KUNAR GOV DEEDAR MEETS WITH AMBASSADOR TO DISCUSS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 KABUL 005676 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS STATE FOR SA/FO GASTRIGHT, SA/A, S/CRS, SA/PB, S/CT, STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DGSF NSC FOR HARRIMAN OSD FOR KIMMITT CENTCOM FOR CFC-A, CG CJTF-76, POLAD, JICCENT E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/28/2016 TAGS: ASEC MARR PGOV PREL PTER AF SUBJECT: KUNAR GOV DEEDAR MEETS WITH AMBASSADOR TO DISCUSS COOPERATION WITH ISAF AND CONFLICT WITH HIS POLICE CHIEF REF: A. STATE 5008 ¶B. STATE 5250 Classified By: Classified by Ambassador Ronald Neumann for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D) -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C/NF) Governor DEEDAR Shahlizay of Kunar Province met with the Ambassador on October 31 at the Embassy, and reviewed his efforts to improve security in Kunar and his ideas for spurring economic growth in the province. Deedar,s main complaint was of interference by the Ministry of Interior (MOI) in his administration, specifically that MOI has foisted an ineffective Police Chief on him and will not allow him to select or remove District Sub-Governors. On the positive side, Deedar explained his efforts to work with ISAF on security, his views on how to secure the border with Pakistan through engagement with tribes which straddle the border, and his efforts to bring security within Kunar by isolating the Korengal Valley. He also asked for U.S. support for the construction of a hydroelectric dam and wood processing factory in Kunar. Deedar has been in office since mid-August. He has established a close working relationship with the PRT and made a favorable impression. This is due on part simply because Deedar is more engaged with us, the UN, and with the people and politics of Kunar than was his predecessor, Governor Wafa. Whether Deedar will prove effective in the long run remains to be seen, but he appears to be trying to address economic and security issues here. End Summary. -------------- -------------- Lobbying the Ambassador and Stressing Security/Cooperation -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C/NF) The Governor used his October 31 meeting with the Ambassador at the Embassy to outline his political efforts in Kunar. He underlined that he was working with the PRT to engage with tribal leaders to get their support for PRT and GOA development and security efforts. The Governor said that the PRT,s outreach efforts to support mosques and religious leaders during Ramadan had helped counter enemy propaganda that ISAF and the GOA were anti-Islamic. Deedar said that the key to border security was gaining the support of tribes which lived on both sides of the border. The leaders of cross-border tribes in Kunar agreed with the Governor that if they had the authority and power to ensure security, they were up to the task. Ambassador Neumann asked if these tribal leaders, enthusiasm for taking up security responsibilities was stimulated by the Musa Qala agreement. Deedar said no, adding that Kunar tribal leaders were not seeking the withdrawal of foreign forces. He said engagement from the side of the Pakistani Government with these same tribes would be necessary to ensure security along the border. ¶3. (C/NF) The Governor and the Ambassador discussed the security problems in the Korengal valley. Deedar explained the need to maintain sanctions on the valley following recent attacks on employees of the ANA/ISAF Korengal Outpost (Ref B). He noted that elders in the Korengal had signed agreements with the GOA not to allow attacks on ASF/ISAF, and had repeatedly broken their agreements. The Governor said he had the agreement of Safi tribal elders in Pech District (which encompasses the Korengal Valley) to clamp down on the activity of militants in the area and to help maintain sanctions on the Korengal Valley. The Ambassador emphasized that security operations needed to be conducted by legitimate government forces, and not through informal or illegal groups. KABUL 00005676 002 OF 004 -------------- Looking for Economic Help -------------- ¶4. (C/NF) Deedar then raised the economic needs of Kunar, telling the Ambassador that wood was the main resource for the province and that Kunar needed a wood processing factory to allow locals to benefit from this resource. The Ambassador noted that the GOA,s plan to buy up large stocks of wood in Kunar and sell them to three designated contractors seemed designed to benefit only these few contractors, and might find little popular support in Kunar (Ref A). Deedar agreed that the timber buy up plan was a problem, and suggested that President Karzai should reconsider his decision to implement this plan. The Governor also spoke of his hope that a hydroelectric dam might be built on the Kunar River, noting that this project had been discussed and studied by various parties for decades. He said that if Kunar,s status as a Tier 3 province within the Afghan government system could be upgraded to Tier 2, a step which was in process in the Ministry of Interior, then the GOA might be able to divert more resources to Kunar and make the dam project possible. He asked for the Ambassador,s support for a dam in Kunar. -------------- Removing the Police Chief -------------- ¶5. (C/NF) Deedar pressed for support in his effort to have Provincial Police Chief General Jalal removed. Deedar said he needed a professional chief of police who would focus on security in the province, rather than engaging in corrupt activities. He said he had been told by President Karzai that the Deputy Minister of Interior would soon remove Jalal, but Deedar wanted the Ambassador,s support to make sure this happened. The Ambassador remarked that the previous ANP chief in Kunar had also been a problem, and that finding good police chiefs was difficult. He asked whether Deedar had any specific candidates in mind to replace Jalal; Deedar said he did not have any candidate in mind; he just needed a good officer. He added that he could, if asked, think of someone suitable. Deedar noted that Jalal was an ethnic Tajik serving in a Pashtun area, and that he did not want his removal to appear to be an act of ethnic discrimination. The Ambassador said that he would take an interest in this matter, but also cautioned that he wished to respect GOA authority on government appointments, noting that he sometimes asked for a particular official to be removed, but would not specify or support a particular candidate for a particular