DEPUTY SECRETARY'S MEETING WITH BALKH GOVERNOR ATTA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 000881 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: PHUM PGOV KDEM AF SUBJECT: DEPUTY SECRETARY'S MEETING WITH BALKH GOVERNOR ATTA ¶1. (SBU) Deputy Secretary Jacob Lew, accompanied by CDA Francis J. Ricciardone and DCM Christopher W. Dell, met Balkh Provincial Governor Atta Mohammed Noor in the governor's office on April 3. They discussed development assistance to northern Afghanistan, the governor's vision for Balkh province, the proposed opening of an embassy office in Mazar-e Sharif, the governor's frustration with the Swedish-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Mazar, and security and stability in the north. ¶2. (U) Governor Atta began the meeting by thanking the United States for its continued strong military and development assistance to Afghanistan in spite of the heavy loss of life its troops have suffered. He saw the visit of the Deputy Secretary as removing what he called a "feeling of isolation from the United States" in the north. Atta said that Afghanistan and the U.S. are "natural friends" fighting a common enemy in the Taliban. He said that the northern people's expectations were very high since they believed that as the first group of Afghans to fight the Taliban, they would be the first to receive assistance from the U.S., but "that did not happen." ¶3. (U) Deputy Secretary Lew reaffirmed the importance to the U.S. of demonstrating interest throughout all regions of Afghanistan. He said the U.S. is looking forward to continued cooperation with Governor Atta to take advantage of peaceful conditions in the north. The Deputy Secretary told Governor Atta the U.S. is proud to participate in the Swedish-led PRT and to support development projects in the area. ¶4. (U) Governor Atta noted that despite the progress made with ISAF support over the past seven years in furthering peace and security in Balkh and the region, many development projects remain unrealized. While acknowledging that the Afghan government bears responsibility for the slow pace of development in the north, the international community is also to blame due to the lack of attention it pays to stable provinces like Balkh. Atta said that despite his outreach to the central government and international donors, he has not been successful at drawing their development dollars. He accused Iran of not supporting Afghanistan with development assistance because of Afghanistan's ties to the West. Atta said the Russians do not help because of the role the mujahideen played in fighting the Soviets. And the U.S., Atta said, channels its assistance to those areas in the south and east afflicted by insurgency. He asked rhetorically why tension and violence should be preconditions for receiving development assistance. ¶5. (U) Atta continued by naming the successes Balkh has achieved in the areas of poppy eradication, disarmament, disbandment of illegal armed groups, and rule of law. Balkh was also the first province to develop a five-year development plan, he said. He called upon the U.S. to revise what he termed its policy of pouring resources into areas where there are active insurgencies while ignoring stable provinces in the north. Atta would like to see Balkh become a model of development for the rest of the country and a hub for military operations given its central location in the region. While Atta supports the government's centralized funding system in which money to provincial line departments trickles down from central government ministries, he believes that some ministries lack the requisite administrative capacity to do this effectively. He suggested that in provinces that have high capacity, good planning and permissive security environments, donors should directly fund projects from provincial development plans rather than send their development assistance through the central government. ¶6. (U) Atta expressed his pleasure at what he termed the decision of the U.S. to open an office in Mazar-e Sharif, and said he hopes that it will be a permanent facility, not a temporary container village. He then turned his attention to the reconstruction work being conducted by PRTs, citing the work being done by the Czechs in Logar, the Italians in Herat, and the Canadians in Kandahar as fine examples. Atta was pointed in his criticism of the British during their control of the PRT in Mazar, and of the Swedes, who now head it, chastising both for not having done reconstruction in the north. ¶7. (U) Helping to bring about relative security and stability in the north is the biggest achievement for the international community, Atta maintained. He added that if the international community fails to build on those successes and the situation deteriorates in stable provinces, then it will have little to show for its efforts over the past seven years. ¶8. (U) The Deputy Secretary said he would carry the governor's message back to Washington, and noted that while we had begun initial planning, the decision to open an embassy office in Mazar was not yet final. He went on to thank Atta for his efforts at KABUL 00000881 002 OF 002 promoting poppy eradication, highlighting the $1 million Balkh received just one day earlier from the U.S.-funded Good Performers Initiative for maintaining poppy-free status in the province. The Deputy noted that President Obama's Strategic Review calls for the U.S. to focus its efforts in southern and eastern Afghanistan, but that the U.S. also wants to remain involved in other parts of the country, especially in Mazar, where there have been many positive developments to be proud of in recent years. Through the Strategic Review, the U.S. is reaffirming its friendship and long-term commitment to GIRoA and its people. ¶9. (U) The Deputy told Atta that he had come from the Hague Conference at which the U.S. asked other donors to step up their development assistance to Afghanistan. All the problems facing Afghanistan cannot be dealt with simultaneously by the U.S., and that is why more coalition support is needed. ¶10. (U) The Deputy Secretary did not have an opportunity to clear this cable. RICCIARDONE