.

The concrete hut in this photo was built as a headquarters for the local village protection forces, known as AP3, that patrol roads in Wardak province. Wardak officials told me the contract was let to a local contractor by the US Special Forces team that was training the AP3. No doubt the Special Forces were in a hurry to get the thing built and weren't concerned with supervising the details.

This tiny hut has no water, no electricity, and no latrine. It does have a fence around it built with local stones. The cost, according to the head of Wardak's Provincial Council, who says he saw the contract: $105,000. And four of these headquarters were built. Locals that I spoke were disgusted with the waste of money, not to mention the shoddy building, and said a better headquarters could have been built for $5-10,000.

Think what $400,000 well spent could have accomplished in a strategically important province that lacks roads, electricity, good irrigation systems, cold storage for its fruit growers, and jobs.