CODEL REED AND MOI MINISTER ATMAR DISCUSS POLICE REFORM

UNCLAS KABUL 001056

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
CODEL

DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/FO, SCA/A, S/CRS, INL/AP, H
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG
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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINS AFIN AF
SUBJECT: CODEL REED AND MOI MINISTER ATMAR DISCUSS POLICE REFORM
AND CORRUPTION


1. (SBU) Summary. Senators Jack Reed and Edward Kaufman met with
Minister of Interior Hanif Atmar on April 18. Acknowledging that
the Afghan National Police (ANP) is the weak link in Afghan security
forces, Atmar emphasized qualitative improvements made over the past
year through training and other reforms. He was especially pleased
to discuss creation of his own "Afghan FBI" and the growing
effectiveness of his "119" tip hotline. Atmar described the
challenges of fighting internal corruption and developing criminal
cases for prosecution. Finally, he summarized his efforts to
promote diversity within the ANP through high-level appointments and
by recruiting women. End summary.


2. (U) Minister of Interior Hanif Atmar met with Senators Jack Reed
and Edward Kaufman on April 18. Atmar began by noting the 2
successes in the Afghan security infrastructure, the Afghan National
Army (ANA) and National Directorate of Security (NDS). The Afghan
National Police, he said, is the weakest link, but part of that he
blamed on original design problems and the fact that the ANA took
precedence in securing the country and fighting the insurgency.
However, training programs have led to a qualitative difference in
the ANP now in comparison to a few years ago. Four to six policemen
lose their lives each day in defense of the country. Senator Reed
noted the importance of the ANP in holding territory gained from the
enemy.


3. (SBU) Admitting that police should be the ones fighting
corruption, Atmar discussed his initiatives to ferret out corruption
within the MOI and ANP. He is setting up a merit-based appointment
system, requiring personal asset inventories from all of his
officers, and establishing what he referred to as an "Afghan FBI"
(which we assume to mean his Major Crimes Task Force, set up with
assistance from our FBI). Fifty percent of the staff for that unit
has already been polygraphed as an anti-corruption measure. The
biggest problem, he said, is lack of resources.


4. (U) Senator Reed thanked Atmar for setting a good personal
example for his staff, and said we want to help on resources.
Comparing Afghanistan with the first 2 countries visited on this
trip (Iraq and Pakistan),Reed said Afghanistan had made much more
progress on security in a very short period of time. Senator
Kaufman noted the importance of faith in government and the ill
effects of corruption. MOI is a model for others, he said, and to
say that progress has been very impressive would be an
understatement.


5. (U) Atmar told a story about his new MOI tip hotline. He said
the first thing he does in the morning is read his "119" report, and
that in the past few days there had been 4 reports by the public on
the placement of IEDs, all of which were subsequently dismantled by
the ANP. These were the first such examples of public cooperation
with the police, which Atmar saw as a sign of growing trust. He
planned to send thank you notes to the individuals and do a public
affairs piece for television on the hotline.


6. (U) Discussing crime trends and prosecutions, Atmar told the
senators that there were 11,000 crimes reported last year, one-third
the number from the previous year. More than 1,000 drug arrests
were made last year, 300 of them against major traffickers.
However, only one-third of these major cases resulted in
convictions. While the judiciary is one part of the problem, Atmar
acknowledged the need to professionalize the ANP through such
measures as training on evidence collection.


7. (SBU) Finally, Atmar talked about diversity within the ANP. He
said he already had 3 Deputy Ministers from 3 different ethnic
groups, and was hoping to fill the fourth slot from a fourth group.
His challenge is to balance merit with ethnic diversity. But he
said he is most concerned about bringing women into the police, with
just 600 currently on board. One idea he is mulling over is to
offer higher salaries for women.


8. (U) CODEL Reed was not able to clear on this message before
departure.

RICCIARDONE