S E C R E T KABUL 000028

SIPDIS

KABUL FOR COS USFOR-A
STATE FOR SCA/FO, SCA/A
NSC FOR WOOD
OSD FOR MCGRAW

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/04/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER AF
SUBJECT: PALACE NIXES HIG-TALIBAN RECONCILIATION INITIATIVE

Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood, for reasons 1.4 (a), (b) and
(d)

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Summary
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1. (S) The Palace will not participate in the proposed
HIG-Taliban reconciliation conference touted by Gulbaddin
Hekmatyr,s son-in-law Himauyun Jareer to the BBC and other
media outlets on December 21. Deputy NSA Ibrahim Spenzada
claims Iran is backing Jareer,s initiative to undermine the
slow, but still running, Saudi initiative. Qayum Karzai will
visit Kabul in the near future to update the Palace on the
Saudi initiative.

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Palace rejects Jareer,s Iran-backed reconciliation initiative
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2. (U) In a January 3 meeting, Spenzada explained that Karzai
rejected Jareer,s proposal to convene a meeting between
Afghan authorities and insurgent groups (i.e., Taliban and
HIG) to be held in an unnamed Gulf country on a date to be
determined. Jareer spoke on December 21 to BBC and Ariana TV
about his proposal, claiming it enjoyed the backing of the
Afghan government and representatives of the Taliban and HIG.



3. (S) Spendzada claims Iran is behind the Jareer proposal,
seeking to undermine the Saudi reconciliation initiative.
Jareer,s proposal specifically calls for no involvement of
foreigners, which some may interpret as westerners, but
which, according to Spendzada, Jareer and the Iranians really
mean as the Saudis.


4. (S) Jareer,s claim of Afghan government backing was based
on the participation of Economy Minister Jalil Shams in an
early December meeting in Kabul involving Jareer, Upper House
Speaker Mojaddedi, proxy representatives for the Taliban and
HIG, and other individuals. The twenty or so participants
gathered to draft a terms of reference document for
participants at the proposed Gulf country meeting, but failed
to reach consensus.


5. (C) When Karzai subsequently learned of Shams
participation in the December meeting, he and other Palace
principals upbraided Shams. Shams claimed to have tried to
get Karzai,s preauthorization. Spenzada explained that
Jareer probably called on his old personal connections with
Shams to persuade the latter to participate. Spenzada
reiterated that the Jareer initiative enjoyed no government
support.


6. (C) In parallel, Karzai raised the Jareer proposal at a
meeting with the U.S. and UK ambassadors, described it as an
effort to undermine the constitution and block national
elections, attributed it to the Iranians, and said he had
already blocked it.


7. (C) On HIG outreach in general, Spenzada,s main HIG
counterpart recently suffered injuries in a car accident and
will be recuperating and out of contact for several weeks.
Spenzada said the Palace was taking a more cautious posture
with HIG following evidence of its role in the attacks on
French soldiers in Sarobi and the December 29 suicide attack
in Parwan, which killed two Afghans and wounded 17, including
two American troops.

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Saudi initiative: Little new, Qayum consultations in Kabul
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8. (S) The Saudis have informed Spenzada they have been in
contact with Taliban representatives, but had no new
developments yet to share with the Palace. Spenzada affirmed
that the Palace was patient in awaiting next steps,
recognizing that the Saudis were generally cautious in
nature, and especially so on this delicate issue.


9. (S) Spenzada reported that Qayum Karzai planned to come to
Kabul in the near future to brief the Palace in person on
recent developments. Spenzada reaffirmed the Palace,s
pledge to keep the United States informed of any new
developments over the coming months.
WOOD