KYRGYZ OFFICIALS SEE MANAS IMPACT ON WAR IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 002099

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/FO DAS GASTRIGHT, SCA/A,
NSC FOR AHARRIMAN, OSD FOR SHIVERS, CENTCOM FOR CG CFC-A.
CG CJTF-82 POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/08/2016
TAGS: PREL AF KG
SUBJECT: KYRGYZ OFFICIALS SEE MANAS IMPACT ON WAR IN
AFGHANISTAN

REF: BISHKEK 544

Classified By: AMBASSADOR WILLIAM WOOD 1.4 (B) and (D)


1. (SBU) Summary: The Ambassador hosted Ambassador Marie
Yovanovitch and a six member delegation of Kyrgyz senior
officials to Afghanistan June 13-14 to allow them to better
understand the importance of Manas Air Base in supporting
coalition military and reconstruction efforts. The
delegation met with President Karzai, COMISAF General Dan
McNeill and other GOA and U.S. military officials. In his
meeting with the Kyrgyz, MFA Senior Advisor Davood Maurdian
voiced concerns over the recent seizure of ammunition for
Afghanistan. The delegation also met with Afghan MPs and
discussed parliamentary procedure and Afghan commercial
activity in Central Asia. Combined Joint Task Force-82
(CJTF-82) hosted the delegation at Bagram and took them to
see frontline coalition operations in Jalalabad and Nuristan.
End Summary.

MEETING WITH PRESIDENT KARZAI


2. (C) The Kyrgyz delegation, First Deputy Minister of
Defense General-Major Kybanychbek Oruzbayev, Chief Inspector
of the National Security Council, Major-General Kybanychbek,
Deputy Foreign Minister Talai Kydryov, and Parliamentary
Deputies Ishak Masaliyev and Keldibekov, accompanied by
Ambassador Wood met with President Karzai.


3. (C) Asked to give an assessment of the situation in
Afghanistan today, Karzai said it was first necessary to
review the past 15 years, the Taliban legacy, and the
international community's reluctance to become involved until

2001. He said that if the Coalition had not intervened to
help Afghanistan after September 11, the Taliban and Al Qaeda
would have spread to Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan by now.
Afghans, Karzai said, cannot help themselves without Western
help, much less prevent the problems from spreading
elsewhere; "You were lucky that Afghanistan was rescued and
liberated," he stated to the Kyrgyz. On the present
situation, Karzai portrayed a country with serious problems,
still at war, but making progress.


4. (C) Karzai asked the Kyrgyz policymakers to take a message
back to President Bakiyev and the Kyrgyz people. There are
two choices: a civilized life with prosperity or a return to
the Stone Age and disaster; Afghanistan has chosen the former
and it is the only choice for the region. Afghanistan is on
the front line against terror, but Kyrgyzstan is in the
supporting line by providing the base; both countries, Karzai
said, are providing security for the whole region.


5. (C) The Kyrgyz were visibly impressed, with a number of
government officials and one deputy saying that they
understood the need to support Afghanistan. Almost all of
them emphasized the importance of economic reconstruction and
Kyrgystan's strong desire to play a supporting role in that
effort.

COMISAF: WE ARE HERE UNTIL THE AFGHANS CAN STAND ON THEIR OWN


6. (C) COMISAF General Dan McNeill provided an overview of
the five ISAF commands and the situation each one faces. He
noted that ISAF is an interim force to provide time and
space, until the Afghans are ready to "do the job
themselves." MacNeill stressed this is important to the
Kyrgyz, because regional stability depends on the Coalition's
ability to create a secure and stable Afghanistan. McNeill
noted there are varying predictions about how long a
Coalition force will be necessary. The Afghans themselves
believe that the army will be stood up in a year and they
will require assistance for three more years. The UN
believes that a force will be necessary until 2017 and NATO
member will review whether they will stay in 2009. U.S.
commitment is firm; we will stay until the Afghans can stand
up on their own.

KYRGYZ VISIT BAGRAM AIRBASE

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7. (SBU) Combined Joint Task Force-82 (CJTF-82) Commander
Major General Rodriquez briefed the delegation at Bagram
Airbase on the strategic importance of Manas Air Base in
airlift support for coalition operations in Regional Command
(RC) East. The delegation was engaged in the discussion and
asked about improvements on security and the number of
foreign fighters in the region.

