PRT ASADABAD: GOVERNANCE AND DEVELOPMENT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 001552 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/FO, SCA/A, S/CRS, EUR/RPM NSC FOR WOOD OSD FOR WILKES CENTCOM FOR CG CSTC-A, CG CJTF-101 POLAD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON PGOV PREL PTER AF SUBJECT: PRT ASADABAD: GOVERNANCE AND DEVELOPMENT IMPROVING, SECURITY AS GOOD AS CAN BE EXPECTED ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Governor Wahidi extended good governance and implemented an aggressive development strategy despite ongoing insurgent activity in Kunar over the past six months. Governance is improved; development is increasing; and security is improving slightly. The threat of improvised explosives is higher than six months ago. The most intense fights are still in central Kunar's highlands, upper Watapur valley, Waygal valley leading into central Nuristan, and east of the Kunar River. Demonstrating Good Governance -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Governor Wahidi is encouraging directors to meet beneficiaries in the districts rather than in Asadabad. He reinforced his message "to bring provincial government closer to the people" by attending security shuras in Chaparara, Sarkani, Pech-Manogai and Chowkay districts. The Governor travels independently with a police detail to eight of Kunar's 14 districts and apologizes to shuras in the other six when he arrives with Coalition escort, noting that he looks forward to the day he can travel freely. Kunar's Provincial Council remains weak, but Wahidi has encouraged members to travel with him to community engagements to increase their visibility. The Governor reinvigorated the provincial government's link to religious leadership by recruiting Maulwi Obaidullah Bahari, a leading local cleric, as a regular speaker at government events. Wahidi embraced the government's creation of a new Chief Executive position and relies on the Independent Directorate for Local Governance-appointee as a liaison with the PRT and other development actors. ¶3. (SBU) Wahidi takes anti-corruption measures seriously. He successfully lobbied the Ministry of Finance to have the Customs Department's provincial representative replaced because of suspected timber-smuggling facilitation. He similarly advocated the removal of the Media Director after discovering embezzlement. Wahidi made public announcements about the firings to explain his rationale and improve the government's transparency. He also began an audit of provincial directors, monthly budgets. ¶4. (SBU) Popular criticism of Wahidi is low. His biggest public affairs challenge is his rocky relationship with provincial Chief of Police Jalal and occasional rivalry with NDS Chief Jamiullah. Some observers say the apparent animosity between the three offices undermines Wahidi's case that the provincial government is stronger. Opponents say Wahidi is concentrating too much on development in peripheral areas and failing to deliver services like water and power to Asadabad. The Governor tasked Asadabad's mayor with a massive clean-up campaign, and Asadabad now has sidewalks in front of market stalls, cleaner drainage ditches, and trash bins. Provincial Administrator and long-time Kunar official Fazl Akbar says the public considers Wahidi a genuine anti-corruption czar. More Roads, More Skilled Craftsmen -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The PRT's road into the Shuryak Valley infuriates insurgents, who have tried to destroy it. However, despite several attacks on machinery and one bomb in the road, the council of elders advising the PRT continues to support the project. The Deywagal Valley Road is both the most attacked and most defended project in Kunar. The contractor has pushed 11 kilometers into the valley, and residents have fought alongside locally hired security guards against insurgents at least five times. Korengal Road construction stalled in early 2008, but restarted following a series of negotiations between Safi and Korengali tribesmen. Three kilometers are nearly complete. Afghan Engineering District (Army Corps of Engineers) manages the road project, which stretches from the end of the Pech Valley paved road through western Kunar to Wama, Nuristan. ¶6. (U) USAID's provincial flagship program, the Kunar Construction Center, graduated 140 males to full job placement. The school expanded to include some students from Laghman and Nuristan, and the new class matriculated in KABUL 00001552 002 OF 003 mid-June. The USAID-funded Local Governance and Community Development program earmarked USD 811,000 for community-based projects across Kunar over the next six months. USAID will build a farm-to-market road from Tantil village in the Pech Valley. Security: Asymmetric Tactics Increase -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Militants are unable to overrun district centers or challenge ISAF troops effectively. The last U.S. military fatality in Kunar was January 26. The main roads are clear, and the bazaars are teeming with business. Attacks do little to slow the PRT's operational tempo to oversee USD 48 million in Commander's Emergency Response Program infrastructure development projects. UNAMA and U.S. military contacts report that insurgent-initiated incidents of effective fire are down from last May and June. The trend in enemy activity is toward asymmetric tactics: insurgents attacked civilian project workers with increasing frequency since December. In Ghaziabad, they kidnapped and mutilated several truck drivers in March and April, reprising a similar attack that occurred in February 2007. Militants killed a Ghaziabad road worker in May. The threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) is higher than six months ago. Fighters continued experimenting with command-wired configurations in the Korengal, and used one in the Deywagal Valley. IEDs detonated on several Afghan army and police convoys, mostly on unimproved roads. Pavement effectively deters IED emplacement. Militants blew up four new police checkpoints this spring. ¶8. (SBU) The hottest spots in Kunar are still Sarkani district east of the Kunar River and the confluence point of five valleys at Gatigal Sar in central Kunar (accessible from Korengal, Shuryak, Badel-Narang, Deywagal and Nowabad valleys). Watapur district grew a small poppy crop this year, and insurgents still move freely north of that valley's fork. The Waygal Valley near central Nuristan is unstable, but a Coalition base is relocating to a more strategic location there. Western Chapadara district is most physically distant from government institutions. Insurgents have intimidated road workers west of the district center, burning machinery and issuing night letters. Local populations in these areas are still under significant insurgent pressure to resist participation in government and coalition projects. However, communities continue to provide workers to projects. ¶9. (SBU) The increased deployment of Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) on the east side of the Kunar River south of Asadabad has made it more difficult for insurgents to move supplies and fighters into central Kunar. Two Afghan Army Kandaks (battalions) deployed to Kunar in January. One focuses east of the Kunar River in Sarkani and Khas Kunar, and the other is deployed along the Pech Valley and in the Korengal. Afghan Border Police now have a nearly complete Kandak south of Asadabad, and the new Kandak for Asmar district is half-staffed, with half in training. The increase in ANSF presence east of the river has drastically improved the amount of patrolling, participation in joint operations, and enemy interdiction. Coalition Forces have begun 30-day immersion training for police units in each district. Chowkay, Narang, and Sarkani police graduated recently, and Dyncorp mentors reported significant improvement in their performance. Asmar and Naray police began immersion training in June. Kunar's remaining auxiliary police will complete sustainment training to roll over into regular police before the September 30 deadline. ¶10. (SBU) Comment: Overall, Kunar's government made great strides in infrastructure development and responsiveness to constituents. The usual hotspots continue to pose security challenges. The shift of ANSF and Coalition Force attention to the east side of the Kunar River was a huge success and should continue with troop reinforcements north of Asadabad. Soft targeting by insurgents is a source of concern, because an increase in threats to civilian project workers could create local perception that security is deteriorating. Now that the PRT is building into contested areas, road projects may occasionally stall as Kunaris (who desire roads and KABUL 00001552 003 OF 003 ancillary benefits such as markets, clinics, and schools) negotiate terms of survival with insurgents who have fewer places to retreat. We should support this. Paving in fits and starts is still paving, and longer building seasons mean more young men are employed continuously. The PRT will encourage Governor Wahidi to keep doing what he is doing. WOOD