KANDAHAR: CORRUPTION REFORMS BY THE MASTER OF SPIN?

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 000589 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR SRAP, SCA/FO, SCA/A, EUR/RPM, INR/B STATE PASS USAID FOR ASIA/SCAA USFOR-A FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/17/2020 TAGS: PGOV KDEM KCOR KCRM PREL AF SUBJECT: KANDAHAR: CORRUPTION REFORMS BY THE MASTER OF SPIN? REF: A. (A) KABUL 467 ¶B. (B) KABUL 463 ¶C. (C) KABUL 408 ¶D. (D) 09 KABUL 4039 ¶E. (E) 09 KABUL 4024 Classified By: Interagency Provincial Affairs Deputy Director Hoyt Yee for Reasons 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (S) Summary: On February 9, Senior Civilian Representative (SCR) Frank Ruggiero and Regional Command-South (RC-S) Commander Major General Nick Carter (UK) met with Colonel Abdul Razziq, 4th Afghan Border Police (ABP) Director and a well-known powerbroker based in the border town of Spin Boldak. SCR and MG Carter delivered a message of support for Razziq's recently stated intent to tackle corruption seriously and to reform the customs collection process at the Weesh-Chaman border crossing. Razziq acknowledged his interest in clearing his name of allegations of corruption in the Western media, and proposed ways to consolidate the customs collection system at the border and make it more transparent. His receptiveness to suggestions by SCR and Carter on next steps to clean up border operations was positive and will be followed up. Some of his comments, however, strained credulity, including corruption accusations against other government officials and his advocacy for Ahmad Wali Karzai (AWK),President Karzai's controversial half-brother, as an ideal governor for Kandahar. End Summary. Razziq Claims Keen to Attack Corruption -------------- ¶2. (S) SCR and Commander of RC-S MG Nick Carter met with Col. Abdul Razziq, 4th ABP Director, in the Shura Room at Forward Operating Base Spin Boldak. Also present were Spin Boldak Commander LTC Bill Clark, the State Department representative in Spin Boldak, and Regional Platform-South Strategic Communications Advisor. SCR and MG Carter expressed their appreciation for a recent letter by Razziq to President Karzai which requested the formation of an independent anti-corruption task force at the border, and offered their help in standing up the task force. Razziq said he had decided to take this significant step because he feared that if Afghans did not solve the corruption issue, the international community would cut off its support for the country. He also admitted his sensitivity to his international image, saying, "If everyone hears that Spin Boldak is corrupt, then I get a bad name." (Note: According to LTC Clark, Clark and another U.S. official had recommended the letter and other reforms after a Washington Post article on January 31 reporting on Col. Razziq's links to corruption had upset Razziq. End Note) Concrete Steps to Reform -------------- ¶3. (S) Razziq said that he had yet to receive a response from President Karzai to his request for the anti-corruption task force. Razziq claimed, however, that since he had sent the letter, he had been threatened by officials in the Ministry of Interior (MoI) and the Ministry of Finance (MoF), who would lose money if there was a crackdown on corruption at the border. He promised to provide SCR and MG Carter with the names and numbers of those individuals. He also predicted that General Mohammad Yunos Noorzai, the commander of the ABP, would oppose a crackdown. Razziq said he wanted every truck coming from Pakistan to be searched and registered, and that he told General McChrystal during their meeting on January 18 that he supported the use of a biometrics system that RC-S has been developing. He also claimed that he had already stepped up ABP efforts against corruption in the last 30 days and that in doing so he had increased customs revenue for the month by 30 million Afghanis (USD 600,000). Media Campaign -------------- ¶4. (S) SCR suggested that a team of experts from Regional Platform-South (RP-S) and RC-S come to Spin Boldak to help craft a media plan around the clean-up of the border, once a comprehensive anti-corruption initiative is in place. (Note: A proposed RP-S drafted Information Operations campaign includes short-term steps to do local radio spots announcing changes at the border, the setting up of billboards advertising the customs fees, and, if credible, the longer-term encouragement of stories in the international media on the "reform" of Razziq, the so-called "Master of Spin." End Note.) Razziq said he would welcome such a team. KABUL 00000589 002 OF 002 Moving the Customs Collection Facility -------------- ¶5. (S) Razziq also discussed the consolidation of operations in a new customs collection facility. He recommended developing the facility in an area owned by the ABP that includes a functioning high school, and currently serves as an emergency helicopter landing zone. SCR suggested use of the school as part of the new customs facility might be possible but only if another school was built for the displaced students. Memorandum of Understanding -------------- ¶6. (S) SCR, MG Carter and Razziq discussed possible contents for a prospective Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that would spell out ways to improve the border crossing and customs collection system. There also was discussion of inviting General McChrystal and several cabinet ministers to a ceremony to launch the initiative once the document was ready. MG Carter suggested that SCR, Carter, Razziq, ABP Commander General Noorzai, the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Interior should sign the MOU. Razziq agreed that that would be a good idea. Ammonium Nitrate Seizures -------------- ¶7. (S) SCR asked for information about the seizure of ammonium nitrate at the border, an issue he raised at his last meeting with Razziq (Ref A). Razziq claimed to be seizing ammonium nitrate, but did not offer further details. He said there was more of a problem with narcotics trafficking and other criminal activity on the border in Shorabak than in Spin Boldak, since he had Spin Boldak under control. He said he had confiscated seven to eight tons of narcotics during a recent raid. When asked what he had done with the seized contraband, Razziq said he sent it to representatives of the MoI in Kandahar City, but that he did not know what had happened to it afterwards. Suggestions for Better Governance -------------- ¶8. (S) Razziq complained that the shura leaders in Spin Boldak were not representative of their villages. (Note: Razziq's uncle, Haji Fida Mohammad, is one prominent shura member who is known to be critical of his nephew. End Note) Less predictably, Razziq expressed contempt for Governor Mangal of Helmand, and accused him of corruption. He also suggested that AWK be appointed as the governor of Kandahar. When MG Carter joked, "Well he IS the governor, isn't he?" Razziq replied seriously, "Even if he is the shadow governor now, it would be good to give him the official title. Then he will change everything." Comment -------------- ¶9. (S) Col. Razziq's motives for supporting reforms are suspect, but he may in fact be feeling vulnerable given increased international and national focus on corruption in Afghanistan. His sincerity in following through with vigorous anti-corruption efforts to include his ABP officers certainly remains to be tested. Per reftels, it is very probable that he is playing us to maintain his position in the region. However, Razziq's statements provide an excellent, and perhaps unwitting, opportunity to put far-reaching changes into place to reform border management in Spin Boldak. As noted in ref B, these changes are much-needed. The integrated civilian-military team in the South will be pressing hard in coming weeks to make these changes happen. Additionally, the embassy will take these efforts into account as it reviews policy options for dealing with powerbrokers like Razziq at its March 11 corruption policy meeting chaired by Amb. Wayne and MG Flynn. Eikenberry