AMBASSADOR RICE'S INTRODUCTORY MEETING WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000142

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/12/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV UNSC AF
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR RICE'S INTRODUCTORY MEETING WITH
AFGHANISTAN PR ZAHIR TANIN

Classified By: AMBASSADOR SUSAN RICE, FOR REASONS 1.4 B/D


1. (C) Summary: In a February 12 introductory meeting with
Afghanistan PermRep Zahir Tanin, Ambassador Rice emphasized
U.S. commitment to Afghanistan and its desire to work in the
mutual interests of both countries. She noted that the
Administration,s top-to-bottom review of its Afghanistan
policy does not prejudge any specific outcome. Tanin
emphasized 1) the importance of U.S. support to the
Afghanistan government and to President Karzai specifically
in the run-up to elections; and 2) the linkages between
security and governance in Afghanistan, as well as the effect
of the regional dimension. Tanin also discussed his role as
vice-chair of the UN General Assembly,s informal plenary on
Security Council reform and asked for Ambassador Rice,s
participation in a March roundtable event in New York on the
situation of women in Afghanistan. End summary.

AFGHANISTAN


2. (C) Ambassador Tanin said the role of the U.S.-Afghanistan
partnership was key to the success not only of Afghanistan,
but the region. The new Administration has increased hopes
everywhere, including Afghanistan, Tanin said. With these
hopes comes expectations, and he vowed to work closely
together for the greater interests of both Afghanistan and
the U.S. When asked for his assessment of the situation in
Afghanistan, Tanin bluntly noted that his country was not
capable of self-sufficiency at the present time. Alluding to
criticisms of President Karzai, he said "not everything" has
been the President,s fault, although he acknowledged that
the Afghanistan government bore a large measure of
responsibility for its failures to govern and to gain the
trust of its people.


3. (C) Tanin identified the current period leading up to
Presidential elections as one that required careful attention
because it put at risk the long-term objectives of security,
development and stability in Afghanistan. From the point of
view of Afghans, said Tanin, recent press reporting has led
to the sense that the new administration is looking for new
leadership in Afghanistan, and that there has been a downturn
in relations between Kabul and Washington. He noted that
until the Presidential elections, "you must deal with the
government that is there" and cautioned not to "underestimate
the role of leadership, for bad or good." If Karzai is not
seen as supported by the U.S., the current period will become
even more unstable. The recent bombings in Kabul indicated
the extent of insecurity throughout Afghanistan, and
demonstrated that "everything is possible," said Tanin.
Ambassador Rice said some of the press reporting
mischaracterized the Administration,s discussions on
Afghanistan. She asked that Tanin convey to Kabul the
Administration,s openness during this review process, and
the strong national interest of the U.S. in a successful
Afghanistan.


4. (C) From a long-term perspective, Tanin said security and
governance were the keys to stabilizing Afghanistan. He
cautioned against seeing Afghanistan as a secondary issue
behind Pakistan, and said both countries could not be dealt
with in the same way. The threat - al Qaida, the Taliban and
related terrorist groups - was the same for both countries,
but the solutions would be different. Tanin said these
terror groups were all part of the same body and at the
center lay the ISI. (Tanin acknowledged that this was a
controversial position.) Progress must be made against these
groups, because for Afghanistan to develop, all regions of
the country needed to have minimum security conditions. In
areas where there was no security, the Taliban operated
freely and consequently, there was no trust in the national
government.


5. (C) In addition to security, Tanin emphasized governance,
under which he included development, the fight against
corruption and capacity-building. He acknowledged the
government,s problems with corruption, but said the
international community also needed to focus on the other
side of the coin: waste in development aid and the low
percentage actually given to Afghans. In this context, he
emphasized the crucial importance of job creation.

UNAMA


6. (C) Turning to UNAMA, Tanin asked why there had been no
mention of the UN in recent USG statements related to
Afghanistan and to the naming of Special Envoy Holbrooke. He
said that the UN is the only institution that can bring
together the international community in Afghanistan.
Ambassador Rice said the U.S. viewed the UN as a crucial
piece to addressing problems in Afghanistan. She asked for
Tanin,s views regarding UNAMA, its performance and any

USUN NEW Y 00000142 002 OF 002


potential need to adjust its mandate. Tanin said SRSG Eide
had done a good job in bringing order to the UN family in
Afghanistan, but that more work was needed to improve
civil-military coordination. Eide had good relations with
the Afghanistan government and with Karzai. Tanin said he
would carefully consider Ambassador Rice,s questions
regarding UNAMA and the mandate, and would convey his
thoughts in the coming weeks. Tanin noted that UNAMA,s
mandate had been revised substantially last year, and that
the goal for this year would be to take this new base and
consider whether any additional concepts are needed. He
recounted a discussion he had the day before with Russian DPR
Dolgov, in which Dolgov noted Karzai,s recent statements
about civilian casualties and said Russia would work with
Afghanistan to address the problems related to the
international security presence. (Comment: Dolgov,s
statement tracks with Russia,s increasingly unhelpful stance
on Afghanistan issues in the Security Council, and previews
that Russian will likely continue to be unhelpful during the
UNAMA renewal in March and ISAF renewal in September. End
comment.)

SECURITY COUNCIL REFORM


7. (C) As vice-chair of the GA,s informal plenary on
Security Council reform, Tanin briefed Ambassador Rice on the
state of play in advance of intergovernmental negotiations
beginning February 19. Referring to the Uniting for
Consensus (UFC) bloc,s focus on the "rules of the game,"
Tanin said Italy put at risk the authority of its Foreign
Minister by having him involved even before the start of
intergovernmental negotiations. Tanin said the informal
plenary is a way to create the atmosphere of working
together, even if it does not narrow the differences between
the blocs. Tanin underscored that SC reform cannot move
forward without the P5; he added that China and Russia had
moved closer to the UFC position that any solution must enjoy
"close to consensus." China told Tanin that "the spirit of
UFC will guide (China)." Looking longer term, Tanin noted
that Libya was in line to be President of the GA next year,
and this would probably put a brake on further SC reform
discussions. Therefore, it was important to take advantage
of a window over the next few months to lay down the
groundwork for an eventual solution in one or two year,s
time. In closing, he noted "this is not a personal mission
for me," and said he did not want to be caught in "friendly
fire."


8. (C) Ambassador Rice reviewed U.S. policy towards SC
reform. The U.S. is open to reform, given that the world of
the 21st century is different than that of 1945. However,
any reform must not diminish the effectiveness of the
Security Council. She said the U.S. does not have any
specific position on numbers or configuration, and approaches
intergovernmental negotiations with an open mind. She asked
that the draft work plan for negotiations be shared a few
days before February 19.

ROUNDTABLE ON WOMEN IN AFGHANISTAN


9. (C) Tanin asked for Ambassador Rice,s participation in a
proposed roundtable on women in Afghanistan, during March in
New York. The roundtable would be organized in cooperation
with UNIFEM. Ambassador Rice said she was open in principle,
but asked for more details on the roundtable and on potential
dates.
Rice