WOMEN PARLIAMENTARIANS SPEAK OUT ON TALIBAN AND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 000934

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PTER KDEM AF
SUBJECT: WOMEN PARLIAMENTARIANS SPEAK OUT ON TALIBAN AND
CIVILIAN CASUALTIES; WELCOME U.S. NEUTRALITY POLICY


1. (U) SUMMARY. Women parliamentarians discussed with SRAP
Holbrooke and CJCS Admiral Mullen their concerns regarding
the Shia Family Law (septel),Taliban influence and civilian
casualties. They welcomed Holbrooke's statement that the
U.S. neither supports nor opposes any candidate, including
President Karzai, and will work with GIRoA, opposition
candidates, the UN and other international supporters of
Afghanistan to conduct free and fair elections on a level
playing field. The women spoke strongly on civilian
casualties, contending that Coalition Forces often relied on
poor information, or even misinformation, in moving against
suspected insurgents. ADM Mullen assured the MPs the U.S.
regretted the deaths of any civilians and was continually
seeking ways to improve coordination and avoid such
incidents.

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Quiet on Election Race
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2. (SBU) Pro-government and opposition parliamentarians
participated in the roundtable. SRAP Holbrooke explained to
the MPs that the USG neither supports nor opposes any
candidate, including President Karzai, and will work with the
GIRoA, opposition candidates, the UN and other international
supporters of Afghanistan to conduct free and fair elections
on a level playing field. Most of the group demurred from
indicating support or opposition to Karzai. However, vocal
MPs Nasima Niyazi (Helmand, Pashtun) and Shah Gul Rezai
(Ghazni, Hazara) spoke out: Niyazi credited Karzai with
"opening our eyes and educating us," while Rezai maintained
Karzai's government had failed to follow through in
delivering basic services: "they could have done much more,
but they did not." After the roundtable, some opposition MPs
told us they could not speak freely in front of those MPs
with strong ties to Karzai for fear of retribution.

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Who are the Taliban?
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3. (SBU) Regarding indigenous support for the Taliban, one MP
asserted people supported the dominant force in the
community, whether government forces or the Taliban. Their
posture was driven by fear and a desire for security, adding,
"We don't have justice in this country." MP Niyazi echoed
this, declaring that five Helmand districts were outside of
government control. Poor border security, she observed,
allowed Taliban to cross over with impunity and intimidate
local communities. Niyazi said the Taliban leadership was
Pakistani while many followers were impoverished young
Afghans recruited by Taliban leadership through offers of
food and money, and sometimes threats against their families.
She noted Pakistan militant Baitullah Mehsud had even
visited Helmand once. She urged a policy of Coalition Forces
(CF) targeting the leadership while GIRoA reconciled the low
or mid-level Afghan Taliban. MP Rezai protested, saying that
talk of reconciliation worried many people - especially
women. "How can you tell who is a 'moderate' Taliban? And
what is a 'moderate' Taliban?" Shukria Paikan Ahmadi
(Kunduz, Uzbek) said armed Taliban moved about freely in
Kunduz, while the military seemed unwilling to confront them,
preferring to intimidate civilians.

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Civilian Casualties: Damage to Afghan public support for
Coalition Forces
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4. (SBU) The women agreed that civilian casualties resulting
from operations by CF had taken a serious toll on the
public's trust in its government and support for CF efforts.
A number of MPs contended they saw no coherent CF
counterinsurgency strategy in recent years. Too many
innocent people had died, either through CF's carelessness or
a tendency "to believe information from bad sources." Dr.
Galafi Safi (Balkh, Pashtun) was one of many MPs who had a
story about a community member who had been targeted by CF,
based on informants with a personal or political grudge. MP
Shekeba Matin Hashimi (Kandahar, Pashtun) raised an issue
that resonated with many of the parliamentarians - the need
for CF to conduct operations with attention to and respect
for local culture. Even inadvertent insults and injuries
could spark a desire for revenge on the behalf of families or
even entire communities. ADM Mullen assured the
parliamentarians that the U.S. took this issue very seriously
and deeply regretted any loss of civilian life. He stressed
that the U.S. and ISAF were continually seeking ways to
coordinate with Afghan National Security Forces and local
authorities to avoid civilian casualties.


KABUL 00000934 002 OF 002


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