RESPONSE TO COALITION STRIKE IN KUNDUZ:

UNCLAS KABUL 002760 DEPARTMENT FOR SRAP, SCA/FO, SCA/A, EUR/RPM STATE PASS TO AID FOR ASIA/SCAA USFOR-A FOR POLAD SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV AF PREL GM SUBJECT: RESPONSE TO COALITION STRIKE IN KUNDUZ: "WE NEED MORE OF THIS" ¶1. (SBU) Begin summary: In stark contrast to the controversy in the international media surrounding the September 4 coalition airstrike on two tankers seized by insurgents south of Kunduz, there has been little fallout from or even criticism of the operation locally. If anything, the near-unanimous tone of Afghan officials in meetings with PRT Kunduz has been "we need more of this." End summary. ¶2. (SBU) In a September 5 meeting at PRT Kunduz with COMISAF, the head of the Kunduz Provincial Council, Mohammadullah Wardak, did not mention civilian casualties, pushing instead for coalition forces to show more toughness toward insurgents. Wardak and another member of the Provincial Council said much the same thing in a meeting the following day with UNAMA. ¶3. (SBU) At the provincial security meeting on September 6, the Governor and the provincial chiefs of the ANP, ANA, and NDS were unanimous in expressing support for the operation and in stating that those killed were either Taliban or "sympathizers and collaborators." They asked rhetorically, why would anyone go at 2 o'clock in the morning, to a place that was about 700 m away from the nearest house? They said that, while it was possible some had gone to the fuel tankers to siphon fuel, this amounted to looting and was in itself a crime. According to Kunduz ANP Chief Gen. Abdul Rizzaq, those killed in the airstrike came from fourteen villages, some from outside the province, which he said suggested strongly they were anti-government elements rather than innocent victims. (Note: the International Security Assistance Force, ISAF, is investigating reports that civilians were killed in the airstrike. End note) ¶4. (SBU) In a September 7 interview with German journalists, Gov. Mohammad Omar, who has had a tense relationship with the German PRT in the past, said no one had come forward to demand compensation, unlike in previous incidents where innocent civilians were killed or injured. Omar also said the authorities' estimate of total killed in the airstrike was 60 to 72, not 100 to 200 as has been reported in some media. COMMENT -------------- ¶5. (SBU) There have been very few issues on which the Governor, Provincial Council, Police, Army, and NDS in Kunduz have all agreed, but their reaction to the coalition airstrike has been remarkably unanimous and characterized by a genuine enthusiasm, something which we have not seen before when they were speaking about German military operations. Governor Mohammad Omar, for example, has had a tense relationship with the German PRT, yet he was absolutely beaming with smiles when he greeted the German PRT commander at the September 6 provincial security meeting. Part of this seems to be a positive reaction to the German military's willingness to use force, after years of complaints that German forces were shirking the fight with insurgents. Afghans also appear to perceive the September 4 airstrike in a different way than past incidents involving civilian casualties: In this case, some Afghan officials view those who may have gone to the tankers to siphon off fuel as at least partly to blame for what happened, as opposed to simply having been at the wrong place at the wrong time. State PRT Officer will continue to follow the impact of this incident on local views toward ISAF and the U.S. EIKENBERRY