MP BIO: ALEMI BALKHI

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 000024

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR SA/FO AMBASSADOR QUINN, S/CT, SA/A
NSC FOR AHARRIMAN, KAMEND
CENTCOM FOR POLAD, CG CFA-A, CG CJTF-76
USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR KDEM AF
SUBJECT: MP BIO: ALEMI BALKHI


1. (U) This is the first in a series of biographic reporting
cables on Afghanistan's newly elected Parliamentarians.
Additional reports will be sent as PolOffs continue to meet
personally with new MPs during the coming weeks.


2. (U) SUMMARY: The striking feature of PolOff's December 31
meeting with MP Alemi Balkhi was its uncharacteristic
efficiency. Despite his traditional appearance, Balkhi
presented himself as a modern intellectual with progressive
proposals for organizing Parliament, balancing the Parliament
and the Karzai government, and reminding MPs of their
responsibilities to constituents back home. The fact that he
explained his proposals in less than 45 minutes before
sending his guests home must be seen as a testament to
Balkhi's clarity of thought, especially in this atmosphere of
lengthy political rhetoric. The owner and publisher of a
newspaper in Kabul, Balkhi made a political name for himself
as Qanooni's running mate in the 2004 Presidential election.
It will be interesting to see how his mullah-cum-intellectual
ideology plays out in Parliament. END SUMMARY.

ATMOSPHERICS
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3. (U) MP Alemi Balkhi requested an introductory meeting with
PolOffs on December 31 to share his thoughts on the progress
of the new Parliament and to welcome USG officials in his
cold but bustling office just down the street from the
National Assembly building. Appearing in his small reception
room in a black turban, tan cape, and tinted glasses,
together with his salt-and-pepper beard and impressive rings
on both hands, Balkhi initially gave the impression of being
a traditional Shi'a mullah with expensive tastes. As his
initial nervousness melted into quiet conversation, however,
it quickly became clear that Balkhi had clear ideas about the
modernization and strengthening of the Afghan government,
regardless of religious affiliation.

STRENGTH THROUGH RELATIONSHIPS
--------------


4. (U) Like many politicians in Kabul, Balkhi believes that
Afghanistan needs continued USG support in order to hold back
its foreign enemies. In the meantime, he hopes that
developing strong relationships between the various parts of
the GOA is the key to future Afghan independence from the US.
Over the course of the meeting, Balkhi described three
separate bilateral relationships as being crucial to the
future development of the country: (1) the relationship
between the Wolesi and Meshrano Jirgas in Parliament, (2) the
relationship between Parliament and Karzai's government, and
(3) individual MPs' relationships with their constituents,
which he believes can help build grassroots trust in the
central government. On this last point, Balkhi explained
that USG-sponsored trainers should emphasize to future
classes of MPs that they have a responsibility to the people
who elected them, and that the Afghan people should be
satisfied if their elected MPs observe and balance the
government's actions.

PARLIAMENT - COMMITTEES ARE KEY, BUT STILL TOO EARLY FOR
POLITICS
-------------- -


5. (U) When asked about the current state of early
Parliamentary development, Balkhi explained that it is still
too early to talk about forming political groups based on any
sort of common ideology. Committees, however, can still be
formed based on members' diverse professional experiences
even as some members choose to remain politically neutral.
Balkhi also pointed out that many people will confuse the
role of committees and ministries because they do not
understand the difference between recommending bodies
(committees) and implementing bodies (ministries). This was
another point that he felt USG-sponsored trainers should
incorporate into further training sessions.

6. (U) Also on the subject of training, Balkhi believes that
USG-funded trainers should have directed their orientation
programming at separate groups of MPs, divided according to
prior levels of government experience and by education level.
Classes on the basic structure and function of government,
for example, were more necessary for MPs with little or no
government experience, while long time national leaders like
Rabbani or Mojaddedi hardly needed basic lessons. At one
point, Balkhi criticized the fact that too many orientation
trainers had been brought in from "third world countries"
rather than developed democracies, although he later
complemented the USG for incorporating Palestinian trainers.

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


7. (SBU) In this first meeting with USG PolOffs, Balkhi
refrained from talking too much about himself, although some
of his professional history is known. As a newspaper
publisher and owner in Kabul, Balkhi made a name for himself
politically when he was selected by Qanooni to act as his
running mate in the 2004 Presidential election. He seemed
comfortable in expensive but traditional clothes, speaks
Iranian FARSI, and loosened up considerably when conversation
turned from social niceties to actual political business.
Whether he leans toward the intellectual technocrats on
future Parliamentary debates or towards his Shi'a mullah
colleagues remains to be seen, but he is certainly a deep
thinker who will make a good addition to the Wolesi Jirga.
END COMMENT.

NEUMANN