KAZAKHSTAN: BORDER GUARDS VISIT U.S. AND WANT TO STAY IN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 001824

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN (OMARA),INL/AAE (ALTON AND BUHLER)
CENTCOM FOR MALCOM AND ROESNER
DHS FOR CBP - GLYNCO AND ARTESIA

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SNAR PGOV KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: BORDER GUARDS VISIT U.S. AND WANT TO STAY IN
TOUCH


1. (SBU) Summary: On May 17-26, the Director and Deputy Director
of the Kazakhstani Border Guard training academy visited Washington,
the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers in Glynco, GA and
Artesia, NM, and the Rio Grande Valley Sector of the Border Patrol
in order to familiarize themselves with U.S. methods of securing
borders and training officers. The visit resulted in agreement for
future professional cooperation between U.S. and Kazakhstani
training academies; possible establishment of a regional training
program for border guards of Central Asia in Almaty on the grounds
of the Border Guard Academy; an invitation to the Chief Patrol Agent
of the U.S. Border Patrol Academy in Artesia to visit Kazakhstan;
and a request to send two Kazakhstani border guards to receive basic
training at the CBP Academy in Glynco, Georgia. End summary.

--------------
BACKGROUND
--------------


2. (U) As part of the INL project to combat transnational crime at
Kazakhstan's borders, INL proposed creating a professional
relationship between the border guard training institutes of the
U.S. and Kazakhstan. As the first step, in the spring of 2006 INL
Assistant Secretary Anne Patterson and Ambassador Ordway invited of
the Head of the Military Institute, Major General Bauyrzhan
Yelubayev, to visit the U.S.


3. (U) Over the last year Yelubayev expressed interest in reforming
the border guard training system for cadets and in-service officers.
He said that Kazakhstan should abandon the use of border troops as
a military vanguard protecting the country and reorient the service
to perform a multi-mission law enforcement role. He asserted that
the main threat at the border for Kazakhstan is transnational crime,
especially narcotics trafficking from Afghanistan. Additionally,
stability in the country and economic opportunity attract illegal
migrants from Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and even Russia.
Therefore, INL organized a visit to the Customs and Border
Protection Academy on the campus of the Department of Homeland
Security's Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, GA,
the U.S. Border Patrol Academy on the grounds of the Federal Law
Enforcement Training Center in Artesia, NM, and the Rio Grande
Valley Sector of the Border Patrol.


-------------- --------------
STATE-DOD INTEREST IN REGIONAL BORDER GUARD TRAINING IN ALMATY
-------------- --------------


4. (U) INL launched the visit of Major General Bauyrzhan Yelubayev
and Colonel Nazym Muzdybayev, Director and Deputy Director
respectively of the Military Institute of the Committee for National
Security (which trains Kazakhstani Border Guards),with meetings at
State and the Pentagon. In conjunction with the visit, Astana INL
Officer and INL/AAE Desk Officer met with DASD for Central Asia,
Mitch Shivers, to discuss joint State-DOD efforts to combat
narcotics through improved border security in Central Asia.


5. (SBU) INL meetings with DASD for Central Asia as well as
Yelubayev's meetings at the Pentagon with Principal Director for
Transnational Threats, Ed Frothingham, in the office of the ASD for
Global Security Affairs, and with State's Acting Director of INL/AAE
revealed interest in the idea of establishing a regional border
guard training center on the grounds of the Military Institute in
Almaty. Department of Defense representatives also expressed
interest in joining with members of the Astana country team to
consider contributing to the development of the Military Institute
or a regional border guard training center.

--------------
A LOOK AT U.S. EXPERIENCE
--------------


6. (U) Beyond Washington, in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Field Operations Academy in Glynco, GA Dorothy Shiefer, Acting
Director briefed on the training curricula for basic and advanced
training for CBP officers. The graduates of the Academy work at
international airports, seaports and land border crossings.
Yelubayev said that using tools and technology as well as real life
role plays during training is the best way to prepare the officers
for real life situations when they are on duty. He expressed the
willingness to send some of his graduates to receive basic training
at CBP Academy. Shiefer agreed that this was an avenue of
cooperation that should be explored. (Comment: Notwithstanding that

ASTANA 00001824 002 OF 002


the government of Kazakhstan deploys border forces differently than
the U.S. the tasks of border protection, passport control, and
customs enforcement are sufficiently similar to permit joint
training. End comment.)


7. (U) The discipline, intensive training courses, and facilities
at the Border Patrol Academy in Artesia, NM impressed the
Kazakhstani delegation. Yelubayev told EmbOffs that he wanted to
amend the Kazakhstani specialized training program on border
management in order to have more practical exercises as is done in
the U.S. system. He added that his Institute has a good location
and highly professional staff; however, the institute needs modern
equipment and new language learning methods.


8. (U) The method for learning English and other languages at the
institute needs to be changed, Yelubayev asserted, and the course
vocabulary must be specialized to relate specifically to those tasks
accomplished by a border officer as he saw at Artesia. He requested
that the Border Patrol Academy provide a copy of the Spanish
language curriculum and textbooks so the Military Institute can
modify its curriculum. (Note: On June 12, INL provided the
requested material which it had received from Artesia. End note.)


9. (U) The representatives of the Public Affairs Office of the Rio
Grande Valley Sector showed the Central Asian visitors the daily
operations of U.S. Border Patrol agents. Yelubayev noted that high
quality modern equipment is very useful in the work of border patrol
agents and having such equipment in Kazakhstan would be an asset,
especially the video surveillance system. Yelubayev noted that
patrolling on the river prevents some illegal migration, but it not
possible to control the river along the border 24 hours a day. The
delegation immediately grasped the concept that patrolling in
cooperation with the intelligence analysis increases rates of drug
seizures and arrests of illegal migrants.

--------------
FAST, POSITIVE FEEDBACK
--------------


10. (SBU) Arriving back in Kazakhstan on May 29 General Yelubayev
reported to Armangeldy Shabdarbayev, Chairman of the Committee for
National Security about the visit on May 31, and met with EmbOffs on
June 1. Yelubayev reported that Shabdarbayev supported the idea of
opening the Military Institute to regional training courses; the
invitation of Charles Whitmire, Head of CBP Border Patrol Academy
Artesia to visit the Military Institute; and concurred with sending
two graduates of the Military Institute with excellent English
language skills to attend the basic course at CBP Academy in
Glynco.


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


11. (SBU) The system of training Border Patrol and CBP officers in
the U.S. definitely caught the attention of the Kazakhstani
delegation. Yelubayev seemed very interested in reducing the
four-year training program of border guard officers in Kazakhstan
and saw much to admire in the U.S. 17-week program. While the U.S.
and Kazakhstani border management systems are quite different,
teaching the specific tasks necessary for officers to accomplish
their missions looks to be a basis to bridge the gap.

MILAS