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### Viewing cable 10KABUL102, Semi-annual Assessment for Badghis Province: July -

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
10KABUL102 | 2010-01-12 10:10 | 2011-01-28 16:04 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy Kabul

`

    VZCZCXRO5552
    RR RUEHDBU RUEHPW RUEHSL
    DE RUEHBUL #0102/01 0121038
    ZNR UUUUU ZZH
    R 121038Z JAN 10
    FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4669
    INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE

` `

    243245
    2010-01-12
    10KABUL102
    Embassy Kabul
    UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
    10KABUL1345|10KABUL717
    UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KABUL 000102

    DEPARTMENT FOR SRAP, SCA/FO, SCA/A, EUR/RPM
    STATE PASS TO AID FOR ASIA/SCAA
    USFOR-A FOR POLAD

    SENSITIVE
    SIPDIS

    E.O. 12958: N/A
    TAGS: KDEM PGOV AF
    SUBJECT: Semi-annual Assessment for Badghis Province: July -
    December 2009

    REF: (A) Kabul 1345 (B) Kabul 717

    ¶1. This is a Semi-annual assessment of Badghis Province.

    ¶2. (SBU) Summary. July - December 2009. Security in Badghis
    Province continued to deteriorate, as insurgents stepped up attacks
    on military convoys on main roads and overran several police
    checkpoints. Insurgents control large areas of Bala Murghab, Moqur,
    and Qades Districts. ANSF and coalition forces successfully
    regained control of the main route to Herat and a projected force
    increase should improve the situation in the long-term. Largely
    because of the security problems, the provincial government is not
    able to operate effectively outside of Qala-e-Now and its immediate
    surroundings. Low capacity and corruption further limit the
    government's ability to serve the needs of the population. One of
    the poorest provinces in Afghanistan, Badghis has development
    priorities that include potable water, irrigation, electricity and
    roads. There are no asphalted roads in the province, which contains
    the longest remaining section of the Ring Road yet to be been
    contracted for construction. In the next six months, the PRT's
    efforts will focus on improving security and development in Moqur
    and Qades districts, which occupy strategic positions close to
    Qala-e-Now. End summary.

    SECURITY

    Small Improvements near Qala-e-Now Offset by Increased Insecurity on
    Roads
    -----------------------------------

    ¶3. (SBU) In the past six months, security in Badghis continued to
    deteriorate. ANSF and coalition forces successfully fought back
    against increased criminal and insurgent activity in Sabzak Pass,
    which lies south of Qala-e-Now on Badghis' primary transportation
    link to Herat. The route, which had become unsafe for provincial
    government officials to travel, is now back in GIRoA control.
    However, this success was offset by increased insecurity on Route
    Lithium, which runs from Qala-e-Now through the Sang Atesh area of
    Moqur district and up to Bala Murghab. Several police checkpoints
    on the route were attacked and overrun, although a police presence
    has been reestablished at all but one.

    Insurgency Focused in Moqur, Qades and Bala Murghab Districts
    -------------------------------------

    ¶4. (SBU) Only a few kilometers from Qala-e-Now, Moqur district is
    strategically located in the center of the province. Insurgents
    control approximately 50 percent of the district and the resulting
    insecurity has spilled over into the northern part of Qades district
    and has largely cut off access between Qala-e-Now and the mostly
    insurgent-free and pro-GIRoA district of Jawand in the east. Ethnic
    tensions between the Pashtun and non-Pashtun communities have fueled
    the conflict. In February, a prominent non-Pashtun was assassinated
    in Moqur together with some members of his family. Several Pashtuns
    were killed in retaliatory attacks, including, in September, a
    prominent Pashtun leader. In October, elders from Pashtun and
    non-Pashtun communities in Moqur negotiated a settlement agreement.
    A new American Forward Operating Base has improved security in the
    district center. However, attacks along the route from Qala-e-Now
    to the district center increased in November and December.

    ¶5. (SBU) Daribum, in northern Qades district, is a center of
    insurgent activity and opium growing in the province. Opium
    production in Badghis increased by 922% in 2009 over 2008 (from 587
    to 5,411 hectares) due in part to favorable weather conditions.
    There is no provincial eradication program. In October, a joint
    Afghan-American counternarcotics operation destroyed an opium
    production facility in Daribum. A helicopter involved in the
    operation crashed, killing ten Americans. Although insurgent
    activity is concentrated in the north of the district, it
    occasionally threatens the district center. In December, insurgents
    took control of the town of Langar and its police checkpoint only
    seven kilometers north of Qades center. ANSF and local Tajik
    militia took back the town the following day.

