PRT/PATKICA FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF A

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 001218 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS RELEASABLE TO NATO/AU/NZ/ISAF STATE FOR SA/FO (AMB MQUINN),SA/A, S/CR, SA/PAB, S/CT, EUR/RPM STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG NSC FOR AHARRIMAN, KAMEND OSD FOR BREZINSKI CENTCOM FOR CG CFC-A, CG CJTF-76, POLAD E.O. 12958 N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER AF SUBJECT: PRT/PATKICA FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF A FRONTIER PROVINCE KABUL 00001218 001.2 OF 003 (SBU) SUMMARY: : Paktika, one of the southeasts largest provinces and the one with the longest t border with Pakistan, has a reputation for remoteness, backwardness and anti-government activity. While well-earned in the past, this reputation is not wholly true today. Paktikas stability and security have improved significantly in the last year, due in great measure to the activities of the U.S. military, as well as the activism of Governor Mangal and the Afghan National Army. There are lessons to be learned from Paktikas recent experience. Instead of an example of an ungovernable province, it might well prove to be a model of how to extend governance to a tough, undeveloped border region. END SUMMARY. Paktika an Emerging Province ¶2. (SBU) Paktikas rugged remoteness, its lack of development, and its extensive - often troublesome - border with Pakistan have in the past defined the province. Today, much of that is changing, as Paktika emerges from the shadows and in some respects even shows the way ahead for other developing provinces. Extending the reach of Afghan an central authority into the traditional Pashtun heartland has been a recurring problem over the years. The Karzai government is just the latest in a series of governments which have competed with traditional and outside interests for influence over the people of Paktika. An enlightened alliance of Afghan and U.S. military assets has helped set the stage for the appearance of a new Paktika, a Paktika which today is moving closer to the Karzai government. A Simple Formula - Construct Roads and Develop District Centers ¶3. (SBU) Paktika, left behind by other provinces in development, was fortunate in 2005. Elements of three Army battalions - one infantry and two engineer - worked for the people of Paktika building roads and government infrastructure, and providing security. The key to security and stability in Paktika seems to be the development of government district center infrastructure: a police headquarters, a district commissioners office, a district communications center, a cobblestone main street, and - in this province without electricity - solar street lights in each district capital. Partner these developed district centers with the first improved roads in Paktikas history and the equation is complete. Government presence and capacity in each district center and all-weather, high-speed vehicular access to the rest of Afghanistan equate to security and stability, as well as a noticeable increase in commercial and economic activity. ANA Embedded Trainers, the Right Stuff KABUL 00001218 002.2 OF 003 ¶4. (SBU) The Afghan National Army (ANA) has a high profile in Paktika. With two Kandaks (battalion sized units) now operating throughout the province, the Afghan face of security is clearly apparent. Relatively well staffed and equipped, and mounted on new four-wheel-drive trucks, the ANA, with its embedded U.S. Army and USMC training teams (ETTs),are a very visible sign that the Afghan government is in charge of the province. The embedded trainers are key to turning this newly minted army into a professional fighting force. Living, working, training, mentoring, patrolling, and conducting combat operations together with the ANA, the ETTs, some 17 soldiers or Marines in each Kandak, are daily providing the role model that the ANA needs to become a professional military force. The embedded trainers simply have it right and are the right stuff for this mission. ANP and Mentors, Still a Long Way to Go ¶5. (SBU) The Afghan National Police (ANP),while deployed to every district in Paktika, do not enjoy the same success as the ANA. Short on training, personnel, communications systems, transportation, uniforms, boots, and training ammunition, the ANP in Paktika need a lot of help. The mentors in Paktika are not providing the professional image that is required for this environment. There are only seven police mentors in a province the size of the state of Vermont; the mentors find themselves hampered by contractual rules and guidelines that interfere with their devoting the kind time to shoulder to shoulder mentoring and training that can instill a discipline of personal conduct that influences and improves performance. ¶6. (SBU) Comment: Over the last year, Governor Mangals leadership and close partnership with the U.S. military commanders in Paktika have helped to tie the province ever closer to the Karzai government. Although State and USAID have had limited presence in the province in the four years since the fall of the Taliban, Paktika has nonetheless made substantial and obvious progress. In particular, the coordination of road building and district center projects has been a great success, and may prove to be a model for other undeveloped provinces. However, Paktika has had a slow start and has missed out on many of the projects which have benefited other, less contentious and more accessible provinces. The first wave of post-Taliban an clinic and school construction has to a great extent passed by Paktika, a province with arguably the greatest need for both. The military has done, and continues to do, yeoman work in Paktika, but the time has now come, with an improved security situation, for USAID and the NGO community to become much more engaged. There is also clearly a great deal of room for improvement in the ANP. OSC-A and the Afghan Ministry of Interior should work together to expand training and supply the equipment needed to create a viable civil police force in the KABUL 00001218 003.2 OF 003 province. 7.(U) Dushanbe minimize considered. NEUMANN