PRT/HELMAND: HELMAND GOVERNOR DAUD VOICES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 002186

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/FO, SCA/A, S/CRS, SCA/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
TREASURY FOR D/S KIMMITT, APARAMESWARAN, AJEWELL
REL NATO/ISAF/AS/NZ

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/22/2026
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER SNAR AF
SUBJECT: PRT/HELMAND: HELMAND GOVERNOR DAUD VOICES
CONCERNS ABOUT SECURITY

REF: KABUL 1746

Classified By: DEPUTY POL COUNSELOR MARY TOWNSWICK FOR REASONS
1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: At a weekly security meeting on April 17,
Helmand Governor Mohammed Daud told PRT officials that the
security situation in the province was becoming more
critical. In late April, the Governor moved poppy
eradication forces to the northern districts, not only to
eradicate, but also as a show of force. Local police had
deserted their posts and were actively helping farmers
harvest opium poppy in exchange for cash or a share of the
crop. The Ministry of Interior sent 200 replacement
Highway Police to Nimroz and Helmand provinces because the
current force was engaged in setting up illegal roadblocks
in order to extort "taxes" from citizens. Although
anticipated (reftel),the growing violence has unnerved
provincial officials. Governor Daud's concerns, while
genuine, may also have been amplified by the need to
compete for scarce Afghan security resources. The security
response plan subsequently assembled by Coalition and
Afghan security forces, and approved by President Karzai,
along with the growing presence of British, Canadian and
Dutch forces as NATO/ISAF deployments increase in the
South, will begin to address some of these concerns. END
SUMMARY.

--------------
SITUATION DETERIORATING
--------------


2. (C) Governor Daud's mid-April perspectives on security
in Helmand were bleak, especially regarding Lashkar Gah,
the provincial capital, and the northern districts, where
government control remained tenuous at best. Two suicide
vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (SVBIED)
explosions just outside the PRT did nothing to soothe his
security-related anxieties. He noted that, over the past
three months, the province had lost about 32 policemen and
three district governors to hostile action. He added that
rising intensity levels of hostile activity were causing a
drop in morale among the people and law enforcement
entities.


3. (C) On May 3, Colonel Assadullah, chief of the Lashkar
Gah district (Helmand's provincial capital) police, told
PRT poloff that the security situation in Lashkar Gah was
"very bad and continuing to deteriorate." He noted that
more Taliban appear to be entering Lashkar Gah from
Pakistan and neighboring provinces. Due to the tense
situation in Lashkar Gah and a heightened Coalition
security posture, there have been several incidents of UK
forces firing warning shots at civilian drivers who
approached UK convoys too closely. The PRT has begun an
information campaign to mitigate this problem.

--------------
ERADICATION REDEPLOYMENT: LIMITED IMPACT
--------------


4. (C) In late April, the Governor deployed his
eradication forces, noting that the intention was for these
forces to eradicate poppy and demonstrate a "show of
force." Subsequently, the Provincial Police Chief, Abdul

KABUL 00002186 002 OF 003


Ramen Jan, took a force to Naw Zad district and Deputy
Governor Amir Mohammed took a force to the Kajaki area. It
appears that little poppy was eradicated in this district; there
were some contacts with anti-Coalition forces. The
Governor opined that the presence of eradication forces
helped improve security in southern Helmand districts such
as Dishu and Khanoshin. (COMMENT: This is plausible, but
it should be noted that those two districts are sparsely
populated. In addition, the Khanoshin district center was
attacked on April 17, and the district center was attacked
on April 17, and the district police chief and several
others were wounded. END COMMENT.)

--------------
THIN BLUE LINE
--------------


5. (C) The Governor also noted that another security
concern was the significant thinning of the police ranks
because many policemen deserted their posts to help farmers
with the poppy harvest. They receive either cash or a
percentage of the harvest. Daud said that the Governor's
militia, created to assist with poppy eradication, had
dwindled to less than 100 personnel, down from nearly 500,
as they were attracted by the high wages available from
harvesting opium. (Note: The Governor had sent about 150
of the original 500 militia to Kajaki district to help with
security there. End Note.)

--------------
PROBLEMS WITH THE HIGHWAY POLICE
--------------


6. (C) The Highway police has long had a reputation as
being among the most corrupt elements of the law
enforcement community. Prior to the Taliban, they were
notorious for setting up roadblocks to collect "taxes" from
citizens traveling on public roads. The Taliban ended this
type of activity, but in Helmand province at least, the
practice has again become widespread. The Governor said
that many people had brought this issue to his attention,
observing that this sort of practice hurts the government's
credibility. Accordingly, he appealed to the Ministry of
Interior. The MOI agreed to send 200 new Highway Police
officers to replace the incumbents. The new group, of
mixed tribal origin, has been deployed to Delaram (Nimroz
province near the Helmand border) as well as Shuraf (near
the new base west of Gereshk) and Gereshk, all along the
Ring Road. According to the province's MOI representative,
the previous Highway police in these areas were not
registered and have since been dismissed. He added that,
from what he has heard from his contacts in the area, the
new group is a significant improvement over the last one.

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


7. (C) There is no doubt that, as anticipated (reftel),
the security situation has become more challenging in
Helmand due to the onset of warmer weather and the
Taliban's ability to reconstitute in sanctuary.
Clashes with the Taliban have increased. The Taliban
engaged the population more frequently during the spring
growing and traditional fighting season by actively

KABUL 00002186 003 OF 003


spreading the word in northern Helmand that they would
protect farmers' fields. A contributing factor to
increased enemy activity has been that the Afghan and
Coalition security forces began operations to combat poppy
cultivation and extend government influence to areas where
it was previously weak or non-existent. The Afghan
Eradication Force, augmented by ANA and ANP forces, ceased
their operations in support of governor-led eradication on
April 26. (The Afghan Eradication Force, a national force,
was reconstituted to perform national-directed eradication
in the northern province of Badakhshan and plans to deploy
there on May 15.)

--------------
EMBASSY COMMENT (CONT'D)
--------------


8. (C) The Defense Attachi from Embassy Kabul visited the
Kajaki area of Helmand on May 8. He spoke with the
security elements deployed in the vicinity of the Kajaki
Dam. There are 200 ANA soldiers with their Kandak
commander, a U.S. ETT team, a French Special Forces Team
and a U.S. security coordinator from a private security
company working in close coordination to deny ACM freedom
of movement through Sangin District and to protect the
critical physical plant of the dam. Although all reported
that the dam is not currently threatened, they rendered a
consensus opinion that the overall security situation in
northern Helmand province was tenuous, attributing the
cause to developments associated with the poppy eradication effort.


NEUMANN