Corruption is rampant around the world and with widespread immigration it is getting a toehold here in the United States. Author Sarah Chayes looks at the global threat corruption plays for many states with her intriguing book called "Thieves Of The State". She makes a case how our support of corruption in other countries fuels insurgency and undermines our position in the world undermining everything this country's suppose to be about. She covers several countries in her writings and travels although incidentally absent from this discussion is our very corrupt neighbor to the South. Chayes provides vivid details on Afghanistan where she traveled extensively following our armed forces and instilling a vibrancy of corruption in a country that has long been plagued by this disease. Corruption links much of the Islamic insurgency and drawback by the rural backwaters people into a religion that promises a return to a cultural backwardness that many desire after autocratic rule.
The author does a good job describing the unique cultural response to heavy corruption in all of these places and the singlehanded one connection of massive American involvement that seems to follow all of these places. She covers how disgust to this extravagant lifestyle by those connected and enriched by corruption lead to the Tunisian and Egyptian uprising overthrowing families that had long dominated these places in North Africa. She describe ho little has changed as a new kleptocracy filled the void in Tunisia after Ben Ali fell. The crony fake capitalism in both Egypt and Tunisia threatens the fabric of these fledgling democracies of the Middle East. 
The continuing ostentatious behavior is always threatening a repeat and possibility radical Muslims will step in for an Iranian-style takeover some day. This cannot be unavoidable as any society that has extreme poverty and acute injustices and inequality will always be a powder keg that no amount of state spending can protect. Sarah Chayes describes what she heard and saw under the government doors of these places and why open obvious corruption is causing what appears to be the world exploding everywhere.
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