UAE aid to Afghanistan totals more than USD

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 003940

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ARP, SA/PAB, SA/AR, S/CT
KABUL FOR AMBASSADOR TAYLOR
NSC FOR ZKHALILZAD, JDWORKEN, HMANN, RHANSON,
DOD FOR U/S DOV ZAKHEIM
STATE PLEASE PASS TDA FOR CKRESS AND DSTEIN
STATE PLEASE PASS TREASURY FOR U/S TAYLOR, LMCDONALD
STATE PLEASE PASS OPIC FOR RCONNELLY AND DZAHNHEISER

E.O. 12958: DECL 08/27/13
TAGS: EAID MARR MASS PREL PGOV OHIP AF TC
SUBJECT: UAE aid to Afghanistan totals more than USD
150 million and rising

Refs: Abu Dhabi 2303 and previous

Classified by Richard A. Albright, Charge d'Affaires,
a.i., for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d).


1. (U) Summary and comment: As the World Bank
considers approaching the UAEG to co-host an Afghan
donors conference on the margins of the IMF/World Bank
annual meetings in Dubai in September, Post was
reminded recently by one of our MFA contacts that the
UAE has provided millions of dollars in financial aid
and assistance-in-kind to the Afghan Interim
Authority. UAE humanitarian and military programs in
Afghanistan are ongoing, and we expect the final price
tag to far exceed the $150 million already spent.
Post offers the following retrospective of the UAE's
donations to Afghanistan during the last two years as
reference. End summary and comment.


Official Pledges -- $36 million
--------------


2. (SBU) The UAEG pledged $30 million in economic
assistance to Afghanistan and a further $6 million in
humanitarian aid -- over and above the millions of
dollars in humanitarian assistance previously
delivered -- at the January 2002 Tokyo Conference.


3. (C) UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs
Hamdan Bin Zayid Al-Nahyan (HbZ) told the Ambassador
last year that, during his 2002 visit to Abu Dhabi,
Afghan President Karzai had requested that some of the
USD $30 million be given in direct cash assistance.
The UAEG agreed to channel $10 million of its Tokyo
pledge in cash to the Afghan Finance Ministry, while
the remaining $20 million will be reserved for
infrastructure assistance.

Assistance-in-Kind -- $50 million
--------------


4. (SBU) UAE officials informed us in October 2002
that they intended to provide a substantial
assistance-in-kind package to the Afghan National
Army. The items -- the total value of which is in the
neighborhood of $50 million -- were delivered in
November 2002 and included heavy vehicles, clothing,
communications gear, computers and electronic
appliances. They were drawn from a list provided by
CENTCOM and sent by the Ambassador to Chief of Staff
Muhammad Bin Zayid during the previous summer.

Special Operations Task Force -- $10 million
--------------


5. (S) In February 2003, the UAEG proposed a SOC
deployment to Afghanistan, and an advance team arrived
at Baghram Air Base on August 8. By September 6, the
UAE will have transported all of its initial 35 SOC
elements (personnel and equipment) to Baghram via
airlift. A total of 14 C-130 loads and four IL-76
loads are accomplishing this task. The equipment
consists primarily of vehicles, generators, storage
units, supplies, weapons, and ammunition.


6. (S) After a training period of about two weeks,
UAE troops will begin operational patrols as a fully
participating member of CJSOTF-A. The SOC Task Force
has committed to this deployment for one year, with
the option to extend. UAE troops will rotate out
every 90-120 days. An FMS case worth $2 million was
written to enable the U.S. to provide combat support
and base operating support services on an as-needed,
reimbursable basis and we estimate that the initial
outlay of funds for the UAEG's SOC deployment easily
will reach $10 million.

Humanitarian Assistance -- $50 Million And Counting...
-------------- --------------


7. (U) The UAE's humanitarian assistance to the
Afghan people -- estimated to be more than $50 million
-- began after the commencement of Operation Enduring
Freedom and is ongoing and substantial. Both the
quasi-governmental UAE Red Crescent Authority (RCA)
and Dubai Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Rashid Al-
Maktoum's Charitable Foundation established refugee
camps and provided medicine, food, clothing and
equipment to homeless Afghans.


8. (U) The RCA was the first Arab NGO on the ground
in Kabul following the fall of the Taliban. The
organization has an office in the UAE Embassy in Kabul
and has donated medical equipment to hospitals in
Kabul. A skeleton staff remains in Kabul to run
operations there while the RCA-funded and managed camp
in Cheman (along the Pak-Afghan border) continues to
cater to the needs of thousands of displaced Afghans.
The RCA has built a school, mosque and medical clinic
inside the camp in Chemen. An air bridge was
established between Abu Dhabi and Mashad, Iran in 2002
to supply Afghans stranded on the Afghan-Iranian
border.


9. (C) The RCA Secretary-General told us that the
RCA, in conjunction with UNHCR, has established a fund
for refugee women and children, sponsored and funded
in large part by UAE First Lady Fatima Bint Mubarak.

Personal Support To Karzai -- ...Millions More
-------------- -


10. (C) The UAEG also continues to provide
substantial personal financial support to Karzai.
During both of his visits to Abu Dhabi (one in
February 2002, the other in September 2002) Karzai
reportedly walked away with cash from President Zayid,
rumored to be in the neighborhood of several million
dollars. HbZ also told the Ambassador that the UAE
had sent armored cars for Karzai following the attempt
on his life as well as 100 vehicles for the Afghan
Foreign Ministry's Protocol Department.

Albright