CODEL LEAHY: CRITICAL TIME IN BILATERAL

209437 2009-06-01 09KABUL1377 Embassy Kabul CONFIDENTIAL C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 001377 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/29/2019 TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL PTER USAID SUBJECT: CODEL LEAHY: CRITICAL TIME IN BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP Classified By: Ambassador Karl W. Eikenberry for reasons 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The members of CODEL Leahy told President Karzai during a 5/26 meeting that this was a critical time for the Afghan-U.S. relationship. Americans needed assurances, especially in this economy, that the money they are spending in Afghanistan is being well spent, and that the people of Afghanistan are benefiting from it. Karzai replied that Afghanistan had made much progress in the past seven years, but needed continued U.S. assistance, particularly in building capacity in the areas of agriculture and security. -------------- Important Point in Bilateral Relationship -------------- ¶2. (C) CODEL Leahy (Senators Leahy, Whitehouse and Warner), accompanied by Ambassador Eikenberry, met for approximately one hour with President Karzai. Senator Leahy told Karzai this was a particularly critical time in the Afghan-U.S. relationship. President Obama was strongly committed to continuing assistance to Afghanistan, but the American people needed assurance that such assistance was being used appropriately, wisely and for the benefit of the Afghan people, especially in light of the troubled world economy. Karzai insisted that Afghanistan would do all necessary to convince Americans their investment in Afghanistan's future was a sound one. Afghanistan had already made substantial progress in recent years, but still needed assistance in building its capacities in areas such as agriculture, security, finance and other areas. -------------- --- Must Promote Capacity Building in the Ministries -------------- --- ¶3. (C) Senator Whitehouse said that he had been impressed by the Ministers of Agriculture, Finance and Rural Rehabilitation and Development at an earlier meeting, referring to their demonstrated commitment to accountability and transparency in their ministries. The more progress in good governance and transparency, he said, the more goodwill Afghans would see from the American people, and the more support they would see from the American government. Karzai replied that he had a very good cabinet of technocrat ministers and advisors. The problem, he said, lay below the senior level, and was caused by a lack of capacity in the ranks. Karzai referred to India's program of training 1,000 young Afghans each year for civil service and suggested he would like to model an Afghan program along those lines. -------------- Need to Promote Development of Rule of Law -------------- ¶5. (C) Karzai asserted it would take a long time to restore the judiciary because it had been so thoroughly destroyed during the war years. Many Afghans still relied on informal or community-based systems for swift justice, rather than the courts. He believed, however, that it was an encouraging sign that Afghans had a higher expectation of justice than ever before. The Afghan government was committed to removing corrupt and incompetent judges. Karzai cited progress in the anti-corruption and rule of law areas, though he was still concerned about widespread corruption among officials and police, and its impact on the average Afghan. -------------- Karzai's Campaign Message -------------- ¶6. (U) Karzai said his campaign message would be to stress Afghanistan's progress during his seven years as president. Most importantly, Afghanistan had been made into a country for all Afghans again, and had become a proud member of the world community, actively participating in multi-lateral talks with nations such as Iran and Pakistan - something he could not have imagined six years ago. Average per capita income had risen from $180 six years ago to more than $500 now. Afghanistan had amassed $3.6 BN in foreign reserves, and established banking and accounting systems to prevent theft and misuse of public funds. Karzai had encouraged the establishment of a strong and independent media to hold the government accountable. Regarding the narcotics threat, Karzai acknowledged serious challenges remained, but noted 22 of Afghanistan's provinces were free or mostly free of poppy, up from just three poppy-free provinces in 2005. ¶7. (C) Karzai said when he assumed the presidency, there were 4,000 - 5,000 students in Kabul's five universities - today there are approximately 75,000 in the nation's universities, 45,000 of whom entered the university this KABUL 00001377 002 OF 002 year. Of those 75,000 university students, 25 percent were women. The nation, he said, had seven million students in its schools, mostly in areas not controlled by the Taliban. Over the next 10 years, he expected that population to grow as areas were increasingly wrested from insurgent control, and new schools opened. He proudly pointed to a program initiated four years ago in which female students were sent overseas for advanced education, and were now returning to Afghanistan with advanced degrees to teach in the schools and universities. -------------- Poppy Production Still a Problem -------------- ¶8. (C) Karzai said that Afghanistan had always had poppies, but forty years ago, poppy was not an important crop in comparison to apricots, pomegranates, and other agriculture products. He believed the people could be turned from poppy production, but feared limited opportunities and poverty served to increase the temptation of easy money through poppy cultivation. He also criticized some forms of aid or NGO gifts. Afghans, he said, needed to take on the work of repairing Afghanistan for themselves, rather than having the NGOs do it for them. The NGOs were not helping the Afghans' work ethic though gifts, but through training. -------------- Iranian Attitudes Towards U.S. Changing -------------- ¶9. (C) Karzai said the purpose of his May 24 trip to Tehran was to participate in Afghanistan's first tri-partite summit talks with Iran and Pakistan, on the issue of counter-terrorism, among other regional issues. Karzai told Iran's leadership the U.S. was a good country and the Iranians should seek better relations with the Americans. President Ahmadinejad indicated he would be willing to improve relations; Karzai believed Iran's attitude towards the U.S. was changing. EIKENBERRY