DOHA II PLANNING - DONATION REQUESTS TO FOCUS ON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 000749 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR SA/FO AMBASSADOR QUINN, S/CT, SA/A, EUR/RPM, EUR/UBI NSC FOR AHARRIMAN, KAMEND CENTCOM FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL SNAR EFIN MARR AF SUBJECT: DOHA II PLANNING - DONATION REQUESTS TO FOCUS ON LOTFA, BORDER POLICE PROJECTS REF: BERLIN 460 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Senior German Police Advisor Ambassador Frick told USG representatives that Doha II is conceived as a donors, conference with emphasis on the Afghan Border Police and shortfalls in the Law and Order Trust Fund Afghanistan (LOTFA), but not customs issues. He said it will be a good opportunity for regional cooperation, and Germany expects high-level participation from neighboring countries. Ambassador Frick noted that German project design efforts for the border areas generally exclude the Afghanistan-Pakistan border due to restrictions to the mandate of the German police program; Ambassador Neumann replied that the U.S. is very much focusing its efforts on the south and southwest and will be prepared to discuss projects in those areas. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) CFC-A hosted a meeting on Doha II on February 16 attended by Ambassador Neumann, DCM Norland and Embassy staff, LTG Eikenberry, MG Durbin, and CFC/OSC staff, and Ambassador Frick and two German senior staff members. Ambassador Frick noted that the Conference, which will focus on support for the Afghan Border Police, is a good opportunity for regional cooperation. Germany expects its Minister of Interior to attend and that all the regional states will be represented at a very high level, including Ministers or Deputy Ministers. Preparations are underway for agreements to be signed during the Conference between Afghanistan and Tajikistan and Afghanistan and Uzbekistan on border cooperation. USD 300 million requested in project funding -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Amb Frick said that Doha II is primarily a pledging conference and Germany hopes that participating nations will step up to the plate to donate up to USD 300 million. Germany hopes some of the general pledges made in London can be directed to this end. The project organizers have identified about 40 projects in border areas in the north and west totaling USD 207 million dollars. OSC-A will also present projects in Coalition areas that are available for donor support. Amb Frick added that while the emphasis is on border police, some projects also target other police institutions, such as the highway police and CID, that operate in the border areas. The projects also allow for support of border management/customs initiatives. While Germany will accept side-bar presentations on customs- related activities (part of the US Embassy- led Border Management Initiative),no customs projects perse are to be presented at the conference to prevent distraction from the police sector efforts ) particularly critical funding for LOTFA that is the keystone of police reform (see below). (Comment: We accept this logic; we cannot have two "first priorities." The salary reform piece is central to all aspects of police reform, including border police. End comment.) USD 40 million in LOTFA shortfall -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Regarding LOTFA, Amb Frick emphasized that KABUL 00000749 002 OF 002 due to substantial increases in police salaries as part of the nationwide police reform, the amount of money needed for LOTFA will increase from the present amount of USD 80 million/year to USD 120 million. The additional USD 40 million will need to be met yearly at least through 2008/09. He noted that LOTFA is now primarily funded by the U.S. and EU, with smaller contributions from other sources, and said he hopes that both the U.S. and EU will increase their contributions proportionally to meet the new requirements (note: the U.S. contributed USD 40 million to LOTFA in FY 2005. EU contributions come out of central funding, not by nation.) German Limitations in Border Project Areas -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Ambassador Frick noted that the projects proposed by Germany at the Doha conference will concentrate on the north and west but not the border with Pakistan. Although police reform is conceived to be nation-wide, the German mandate is limited to assisting border areas which have been &pacified.8 This is taken as excluding the Afghanistan-Pakistan border (except the Torkham border crossing, where some work is being done). Germany sees this as a civilian mission and the border areas with Pakistan as a "security" issue outside the German mandate. ¶6. (SBU) Ambassador Neumann replied that the U.S. has a different definition of what the Afghan border police needs, and that we do not see the south as a military-only situation. He noted that we are getting frantic appeals from the GOA to assist the police in the southern border region. He suggested that Germany would be well advised to tailor its presentation at Doha in such as way as to make clear that there remains a division of responsibility regarding police in the border areas, and that the U.S. will present its view of what can be done in the south and southeast. Neumann suggested that if the U.S. had sufficient time in the agenda, we could note the projects in the south and east without having this appear as a U.S.-German disagreement. Ambassador Frick agreed to work on this idea with OSC-A. Comment -------------- ¶7. (SBU) We understand that for its internal political reasons the Germans have a particular restriction on working in tough areas. This need not be a problem. There is enough work for all of us. But Germany must not confus its internal issues with the need to use police to keep citizens safe in the midst of an insurgency. NEUMANN