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Afghan President Hamid Karzai says he has received assurances from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's station chief in Kabul that it will continue delivering cash, as it has for the past decade, to his offices.

"Yes, we received cash from the CIA for the past 10 years. It was very useful, and we are very thankful for this aid," the president said during a news conference Saturday in Kabul.

"Yesterday, I thanked the CIA's chief in Kabul and I requested their continued help, and they promised that they will continue. "

Karzai's comments follow last week's report by The New York Times that the CIA has been dropping off shopping bags full of money every month or so for more than a decade to the offices of the Afghan president.

"This is not unusual," he told reporters, adding that the money was spent by his office and the national security office for a variety of purposes, including paying salaries, helping the war wounded and providing scholarships.

Karzai dismissed questions about why such money, not in state coffers, was needed for what he described as government expenses.

"This is the choice of the American government," he said.

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