NEW AFGHAN COUNTERNARCOTICS MINISTER ZARAR OUTLINES HIS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 000675 DEPT FOR S/SRAP, INL, SCA/A CONFIDENTIAL SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: N/A TAGS: SNAR PGOV PREL AF SUBJECT: NEW AFGHAN COUNTERNARCOTICS MINISTER ZARAR OUTLINES HIS AGENDA FOR DRUG CZAR KERLIKOWSKE ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On February 1, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) R. Gil Kerlikowske, joined by Coordinating Director for Development and Economic Affairs (CDDEA) Ambassador E. Anthony Wayne, met with Afghanistan's new Minister of Counternarcotics, Zarar Ahmad Moqbel. Zarar thanked the USG for its leading role in supporting Afghan counternarcotics efforts, both through State/INL programs with the Ministry of Counternarcotics (MCN) and DEA efforts to strengthen Afghan interdiction capabilities. Zarar expressed concern about his Ministry's capacity and the effectiveness of its role, said he wanted to improve inter-agency GIRoA coordination on counternarcotics, and asked for a senior level U.S. mentor in his office. He stressed that his policy priorities would be agricultural livelihoods, demand reduction, and supporting the targeting of drug traffickers. Director Kerlikowske stressed the importance of transparency in engaging support from the international community; Zarar agreed that transparency was key to fighting corruption, and explained how he hoped to establish systems to ensure transparency as he had as Minister of Interior. Ambassador Wayne said the USG looked forward to engaging with MCN on the priorities Zarar outlined, endorsed his call for greater GIRoA and international coordination, and said the Embassy was already trying to identify an appropriate senior mentor to help build mentor capacity and assure effective and transparent use of resources. Wayne agreed that the import of precursor chemicals (used in heroin production) was a major narcotics challenge facing Afghanistan, and suggested the recent Afghan National Security Council process that led to a ban on ammonium nitrate as a potential useful model. END SUMMARY. MINISTRY NEEDS MORE CAPACITY, AND ADVISORS -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Zarar remarked that in his one week in office, and following his earlier experience as Minister of the Interior, he had found the Ministry of Counternarcotics (MCN) has "limited power and low capacity." The MCN lacks basic information on all aspects of the narcotics problem, Zarar lamented; he was considering forming an investigative unit that would be deployed throughout the country to conduct research and monitoring. Zarar also planned to establish a �0A;multinational board, comprised of the U.S., UK, UNODC, UNAMA and other donors, to evaluate the MCN's work and propose changes, as well as share information on the current narcotics situation. He also hoped to engage other Afghan institutions -- especially Parliament and the Ministries of Interior and Agriculture -- in an expert level shura to review MCN work and to make any criticism constructive. Zarar noted he intends to propose to President Karzai the reconstitution of an inter-ministerial counternarcotics coordinating committee that the MCN used to chair. Kerlikowske commented that a sub-cabinet or cabinet level coordination meeting on counternarcotics would be an effective way to engage multiple ministries in a balanced counternarcotics strategy, including a focus on prevention and treatment. Ambassador Wayne noted that improved coordination within the Afghan government and with donors would be helpful, since the narcotics problem was too big to handle without coordination. ¶3. (SBU) Commenting that international advisors would also be critical for MCN, Zarar requested that the USG provide a senior mentor to assist him in building the institution. Ambassador Wayne explained that the Embassy had been planning to provide just such support, and was in the process of identifying a suitable candidate for the role. Zarar thanked the USG for its support for the ministry to date, adding that it cooperated very successfully with the State Department/INL on several major programs, including the Good Performers Initiative (GPI),the CounterNarcotics Advisory Teams (CNATs),and drug treatment centers, and also looked forward to deepening relations with the Drug Enforcement Administration. POLICY PRIORITIES - LIVILIHOODS, TARGETTING TRAFFICKERS, REDUCING DEMAND -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Zarar explained that MCN would take the lead on rewriting Afghanistan's National Drug Control Strategy this year, as the current strategy is set to expire in early 2011. Zarar planned to focus on four aspects of the National Drug Control Strategy: providing alternative livelihoods, reducing narcotics