PRT/QALAT: Initial Afghan National Auxiliary Police Class

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 005284 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR SA/FO, SA/A, S/CR, EUR/RPM NSC FOR HARRIMAN CENTCOM FOR CG CFC-A, CG CJTF-76 SENSITIVE, SIPDIS REL TO NATO/ISAF/AUS/NZ E.O. 12958 N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER AF SUBJECT: PRT/QALAT: Initial Afghan National Auxiliary Police Class Graduates KABUL 00005284 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The first class of Afghan National Auxiliary Police (ANAP) graduated in Zabul province October 8 and have deployed along Highway 1. The course was taught both in the classroom and in the field, and substantial skills improvement was seen throughout the ten days of training. Factors, properly handled, that will contribute to the program's success include prompt salary payment, proper screening, sufficient support from the Ministry of Interior, recruiting from the local population and ensuring that the ANAP program does not drain the current ranks of other Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). End summary. -------------- A Successful First Course -------------- ¶2. (U) The inaugural class of auxiliary police in Afghanistan graduated October 8 in Zabul province. The class consisted of 42 men who completed a ten-day course taught by two INL police advisors and several DynCorp mentors with the assistance of PRT security forces personnel. They were given DynCorp-made temporary ID cards. DynCorp distributed some boots, Kevlar vests, holsters and flashlights to the graduates. The class has deployed to checkpoints along Highway 1. The 42 ANAP patrolmen are expected to complete one week of additional training each quarter over the next year. ¶3. (U) Classroom training took place at the Afghan National Police compound and practical training took place on the PRT compound. The syllabus included training in human rights, the Afghan constitution, ethics, traffic control points, squad movement and weapons. This initial group of graduates represents the first step forward in a very important process. -------------- Prompt Vetting And Payment A Must -------------- ¶4. (U) The primary reason most of these men volunteered for this program was the promise of a regular salary. Word will spread as to whether these men are paid on schedule, and that message will be key to further recruitment in the program, both in Zabul and surrounding provinces. ¶5. (SBU) The screening process is being handled by the Ministry of Interior (MOI) and is initiated by written attestations of a recruit's good character by village elders and clerics. Recruits' names are to be checked by MOI in Kabul and approved for training. Effective screening will be crucial to preventing Taliban infiltration of the ANAP and secure training facilities. -------------- Ministry of Interior Support Vital -------------- ¶6. (U) Course trainers, in consultation with INL and CSTC-A, are teaching from a draft curriculum. CSTC-A is providing uniforms and equipment and has sufficient supplies on hand for 4,000 auxiliary patrolmen. The ministry should also be prepared to modify the training curriculum as needed and dedicate trainers to sustain the program. MOI identification cards were not provided to the inaugural class and this may inhibit their ability to get paid under the new electronic funds transfer system. Comment: The Embassy's INL office is exploring a possible modification of its current DynCorp police ID card contract that would allow issuance of cards to auxiliary police. End Comment ¶7. (U) The next class of approximately 98 recruits is already undergoing training. MOI trainers are expected to begin shouldering more of the training burden for this class. -------------- -------------- Involve The Community And Don't Deplete The Ranks -------------- -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The people of Zabul continue to reaffirm their need for auxiliary police - but what they really want is for the police in their village and district to consist of locals, not outsiders. In KABUL 00005284 002.2 OF 002 the first class, the mentors estimated that eighty percent of the students came from Kandahar. The biographical data from the second class indicates that again, the majority of the potential police come from Kandahar, with only sixteen from Zabul province. Though it is vital to train auxiliary police in Zabul, bringing in outsiders makes acceptance by the local population an issue. ¶9. (U) The promise of training and reliable pay might be attracting regular ANSF officers that are leaving their current positions to join the auxiliary police. In the first class, there was at least one trainee that quit his job with the Afghan Highway Police to join the class because he believed it would be more beneficial. The point of this program is to augment the existing police structures, not poach from them. However, the allure of training and pay will likely continue to draw volunteers from the ranks of the untrained and lower paid existing ANSF. Comment: MOI Screening is intended to deter previously trained police officers from jumping from another service into the auxiliary police. End Comment ¶10. (SBU) Comment: Combined Security Transition Command- Afghanistan (CSTC-A) is working hard to insure that ANAP patrolmen are paid promptly and reliably. CSTC-A is working in concert with the international community, Ministry of Interior and Government of Afghanistan to ensure that this new force is paid properly and promptly. Recently President Karzai signed the extended Tashkiel which will facilitate payment of these policemen from LOTFA. The Ministry of Interior is responsible for MOI recruiting auxiliary police. Reporting from UNAMA supports PRT view that the ANAP so far recruited are drawn heavily from non-locals and have little geographic or tribal balance. The Ambassador has asked UNAMA to help build solutions to these complicated problems. CSTC-A is radiating parallel instructions. The Ambassador has and will continue to emphasize to Minister Zarar the importance of recruiting auxiliary police who are representative of the local communities to which they will be deployed. We all expected these complicated problems to arise. They have. We will continue to push for solutions. End Comment NEUMANN