SRAP HOLBROOKE DISCUSSES PROPOSALS FOR IMPROVING

C O N F I D E N T I A L BERLIN 001447 SIPDIS FOR SECRETARY CLINTON E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/12/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON EAID NATO GM AF SUBJECT: SRAP HOLBROOKE DISCUSSES PROPOSALS FOR IMPROVING AFGHANISTAN COORDINATION WITH MFA STATE MINISTER HOYER Classified By: AMBASSADOR PHILIP D. MURPHY. REASONS: 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. During a November 12 meeting in Berlin, MFA State Minister Werner Hoyer and U.S. Special Representative Holbrooke discussed ministerial attendance at Karzai's November 19 inauguration, ongoing U.S. deliberations on a new Afghanistan strategy, and proposals for improving coordination among SRAPs as well as of the overall international civilian effort in Kabul. Holbrooke stressed that the U.S. Embassy in Kabul was working closely with Karzai to make sure he hit on all the right themes in his inaugural speech. Hoyer indicated that in seeking to renew the parliamentary mandate for the Bundeswehr in Afghanistan in December, the new center-right government would avoid any changes that would give the Social Democratic Party an excuse to turn against the deployment. While supportive of the creation of an international coordination cell in the S/SRAP Office in Washington to coordinate the work of the international SRAP collective, Hoyer reacted cautiously to the idea of dual-hatting the U.S. ambassador as overall coordinator of international civilian assistance in Afghanistan. He expressed concern about weakening UNAMA, but acknowledged the need for significant improvement in international coordination. END SUMMARY. ATTENDANCE AT KARZAI INAUGURAL ¶2. (C) Hoyer said that FM Westerwelle was planning to attend the November 19 inauguration of re-elected President Karzai, but "not at any price." He would not go unless there was an opportunity to send a strong message to the Afghan leadership on the need to commit to real reform and to begin taking over responsibility from the international community. This could not just be a "legitimization event." Holbrooke said the U.S. completely agreed and noted that this was why Amb. Eikenberry was working so hard with Karzai on his inaugural speech -- to ensure that the president said and committed to do the right things. THEMES FOR KARZAI'S INAUGURAL SPEECH ¶3. (C) Holbrooke said we hoped the inaugural speech would focus on three themes: sovereignty, corruption, and reconciliation and reintegration. On sovereignty, President Karzai would confirm the will of the Afghans to take ownership of their own destiny and not to expect the international community to do everything for them indefinitely. On corruption, Karzai was being pressed to announce the creation of an independent anti-corruption commission, whose true independence would be ensured by the inclusion of non-Afghans. Holbrooke said the Afghans have offered to strengthen the existing High Office for Oversight, but he rejected that as completely insufficient. On reconciliation and reintegration, Karzai was expected to reach out to Taliban fighters and followers, but not necessarily to the Taliban leadership. Holbrooke also noted that Japan had decided to triple its aid to Afghanistan and would be spending $5 billion over the next five years, with a special focus on reconciliation and reintegration. CAUTIOUS ABOUT ISAF MANDATE ¶4. (C) Hoyer said that the new government was taking the renewal of the parliamentary mandate for Bundeswehr participation in ISAF, which comes up in December, very seriously. He noted that while the center-right coalition government has a comfortable majority on paper (holding 332 seats in the 622-seat Bundestag),the majority in reality is much narrower when one subtracts the votes of those Christian Democratic Union-Christian Social Union (CDU-CSU) and Free Democratic Party (FDP) parliamentarians who have opposed the ISAF mandate in the past. He said that during this first mandate renewal, the government wanted to avoid doing anything that would give the Social Democratic Party (SPD) an excuse to flip-flop and suddenly decide to disassociate itself from the mandate that it originated in 2001 under former SPD Chancellor Schroeder. As a result, he indicated that the mandate would be rolled over essentially unchanged in December. However, he said the government would be "ready to adjust" its contributions, both in terms of troops and civilian assistance, after the proposed international conference on Afghanistan, if required. CREATING INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION CELL AT S/SRAP ¶5. (C) Holbrooke outlined the proposal for improving the coordination of Special Representatives for Afghanistan/Pakistan (SRAPs) by creating an international coordination cell in the S/SRAP Office at the State Department. He noted that current German SRAP Amb. Bernd Muetzelburg had originated this idea. Germany, along with other key countries like the UK, France and perhaps Japan and Canada, would be invited to appoint an officer to work in this coordination cell. These officers would not work in a "foreign country ghetto" at the State Department, but would be fully integrated into the work of the S/SRAP Office. Holbrooke emphasized that Germany would continue to be the official coordinator of the SRAP Group, but that the day-to-day work would be carried out by the international coordination cell. (Comment: This solution allows the Germans to save face and protects us from the charge -- always present in the minds of Europeans -- that we are "Americanizing" the effort. End Comment.) ¶6. (C) Hoyer supported the coordination cell proposal and in this regard, said he was hopeful that FM Westerwelle would make a decision on the new German SRAP before traveling to Kabul next week for the inauguration. He dismissed reports that a sitting parliamentarian might be chosen, arguing that a SRAP's travel requirements were incompatible with the responsibilities of a parliamentarian. DUAL-HATTING THE U.S. AMBASSADOR AS CIVILIAN COORDINATOR ¶7. (C) Holbrooke outlined the U.S. proposal for ensuring better coordination of the international civilian effort in Afghanistan by dual-hatting the U.S. ambassador in the role of overall coordinator. The idea would be to create the civilian equivalent of COMISAF. Given that the U.S. was by far the single biggest civilian donor, it made sense for the U.S. Ambassador to assume this role. Holbrooke acknowledged that in a perfect world, UNAMA would be able to perform this coordination function, but the reality was that it was not up to the task. Holbrooke emphasized that the dual-hatting move was essential for achieving success. ¶8. (C) Hoyer reacted cautiously, saying he would "need to think about it." He said that Germany generally looked to UNAMA to perform this kind of international coordination and would be reluctant to see anything done that would weaken or marginalize the UN role. At the same time, he conceded that a "quantum leap" was needed in the quality of coordination and he could see "problems" with the UN providing the necessary leadership. ¶9. (U) This cable was reviewed and cleared by SRAP Holbrooke. MURPHY