production, fighting drug traffickers, and reducing demand. ¶5. (SBU) Zarar said his top programmatic priority is developing alternative livelihoods for farmers. Farmers face the "ultimate challenge," and the Ministry must put primary focus on agricultural assistance because farmers whose crops are eradicated have no alternatives. Zarar observed that MCN's Good Performers' Initiative (GPI),funded by the U.S. and UK and designed to reward provinces that have reduced or eliminated poppy cultivation, is an important means to reduce narcotics production, but GPI projects must support farmers directly. The MCN must build the capacity to develop and KABUL 00000675 002 OF 002 implement projects effectively. The MCN must pay particular attention to poppy free provinces and make sure that they do not backtrack, urged Ambassador Wayne, adding that the USG was also considering ways to provide additional assistance to help with GPI project development, since some provinces were having difficulty drawing up suitable project proposals. ¶6. (SBU) On demand reduction, Zarar said the MCN must be able to identify more effectively the magnitude of drug use in Afghanistan and establish benchmarks for developing policy. The UN (UNODC) was currently completing a study of addiction rates in Afghanistan, to be released within a few months. Zarar noted that while the GIRoA could not conduct a survey of that magnitude by itself, it should be able to "Afghanize" it -- not least because Afghan surveyors would be able to go to places that UN surveyors probably cannot for security reasons. On public education, Zarar noted the MCN must target schools with an anti-drug message, and use the media more effectively as a channel for stopping addiction. The MCN must be more active in providing assistance for recovering addicts by, for example, helping them find employment, he stated. ¶7. (SBU) Zarar commented that the MCN must also have a more robust supporting role in targeting drug traffickers in the southern provinces where 92% of narcotics are cultivated. Until now, the MCN has not assumed an analytical role in the fight against drug trafficking because it lacks basic information on trafficking figures and rings. In regional relations and cooperation, the MCN has not played a meaningful role because "we have agreements with other countries, but no practical implementation." Zarar requested a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) focal point to improve the MCN's involvement in interdiction issues. TRANSPARENCY KEY IN FIGHTING CORRUPTION -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Director Kerlikowske told Zarar that transparency in program and funding decisions is crucial to engaging the international community. Zarar agreed, and cited a number of initiatives he introduced as Minister of Interior to limit the opportunities for corruption (e.g., payment of police salaries by bank card or other direct mechanism rather than through cash that was consistently skimmed off; and establishment of a hotline for police officers who encountered problems with their salary). Establishing systems and transparency were key to stopping corruption and winning the support of international partners like the U.S., UK, Dutch and Canadians, Ambassador Wayne advised, adding that the USG would want to follow up on Zarar's suggestions for possible cooperation. ¶9. (SBU) Deputy Minister Ibrahim Azbar noted that the import of precursor chemicals (used to turned opium paste into heroin) was one of the biggest counternarcotics problems currently facing Afghanistan, asking whether it would be possible to obtain assistance from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Ambassador Wayne agreed that better control of precursor chemicals was needed, and pointed to the recent (Afghan) Presidential decree banning ammonium nitrate as a good example of using the National Security Council structure as a way to address cross-cutting issues that have national security implications. ¶10. (C) Comment: It was very apparent that Minister Zarar is attempting to expand the Ministry of Counternarcotics' traditional role - it remains to be seen how successful he will be in this effort. Given the cloud of corruption allegations that plague the Minister from his MOI tenure, it was important that Director Kerlikowske and Ambassador Wayne use this meeting to establish a baseline from which to hold Zarar accountable for future actions. On two separate occasions, Director Kerlikowske and Ambassador Wayne emphasized the need for transparency when working with the international community and to establish an environment that promotes anticorruption. This needs to be a common theme during future interactions with Minister Zarar. End comment. ¶11. (SBU) This message has been cleared by ONDCP Director Kerlikowske. EIKENBERRY