PARLIAMENTARY REPORT ON KANDAHAR SHOWS FEW GAINS,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 OTTAWA 000179 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/09/2019 TAGS: PREL MOPS EAID AF CA SUBJECT: PARLIAMENTARY REPORT ON KANDAHAR SHOWS FEW GAINS, EVOKES NO PUBLIC INTEREST REF: A. 08 OTTAWA 1496 ¶B. 08 OTTAWA 373 Classified By: PolMinCouns Scott Bellard, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: As required under a March 2008 House of Commons motion, the government has issued its third report to Parliament tracking progress on key benchmarks. The report cited modest continued progress in training of the Afghan National Security Forces, improvements to Sarpoza prison, award of a contract for the rehabilitation of the Dahla Dam and irrigation system, completion of a third school, vaccination of 7.1 million children nationwide against polio, and creation of new jobs. However, it acknowledged that violence had increased in the last quarter of 2008, with December the "deadliest month" for the Canadian forces in 2008, with nine deaths and higher civilian and military casualties nationwide than in any autumn quarter since 2001. Public or media attention to the report has been virtually nil, however, and key Conservative MPs have confirmed privately that Afghanistan was essentially off the radar scope for domestic political purposes. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Minister of International Trade (and concurrent chair of the Cabinet Committee on Afghanistan) Stockwell Day and Minister of International Cooperation Bev Oda on March 4 gave a joint press briefing to discuss the release of the government's third quarterly report (covering the final quarter of 2008) on the situation in Kandahar, as required by the March 2008 House of Commons bipartisan motion that extended the mission of the Canadian Forces through 2011 (ref b). (Ref a reported on the previous quarterly report.) The report admitted that "security conditions remained especially dangerous and by some measures deteriorated during the quarter," with "unprecedented numbers of insurgent attacks by IEDs" in Kandahar province. It noted that "across Afghanistan, more civilians and soldiers -- Afghan and international -- were killed in 2008 than in any earlier year of the war," with 32 Canadian soldiers killed in 2008, including nine in December alone. It cited declining public confidence in security -- from more than 50 pct to less than 30 pct over the past year -- despite the welcome arrival of a U.S. battalion in Kandahar and arrival of new Canadian helicopters and UAVs. It commented that the "humanitarian situation worsened." The report underscored that "Afghans themselves are caught up in a complicated interaction of tribal, ideological, economic, and regional conflicts, but promised a "disciplined and accountable implementation of Canada's own engagement." It admitted, however, that there still were "no prospects for early and meaningful reconciliation." GOOD NEWS... -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The report nonetheless claimed modest progress on a number of specific benchmarks: -- in addition to one "kandak" (a 600 man battalion) of the Afghan National Army (ANA) capable of planning, executing, and sustaining near-autonomous operations as of June 2008, the Brigade Headquarters also achieved this "capability milestone 1," with the four other targeted kandaks making lesser progress; -- two of the five kandaks now have effective strength of over 70 pct, up from one in June 2008; -- training of approximately 61 pct of all Afghan National Police in Kandahar, up from 25 pct in August 2008, along with QPolice in Kandahar, up from 25 pct in August 2008, along with the deployment of eleven additional Canadian police officers to assist with training, bringing the current total to 29; -- completion of three infrastructure projects at Sarpoza prison; -- 86 corrections officers have now received initial corrections training, up from 23 in August 2008; -- organization of a first-ever 21-day workshop on criminal law and procedures; -- four judicial infrastructure projects now in the development phase; -- creation of at least 172 infrastructure-related jobs; -- completion of a third school project (up from one in June 2008),with 22 others under construction; -- in-service training for 2,300 working teachers (funded by USAID); -- literacy training for 10,949 adults, including 8,984 women; -- now at least 1,000 small and medium sized enterprises in Kandahar City, up from only 72 in July 2008; -- micro-finance loans to 126 clients, up from 30 loans in March 2008; OTTAWA 00000179 002 OF 003 -- polio vaccinations for an additional 7.1 million children; -- clearance of a total of 346 square km of land from landmines since January 2006; -- organization of an Afghan-Pakistani Peace Jirga in October and Canadian-facilitated discussions between Afghan and Pakistani military officials from the Kandahar-Baluchistan border in November; -- registration of over 3.2 million eligible voters, 40 pct of whom are women; -- award of a C$50 million rehabilitation contract to Canadian firms SNC-Lavalin and Hydrosault for the Dahla Dam project; and, -- opening of a Canadian Governance Support Office in Kabul to assist with Afghan institution building. ...AND BAD NEWS -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The report also noted several areas in which there have been setbacks or no progress, including: -- the ANA is not now responsible for security in any of the six key districts, unlike in June 2008 when it was for one; -- the number of police units capable of conducting basic law and order operations declined from two to only one; -- 31 cases of polio nationwide (with 27 in southern Afghanistan) as of December, in contrast to only 17 in 2007; and, -- more than 230,000 internally displaced persons nationwide, with most of them in southern Afghanistan. OFF THE RADAR SCOPE -------------- ¶5. (C) In recent discussions with PolMinCouns, the chairmen of the House of Commons' Foreign Affairs Committee and the National Defence Committee as well as the Parliamentary Secretaries for Foreign Affairs and for National Defence separately confirmed that Afghanistan had all but disappeared as a political issue nationwide. They indicated that, while this had been essentially true since the March 2008 Commons motion on Afghanistan, it was even more true now with the current pre-occupation on the declining economic situation. The occasional death of a Canadian soldier in Kandahar -- the latest death on March 8 brought the total to 113 soldiers -- evokes some media attention and offers opportunities to interview grieving family members, who are usually very supportive of the Canadian Forces and the deployment to Afghanistan. Prime Minister Stephen Harper's claim to the U.S. media on February 23 that Afghanistan had throughout history "always" had an insurgency and that it would never be possible truly to "defeat" the Taliban prompted some lively charges in the House of Commons' Question Period that the government was reversing course. The Conservatives consistently have retorted that that what the Prime Minister meant to suggest was only that there was no uniquely military solution in Afghanistan, and that development and reconciliation were inherently a part of the longer-term strategy. ¶6. (C) In another sign of seeming Parliamentary disinterest in Afghanistan, the Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan that also grew out of the March 2008 motion has yet in the 40th Parliament to get off to a start or even to elect a chair. Parliamentary Secretary Deepak Obhrai told PolMinCouns on February 26 that the new chair would be former Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier. However, National Defence Committee chairman Rick Casson indicated on March 2 that this was no longer likely. On March 4, Casson took Bernier's seat on the Special Committee, while Bernier assumed Casson's seat Qon the Defence Committee, making it likely that Casson will soon (possibly on March 9) become the Special Committee's chair and Bernier will take over the Defence Committee. There are not yet any specific plans for travel or hearings by the Special Committee. ¶7. (C) Comment: To the extent that Afghanistan remains a political football, it is mostly in play only within the hall of the House of Commons during Question Period, not in the larger public arena. A large majority of Canadians would still support bringing the troops home now, but are also apparently comfortable with leaving them in Kandahar through ¶2011. Neither the Conservatives nor the Liberals would see any political advantage in re-opening the debate on a combat mission for the Canadian Forces after 2011, but, as Defence Minister Peter MacKay suggested during his joint press conference with Defense Secretary Gates in Washington, Canada can and should still have a role to play post-2011 in contributing to Afghanistan's reconstruction and development. OTTAWA 00000179 003 OF 003 Visit Canada,s North American partnership community at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap / BREESE