War, Poverty, Taliban ... and Now Afghan Bank May Fail

What more could go wrong in woebegone Afghanistan? Well, its largest bank could fail. Fear of that has led long lines of depositors to crowd outposts of Kabul Bank, clamoring for their money, most unable to withdraw more than $1,000. The removal of long-time bank managers and rumors of insolvency and unrecorded loans to Afghan President Hamid Karzai's family seem to have caused the run.

The Washington Post notes that the bank's management was purged as part of an effort to rein in the bank's "freewheeling ways"—but the decision may have set off the very crisis officials were trying to avoid. And there may not be much the US can do; given the American public's disgust with the Wall Street bailout, one can imagine the ire a bailout of an Afghan bank would stir. Read the full article. (More Kabul Bank stories.)