KAZAKHSTAN BORDER GUARDS VISIT U.S.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ASTANA 003287

SIPDIS

STATE FOR INL (SNYDER, BUHLER); SCA/CEN (OMARA),ISN/ECC
(HARTSHORNE),SCA/RA

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SNAR KCRM KCOR PREL KZ

SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN BORDER GUARDS VISIT U.S.



1. Summary: From October 29 to November 7, General-Major (one star
equivalent) Berkaliyev, the First Deputy Director of the Kazakhstani
Border Guard Service (BGS),visited Washington, Miami, and Texas to
familiarize USG officials with his strategy for the development of
the BGS and to learn about USG methods of border security and for
providing in-service training to officers. During the visit,
discussions moved forward on future cooperation between the USG and
GOK; possible establishment of a regional training center for
Central Asia in Almaty on the grounds of the Border Guard Academy;
and a request to send two or three Kazakhstani border guards for
basic training at specialized CBP Academies in El Paso, Arizona and
Glynco, Georgia. General-Major Berkaliyev extended an invitation to
David Aguilar, Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, to visit Kazakhstan.
End Summary.

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BACKGROUND
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2. Over the past several years, the Kazakhstani Border Guard Service
(BGS) has aimed to strengthen its border to better fight
transnational crime, illegal migration, and the trafficking of drugs
and other contraband. Kazakhstan shares its approximately 15,000 km
border with Russia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and China.
In total there are 142 border guard checkpoints out of which only 92
are fully functioning. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union,
new national borders were created. While the historical borders of
the former USSR were equipped and able to function, the internal
borders between the former Soviet republics were merely
administrative and many citizens were not aware of the locations of
what would become national borders. As was the case in many of the
newly-independent nations, Kazakhstan was not ready to protect all
of its borders after independence. Poor infrastructure,
insufficient numbers of border guards, new legislation, and poor
living conditions for personnel in the field all contributed to this
problem.


3. Currently, delimitation issues with neighboring countries have
been solved and the BGS is in the process of placing markers on the
border and creating border posts. In the framework of the 2006-2010
program of border and BGS development, the BGS is constructing posts
on the border and purchasing equipment and vehicles.


4. With the aim of developing its infrastructure and improving the
professional potential of its service, the BGS is pursuing bilateral
and multilateral cooperation. USG programs are managed by offices
of Export Control and Border Security (EXBS) program, the Defense
Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA),Military Cooperation (OMC) and
International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL).


5. As part the Mission Strategic Plan, INL proposed creating a
professional relationship between the Border Guard Services of the
U.S. and Kazakhstan. In 2006, INL Assistant Secretary Anne
Patterson and Ambassador Ordway invited the management of the BGS to
visit the U.S. The BGS expressed interest in meeting to discuss
overall strategy, main threats on the border, and present problems
and needs. INL thus organized Berkayliyev's October 2007 trip to
the U.S., including an interagency roundtable in Washington to meet
with the delegation, and visits to the U.S. Coast Guard in Miami,
Florida and the Rio Grande Valley Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol
in McAllen, Texas.

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WASHINGTON
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6. The visit of General-Major Khussain Berkaliyev, Lieutenant
Colonel Yevgeniy Trofimenko, and Major Yesbulat Kussainov began in
Washington with meetings at the Department of State, the Pentagon,
and Customs and Border Protection. During the roundtable held on
October 30, representatives of the Departments of State, Defense,
and Homeland Security discussed the results of their programs and
future plans with General-Major Berkaliyev.


7. Monette Melanson from the Department of Defense raised problems
on behalf of DTRA including insufficient access to the border. In
response to this issue and problems working with some parts of the
BGS, Berkaliyev stated that the roundtable had prompted him to
appoint one individual in the International Relations Department of
the BGS to work on each program to increase transparency and
increase the effectiveness of cooperation with the international
community.


8. Berkaliyev said that the BGS is now focused on new methods for
controlling the border - to use less physical force and substitute
it with new technologies. Thirty percent of the border is in
desolate areas with severe climate conditions. He stated that it is

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necessary to use night-vision aviation and unmanned aerial vehicles
to monitor the area. The possibility of using satellite-based
intelligence is at the top of the BGS' list of priorities. The BGS
is also switching to mobile patrols to control portions of the
border. He is interested in other countries' experience in training
personnel for mobile patrols.


8. In following up on the May visit of General-Major Yelubayev,
head of the Committee for National Security's Military Institute
(the main training academy for the BGS),Berkaliyev asked about the
progress of proposals to create a student exchange program and
establishing the Regional Border Guard Training Center at the
Military Institute. During Yelubayev's visit, professional
cooperation between USG and GOK training academies, possible
establishment of a regional training center for border guards of
Central Asia, and the possibility of sending two Kazakhstani border
guards for basic training at the CBP Academy in Glynco, Georgia were
discussed. Yelubayev also invited the head of the U.S. Border
Patrol Academy in Artesia to visit Kazakhstan (septel).


9. At CBP, Berkaliyev met with David Aguilar, Chief of the U.S.
Border Patrol, and Tom Walters, Assistant Commissioner for Training
and Development. Both assured Berkaliyev of continued cooperation
with the Military Institute and the BGS. Aguilar presented an
overview of training, operations, and the successes and failures of
the U.S. Border Patrol. He thanked Berkaliyev for the warm reception
received by Charles Whitmire, head of the U.S. Border Patrol
Academy, in Kazakhstan and Berkaliyev extended an invitation to
Aguilar to come to Kazakhstan. (Note: Whitmire's visit did much to
strengthen the relationship between the training academies and a
visit by Aguilar would be a welcome step in further strengthening
the relationship between the BGS and CBP. End Note.) Whitmire and
Yelubayev agreed to send two graduates of the Military Institute to
U.S. Border Patrol Academy for basic training. Walters and Aguilar
confirmed CBP's commitment to support this proposal.