position. -------------- Background on Deedar-MOI/Police Tensions -------------- ¶6. (C/NF) Deedar has complained many times to the PRT about ANP Chief General Jalal, accusing him of corruption, and specifically of being more concerned with timber smuggling than with provincial security. The PRT has also heard reports that Jalal trying to extort money from security companies which guard our road construction projects. Jalal has thwarted attempts to investigate insurgent attacks, and is reportedly not respected by his senior officers ) though that may be in part because he is a Tajik serving in a Pashtun area. Governor Deedar said that Interior Minister Zarar had faced political pressure to support Jalal, who previously had been a bodyguard for Burhanuddin Rabbani. According to Deedar, Jalal enjoys the protection of Deputy Interior Minister Nuristani. Deedar told the PRT that he suspects the support for Jalal was to some degree driven by a desire to reduce Pashtun influence in the administration of Kunar Province. KABUL 00005676 003 OF 004 ¶7. (C/NF) Deedar has also spoken several times of his low regard for the security services in Kunar generally, complaining that there is little cooperation on security, but significant involvement in smuggling. Deedar has also complained about Jalal,s appointments of subordinates, noting the case of Kunar,s Quick Reaction Force Commander, whom he described as a well-trained, knowledgeable, and active officer. Jalal is reportedly maneuvering to have him removed, and replaced with a non-professional who "can barely salute8 and does not know the law. ¶8. (C/NF) Deedar,s unhappiness with Jalal is known in Kabul. In late October Minister Zarar called Deedar and urged that the Governor &go easy8 on Jalal. According to the Governor, the exchange was strained by his own sarcastic reply. The Governor,s problems with his ANP Chief are part of a larger conflict with the Ministry of Interior over control of senior appointments in Kunar. District Governors are a case in point. Deedar recently fired the District Governors for Ghaziabad, Chapa Dara, and Naray, and had the Governors of Asmar and Narang Districts trade places. He said he had acted after receiving numerous evidence of these men,s corruption. The MOI then reportedly ordered at least one of these moves to be reversed, and may reverse all of them. -------------- Deedar's Overall Performance -------------- ¶9. (C/NF) Security Cooperation: Deedar has shown he wants to work with the PRT on security problems, including supporting the PRT/ISAF when ISAF actions have unintended consequences or when there is unavoidable fallout from a detention or kinetic operation. He works closely with the PRT on public affairs messages to limit damage from such incidents, and to support ISAF and ANSF efforts. The PRT has been with the Governor on visits to districts which have seen insurgent attacks, where Deedar has strongly urged the local elders to side with the GOA and not allow insurgents to pass through their territory. His message made not always have been effective, but he has demonstrated his willingness to confront the elders of areas that have harbored insurgents. ¶10. (C/NF) Development: The Governor has shown interest in economic development and reconstruction issues in Kunar, but has not shown the focus to match his enthusiasm. He seeks support for projects, but has not shown an ability to move things forward. Rather than take a long-term approach, he haphazardly changes his reconstruction project priorities, making it difficult to work with him. The PRT has instituted a mentoring process, encouraging him to focus on the budget cycle and project lead times. ¶11. (C/NF) Trouble Signs: Deedar has a relationship with the old warlords of Kunar, who during the Wafa administration were nowhere to be seen. Malik Zarin has returned to Kunar, after a long period in Kabul, and has emerged as one of the contractors who will make millions from the GOA-supervised sale of Kunar,s timber (Ref A). Kunar,s other leading warlord, Haji Jon Dod, showed up at a meeting with the Governor in Chowkay on October 7. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶12. (C/NF) Overall the Governor seems to be making an effort to distinguish himself from his predecessor, by getting out of his compound and meeting with the people of Kunar to personally discuss with them security and economic problems. He is a forceful speaker, and confronts his constituents with the contradiction between their desire for development money and their frequent unwillingness to help with security by KABUL 00005676 004 OF 004 cooperating with U.S. and Afghan forces. It is not clear whether his message always gets across, but the Governor is a far cry from his compound- or Kabul-bound predecessor. ¶13. (C/NF) PRT Comment Continued: Deedar,s complaints about Jalal are familiar and credible. While General Jalal may be no more or less corrupt than other officials, the weight of evidence is that he is, at best, an ineffective leader of the police in Kunar. This hinders ANP cooperation with the Governor. The PRT,s concerns about General Jalal go even further. He has undermined U.S. operations. The General has given out false and inflammatory information about kinetic operations, including during the sensitive Bar Shultan incident in August 2006, where Jalal claimed to local radio station that U.S. air strikes had targeted civilians in the area of the operation. And after an accident with a U.S. Army mortar killed three civilians in October, Jalal told radio news in Kunar that the mortar was firing unnecessarily, when, in fact, it was firing at an enemy position. Jalal also occasionally publicly denounces American forces for conducting operations based on &false information.8 End Comment. ¶14. (C/NF) Embassy Comment: Jalal's inept and inflammatory handling of sensitive coalition activities would justify supporting Deedar efforts to get him removed, and, in any case, we are impressed by Deedar's apparent effort to gain control and draw resources to the province. He is setting himself apart not just from his predecessor, but also from his own record, which includes having been one of the few parliamentary candidates who was actually disqualified by the Election Commission/UNAMA. His more recent involvement in questionable dealing relating to Konar's timber assets also invites caution (Ref A). That record may in fact be a motivating factor in his efforts to establish credibility as a governor that deserves to stay in his job. End Embassy Comment. NEUMANN