PAYING THE AUXILIARY POLICE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 004706

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/FO DAS GASTRIGHT, SCA/A, S/CRS, S/CT, EUR/RPM
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG
NSC FOR AHARRIMAN
OSD FOR BREZINSKI
CENTCOM FOR CFC-A, CG CJTF-76, POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/29/2016
TAGS: SNAR PTER PGOV ASEC AF
SUBJECT: PAYING THE AUXILIARY POLICE

REF: KABUL 4388

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires a.i. Richard Norland, for reasons 1.4
b, d.


1. (C) Summary: Embassy is urging LOTFA donors,
particularly those engaged in security operations in
the south, to facilitate and provide additional
funding for auxiliary police under command and
control of the Ministry of Interior, in order to
quickly establish a security presence in fragile
areas of the south. We do not expect to request
any additional US funding from Washington in order
to support this program. End summary.


2. (C) German Ambassador for Police Affairs Helmut
Frick called a meeting of Law and Order Trust Fund
Afghanistan (LOTFA) donors on September 28 to
discuss the following issues: 1) could LOTFA funds
be used to pay salaries of auxiliary police; 2) what
amount of money would be needed; and 3) how to
resolve the issue of governors, operational funds
that are now being used to pay for militias.
Attendees included Charge and A/PolMilCouns, CSTC-A
Commander MG Durbin and Deputy Commander BG O,Brien,
UNDP, EU, UK, Canadian, Dutch, and Japanese
representatives.


3. (C) It was quickly agreed that since the
auxiliary police under the new Terms of Reference as
approved by President Karzai are recruited by and in
the regular chain of command of the Ministry of
Interior, and differ from regular police only in
that they are contracted for one year (vice three
for the regular police) and receive training in
stages, they are indeed police and eligible to be
paid by LOTFA.


4. (C) MG Durbin said that the maximum cost for
auxiliary police (AXP) in this solar year (Mar 21-
Mar 20) was USD 6 million. That would be if 11,000
AXP (the number requested by the GOA) were
immediately recruited and fielded to 124 districts
in 14 provinces. In practice, the cost will be
substantially lower since recruitment is proceeding
first in Zabol and then will move to other key
provinces such as Ghazni and Kandahar. It is
therefore highly unlikely that the 11,000 figure
will be reached by March 2007.


5. (C) Vladimir Krivenkov, Project Manager for
LOTFA, briefed that the fund is approximately USD 18
million in arrears for this solar year. That number
may drop further as audit teams count the actual
number of policemen in the provinces (probably
substantially less than the 65,000 that MOI bills
LOTFA for every month). The Dutch and Canadian
representatives indicated that their countries are
considering making substantial new contributions to
LOTFA.

Support for Operations in the South
--------------


6. (C) Charge made a strong case that, in order to
follow up Operation Medusa with necessary security
(reftel),nations with troops in the southern
provinces where the auxiliary police concept will be
implemented, i.e. the British, Canadians, and Dutch,
should step up with additional donations to cover

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the LOTFA deficit so that the police can be fully
funded. While there is no mechanism to earmark
funds for auxiliary police, it is to be hoped that
the deficit will be covered for this solar year.
(Note: BG O,Brien explained that the amount of
money needed for LOTFA next year will probably be
significantly higher than this year,s USD 120
million, due in part to the full implementation of
the auxiliary police program, i.e. a USD 11 million
additional requirement, and other factors.)

Governors, Operational Funds
--------------


7. (C) The group also discussed the governor,s
operational funds that are now being used to pay for
militias/arbakei. Krivenkov explained that this
fund was the result of a Presidential directive
several years ago, originally intended for security
but now treated as a discretionary fund that the
governors receive from MOI in the amount of USD
100,000 to 200,000 per month. He added that the
central fund is close to depletion for this solar
year, having spent all but USD 2 million of the
total amount available. It was agreed that the
international community would not try to have the
fund revoked, but that it would request the PAG, in
a Presidential meeting, to direct that in places
where the auxiliary police had been formed the
governors could not use their operational fund to
play for additional militias. (Note: There was also
discussion of the role of the governor in the police
command and control structure; MG Durbin explained
that ambiguous language in the Police Law is being
clarified by the MOI and Attorney General,s office
so that the governors understand that they have a
consultative rather than command role. He said MOI
Deputy Minister Khalid briefed the governors in the
southern provinces on this during a long meeting on
auxiliary police in Kandahar on Sept 27 (septel).
End note.)


8. (C) The final decision regarding release of
LOTFA funds to pay for the auxiliary police must be
taken by the LOTFA Steering Committee soon, in order
for the first batch of policemen in Zabol to be paid
on Oct 21. It was therefore agreed that an
extraordinary session of the Steering Committee
should be called within the next two weeks.
NORLAND