10. Berkaliyev discussed the establishment of the Regional Training
Center for Border Guards at the Military Institute with Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Global Security Joe Benkert and INL Deputy

SIPDIS
Assistant Secretary Charles Snyder, who both supported the idea.
The Military Institute will need to grow to meet the requirements of
the BGS. Currently there are approximately 30,000 border guards in
Kazakhstan and the BGS is planning to increase that amount to
100,000. The Military Institute has trained cadets from Kyrgyzstan
and Tajikistan. Mongolia has also expressed interest in training
its cadets at the Military Institute.


11. The BGS already has experience in hosting international
students at its Canine Center in Almaty. At the end of the 1980s,
the Central USSR Canine Center was established in Almaty and border
guards from throughout the USSR received training in Almaty. In
2007, the EU-funded Border Management and Drug Action Program
(BOMCA) conducted three-month K-9 training for border guards from
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan in Almaty.


12. INL Astana will continue to support training classes for border
guards in Regional Training Centers in various regions of
Kazakhstan. In 2006, INL funded the renovation and equipping of a
classroom in Saryagash. The classroom will be used as a training
center for personnel working on the Uzbek border. The equipment
provided, such as computers, presentation devices, and furniture,
allows for different types of training, including training on the
Berkut centralized electronic registration system. Berkaliyev
mentioned that the opening of training centers in the oblasts
enhances sustainability of the BGS and allows for on-the-job
training of more border guards. INL DAS Snyder assured Berkaliyev
that INL will continue to support the opening of classrooms
throughout Kazakhstan. The next classroom will be opened in Eastern
Kazakhstan, which will allow for training of personnel working both
on the border with China and Russia.


13. When ASD Joe Benkert asked about the most serious problems
faced by the BGS, Berkaliyev answered that the most vulnerable areas
are the borders with Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan and the Caspian Sea.
He added that the GOK has a good relationship both with Uzbekistan
and Kyrgyzstan and that they face the threats of terrorism and
narco-traffic.


14. During his meeting with Deputy Assistant Secretary for South
and Central Asian Affairs Evan Feigenbaum, Berkaliyev shared the
problems that Kazakhstani law-enforcement encounters in the fight
against drugs. While all law enforcement agencies are tasked with
combating drugs, there is not sufficient coordination among the
agencies. Fights over seizure statistics are a common occurrence
within the GOK. Another problem mentioned by Berkaliyev was
corruption, though he also stated that corruption in law enforcement

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agencies has recently been uncovered through the GOK's
anti-corruption program.

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MIAMI
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15. During the visit to the U.S. Coast Guard in Miami, the
delegation had an opportunity to tour a cutter and discuss the
differences and similarities of the work of the Coast Guard and the
BGS. Coast Guard officials described daily operations to the
delegation and its duties in the areas of national defense, counter
narcotics, marine security and safety, protection of natural
resources, and waterways management. Berkaliyev explained that the
BGS implements laws and regulations relative to defense and control
of the state border, provides assistance to law enforcement, and
protects natural resources in the border area. Kazakhstan's main
priority is fighting poaching in the Caspian Sea. The delegation
was particularly interested in the pay system and possibilities for
career advancement in the Coast Guard.

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TEXAS
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16. Representatives of the Public Affairs Office of Rio Grande
Valley Sector showed the delegation the daily operations of U.S.
Border Patrol agents. Berkaliyev and the delegation were interested
to see the high-quality, modern equipment used by the Border Patrol,
especially the video surveillance system. The delegation
immediately understood the importance of intelligence analysis in
addition to patrolling to increases the rates of drug seizures and
arrests of illegal migrants.


17. Following presentations by the heads of the U.S. Border Patrol
Search, Trauma and Rescue Team (BORSTAR) and Special Response Team
(SRT),Berkaliyev asked about the possibility of sending his border
guards to the BORSTAR Academy in El Paso, Arizona and BORTAC Academy
in Glynco, Georgia to learn more about the training system. While
it may take some time to receive funds for such training, the Border
Guard Service has requested INL to provide training for BGS SWAT
teams in Kazakhstan.


18. The system of border control in the U.S. definitely caught the
attention of the Kazakhstani delegation. Berkaliyev is very
interested in increasing international programs. He was also
interested in the BORSTAR and BORTAC programs and would like to
establish a unit similar to BORSTAR in the BGS. According to
Berkaliyev, the BGS will focus on the development of its personnel
and increasing the knowledge and skills of border guards through
exchange programs.


19. Comment. This visit was another important step in developing
the relationship between the BGS and its counterparts in the USG.
General-Major Berkaliyev's returned home with many ideas for
reforming and modernizing the BGS and its training methods. The USG
has an opportunity now to work with both Berkaliyev and Yelubayev to
strengthen the BGS and provide it the necessary tools to be a leader
in fighting transnational crime in Central Asia. End Comment.



20. Chief Aguilar, Assistant Commissioner Walters, DAS Snyder, and
DAS Feigenbaum have not cleared this cable.

ORDWAY