FRONTLINE OPERATIONS OBSERVED AT JALALABAD AND NURISTAN


8. (SBU) Following the briefing, CTJF-82 took the delegation
to U.S. led Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) at
Jalalabad and Nuristan, where they were briefed by the PRT
commander at each location and given an opportunity to see
coalition operations. Both PRT commanders told the Kyrgyz
that all military personnel at Jalalabad and Nuristan had
traveled through Manas en route to their PRT. Additionally,
the commanders' reports on recent U.S. and Afghan casualties
reinforced the message to the Kyrgyz that there are still
military operations ongoing against the Taliban. General
Mamyrkulov was visibly moved in Jalalabad as he shared his
experiences in Jalalabad during the Soviet occupation to the
PRT Commander. In Nuristan, Masaliyev and Keldibekov both
remarked about the difficult fighting conditions U.S. forces
faced from the desolate terrain.

MFA HIGHLIGHTS CONCERN ABOUT WEAPONS SEIZURE


9. (C) In a meeting at the Afghan Foreign Ministry, the
ForMin's Senior Advisor Davood Moradian asked the Kyrgyz MPs
for help for a positive outcome to the recent seizure of
weapons (intended for shipment to Bagram Airbase) at Ganci
Airbase in Kyrgyzstan. MP Masaliyev said that it was illegal
for weapons to be transited through the base (on the basis of
Kyrgyz law). He said that the Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) for the base with the GOKG does not stipulate that
weapons and ammunition can be transited, only "personal
weapons" carried by the military on their person. Ambassador
Yovanovitch explained that the MOU did not make any
distinction about the kind of goods that can transit the
base. Masaliyev said, when asked, Kyrgyz officials assured
him that no weapons or ammo would be transiting through Ganci
airbase. When asked by Masaliyev to comment, Moradian said
that he was not in a position to comment either on what was
in the bilateral (Kyrgyz-U.S.) MOU or on the Kyrgyz law and
what it might stipulate about transit of goods through
Kyrgyzstan. The delegation agreed that it was not the right
time to discuss Kyrgyz law and that they could talk about it
amongst themselves later.

MPs DISCUSS PRIORITIES


10. (C) The delegation discussed parliamentary procedure and
Afghan commercial activity in Central Asia with a group of
Afghan MPs. Afghan MPs Sayed Kazimi, Sardar Mohammad and
Rahmaan Oghli, Haji Mohammad Aref Zarif and Shukria Paikan
Ahmadi attended. In response to Kyrgyz MP questions, Kazimi
replied that "we have lots in common with the international
community, especially when it comes to the fight with
terrorism, the fight against drugs, and the support for
democracy." He added that Afghanistan would not accept
Communism, and neither will it accept the Taliban. Kazimi
noted that after stability, improving the economy is the
highest priority in Parliament. Kazimi explained that the
international community presence was invited by the GOA, and
"their presence is for the betterment of Afghanistan."


11. (C) Kyrgyz MPs asked about the Afghan parliamentary role
and Haji Zarif replied that Parliament has a positive role in
influencing the stability in the region. He added that
Afghans can differentiate between their enemies and their
friends, and stressed that "we are a civilized people." He
said that the Afghans kicked out the Taliban and, without
Afghan support for the current ISAF counterinsurgency
campaign, the international security forces would never win
the war, "even if they had ten times the troops they
currently have here."

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COMMENT

12.(SBU) The trip to Afghanistan made a visible impression on
the Kyrgyz. Given the Soviet experience in Afghanistan, it
was an emotional journey for some, especially General
Mamyrkulov, who had fought in Jalalabad. A recurring
question was how the Coalition would ensure it would be more
successful than the Soviets were. Other recurring themes
included queries regarding how long the war would go on, and
specifically how long the Coalition would require the Manas
Air Base, as well as interest in assisting Afghanistan's
economic recovery.


13. (SBU) The Kyrgyz came away with the realization that the
war has not been won yet. Some also realized that if the war
was not won, they could be fighting the Taliban and Al Qaeda
in Kyrgyzstan. Under the powerful gaze of President Karzai,
everyone except Masaliyev pledged support for Afghanistan,
but it remains to be seen what they will do when they are
back in Bishkek.
WOOD