Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09STATE41765
2009-04-26 20:20:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Secretary of State
Cable title:  

KARZAI HOSTS PARLIAMENT-US CONVERSATION ON

Tags:  PGOV PREL AF 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHC #1765 1162024
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 262020Z APR 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
INFO USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0000
C O N F I D E N T I A L STATE 041765 

SIPDIS

THE FOLLOWING KABUL 001046 DTG P 261551Z APR 09 SENT
ACTION TO SECSTATE WASHDC INFO AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
IS BEING REPEATED FOR YOUR INFO:

QUOTE:
<
C O N F I D E N T I A L KABUL 001046

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/26/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL AF
SUBJECT: KARZAI HOSTS PARLIAMENT-US CONVERSATION ON
CIVILIAN CASUALTIES

Classified By: CDA Francis Ricciardone for reasons 1.4 (b)
and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L STATE 041765

SIPDIS

THE FOLLOWING KABUL 001046 DTG P 261551Z APR 09 SENT
ACTION TO SECSTATE WASHDC INFO AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
IS BEING REPEATED FOR YOUR INFO:

QUOTE:
<
C O N F I D E N T I A L KABUL 001046

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/26/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL AF
SUBJECT: KARZAI HOSTS PARLIAMENT-US CONVERSATION ON
CIVILIAN CASUALTIES

Classified By: CDA Francis Ricciardone for reasons 1.4 (b)
and (d).


1. (SBU) SUMMARY. President Karzai, his national security
ministers, and several dozen MPs urged the Charge and ISAF
representatives on April 26 to join with the Afghan
government and Parliament to form a commission on reducing
civilian casualties. During a long and impassioned but
respectful meeting, Karzai and the MPs implored ISAF to
improve coordination between Coalition forces and the Afghan
government. The Charge expressed his deepest sympathies for
the victims of civilian casualty incidents and said the US
had received Afghans' messages of concern and anger. MG
Joseph Votel, deputy commander of an elite SOF unit, assured
Afghans that ISAF had begun integrating Afghan security
officials and military counterparts into its operations and
had already seen benefits in the new partnership. Most MPs
seemed pleased with the dialogue, although a few called for
greater restrictions on foreign forces. End Summary.

Emotional, But Respectful Dialogue on Civilian Casualties
--------------


2. (SBU) Karzai invited the Charge and ISAF representatives
to meet with more than 50 Members of Parliament, several
Cabinet ministers, and Palace advisors to hear Parliament's
proposals for reducing civilian casualties and increasing
ISAF-Afghan security coordination. There were no media
present during the discussion. In a smaller meeting
immediately after the larger gathering, Karzai told the
Charge the proposed Afghan government-Afghan MPs-ISAF joint
commission would help "cool down tempers" among MPs and
improve perceptions of Coalition forces among Afghan
political leaders. Karzai agreed with one MP's remarks that
the US and international community had "built this new Afghan
state and democracy from within (since 2001),but now you are
trying to destroy it."


3. (SBU) During the larger gathering, MPs urged ISAF to
improve its coordination with Afghan security forces and

recognize the pain Afghan citizens felt at the killing of
innocent civilians. Lower House MP Sayed Mohammed Gulabzoy
(Khost, Pashtun) said Khost MPs had been so angered by the
tragedy of an April 9 civilian casualty incident in their
home province that they were boycotting Parliament sessions
until the government showed results in its efforts to win
better coordination between ISAF and Afghan forces. Gulabzoy
felt Afghan security forces had improved their capacity and
skill in recent years and deserved a greater role in military
operations aimed at the insurgency. Lower House MP Mawlawi
Ludin (Nangarhar, Pashtun) said Afghans were losing
confidence in Coalition forces' ability to provide security
with each civilian casualty incident.


4. (SBU) Other MPs offered more pointed comments, criticizing
Coalition leaders for not engaging the government sooner on
the issue. Upper House MP Mohammed Alam Ezedyar (Panjshir,
Tajik) pressed for a formalized agreement on the status of
foreign forces in Afghanistan. Ezedyar believed that had
such an agreement been in place, ISAF-Afghan cooperation
would have begun earlier and some recent civilian casualties
could have been avoided. Lower House MP Haji Farid (Kapisa,
Pashtun) asked for concrete results to come from the meeting,
and implored ISAF to agree to Parliament's proposal for a
joint commission. To general appreciation, Lower House MP
Sahera Sharif (Khost, Pashtun) stated, "we are glad when you
kill Taliban, but do not confuse us with them. They are our
enemies, so we are not surprised when they attack and kill
us. But we expect much more from the US. This is why we are
angry."

Charge, ISAF Promise Message Has Been Heard
--------------


5. (SBU) The Charge promised Karzai and MPs that the US
recognized the anger and sadness of the Afghan people over
accidental civilian casualties. The US did not accept the
unacceptable, nor defend the indefensible and was committed
to do everything possible to prevent these tragic accidents.
The US had heard the MPs' message "loudly and clearly" and
would work hard to reduce incidents of civilian casualties.
He urged the MPs to recognize the great difference between
friends who accept responsibility for dreadful mistakes, and
who try to prevent them, versus enemies who deliberately kill
and maim Afghans.


6. (SBU) MG Votel expressed his deep regret for the April 9
Khost incident, which killed and wounded family members of
Afghan Army Col. Khan, who was present at the meeting. Votel
assured MPs that Coalition forces had already begun closer
coordination with Afghan security forces. Officials from the
Ministries of Defense and Interior, as well as the National
Directorate of Security, had joined Coalition forces at

Bagram Air Field to improve coordination. Such enhanced
cooperation had already shown results. After the formal
session, Ricciardone and Votel personally offered condolences
to Col. Khan, as Karzai and MPs witnessed with approval.

A Positive Dialogue
--------------


7. (C) Karzai led this discussion with a calm demeanor and
less theatrics than he has shown in his recent public
statements on civilian casualties. The MPs, too, were
generally respectful in their comments to the Charge and ISAF
representatives, despite their clear emotional involvement in
the issue. Their tone was more sorrowful than angry. MPs
did not define the scope, purpose, or authority of their
proposed joint commission. MPs from southern and eastern
provinces generally want to see stricter controls placed on
foreign forces' maneuverability, while northern MPs place a
greater value in ISAF's continued, long-term presence in
Afghanistan. Karzai staged this discussion deftly to manage
both his relations with the US and his domestic political
equities. He recommended that further such meetings could
serve a positive end by pacifying the vehemently
anti-Coalition discussions in Parliament that routinely
follow civilian casualty incidents.
RICCIARDONEUNQUOTE CLINTON