    ¶6. (U) Bala Murghab district in the north remains almost entirely
    controlled by the insurgency, other than a small area under GIRoA
    and coalition control in Bala Murghab center (see Reftel B). In
    November, two American soldiers drowned in the Bala Murghab River.
    The operation to recover their bodies provoked attacks by
    insurgents. Seven ANSF and approximately ten insurgents died in the
    fighting, until a ceasefire was negotiated to permit the search to
    continue. The 4/82nd and the PRT are supporting several
    reconstruction and development projects in the district center.

    Increased Security Forces Offer Long-Term Hope
    ------------------------------------

    KABUL 00000102 002 OF 004

    ¶7. (SBU) The imminent arrival of additional ANSF and coalition
    forces should have a positive impact on security. In December, U.S.
    Special Forces began deployment of a Marine Special Operations
    Command unit in Bala Murghab. Also in December, Spain announced
    that it would send an additional 500 troops to Afghanistan, most of
    who will be positioned in Badghis. Although plans are not yet
    final, it is expected that the additional troops will likely train
    and mentor ANSF as their primary mission. An additional ANA brigade
    may also be assigned to the province. A Focused District
    Development (FDD) training program for ANP is underway for Moqur
    district and is scheduled for Qala-e-Naw and Qades. The Badghis ANP
    Chief, General Sami, plans to undertake additional hiring campaigns
    to support the FDD programs once the current ANP hiring freeze is
    lifted.

    Governance
    Corrupt and Untrained, Provincial Government Doesn't Deliver
    -------------------------------------

    ¶8. (SBU) Governance in Badghis is hampered by corruption and a
    lack of capable personnel. There is no university or higher
    education in the province, with the exception of a teacher's
    training college. Badghis' isolation and poverty make it difficult
    to attract qualified staff from outside. The provincial government
    is dominated almost completely by non-Pashtuns primarily from
    Qala-e-Now, Ab Kamari and Qadis districts, where there is a longer
    tradition of education and governance. The lack of Pashtuns in the
    government reduces its effectiveness and outreach in insecure
    districts such as Bala Murghab and Moqur, where there are large
    Pashtun populations. An important positive step for governance has
    been the opening of a Civil Service Training Center in Badghis from
    a partnership between the Afghanistan Independent Administrative
    Reform and Civil Service Commission, USAID and the Spanish
    development agency, AECID. Now conducting its second six-month
    training course, the Center will have trained 240 students from a
    variety of provincial directorates in basic English, computer usage
    and management.

    ¶9. (SBU) In July 2009, a case initiated by the Anti-Corruption
    Unit of the Attorney General's Office involving corruption charges
    against former Governor Naseri and 15 other individuals (see Reftel
    A) was suspended apparently for political motives. However, the
    Attorney General continues to pursue the case in Kabul, including
    bringing Governor Nasery in for questioning in December. In October
    2009, UNAMA received reliable reports that the provincial
    prosecutor's office and the chief of the provincial court were
    colluding to dismiss the charges entirely. Although Naseri was
    recently questioned by the Afghan Attorney General's office, most
    people in Badghis believe that political pressure from President
    Karzai will sink the case.

    ¶10. (U) The Provincial Court was recently strengthened by the
    assignment of ten new judges. However, due to the security
    situation, there are no judges working in Bala Murghab and only a
    part-time judge assigned to Moqur. Two judges assigned to work in
    Qades district have refused to go to the district, citing
    insecurity. The Chief of the Provincial Court has requested that
    the Supreme Court assign another, more experienced judge to the
    district.

    Mixed Leadership at the Top
    ---------------------------

    ¶11. (SBU) Governor Delbar Jan Arman was transferred to Badghis in
    March 2009. He has shown himself to be an active leader, visiting
    more districts than his predecessor and reaching out to local
    leaders to resolve issues. Arman, a Pashtun from Khost, was
    involved in the successful reconciliation efforts between the Tajik
    and Pashtun communities in Moqur district. The sub-governor, Amir
    Ghani Saberi, is a Tajik from the Qadis district. Well-connected in
    the province, he is willing to visit districts and increase
    government visibility. However, his strong local ties limit his
    ability to serve as a neutral arbiter in ethnic disputes.

    ¶12. (SBU) The former Provincial Council was largely inactive. All
    but three failed to win reelection in August 2009. The new Council,
    not yet sworn in, has no Pashtun members even though Pashtuns
    comprise about 40% of the population. (A Pashtun came in second in
    the preliminary results; however, many of the votes he received were
    later disqualified for fraud.) Four of the nine council members
    hail from Jawand district, although the population of that district
    is only one-sixth of the population of Badghis.

    ¶13. (SBU) In the presidential elections, Dr. Abdullah carried
    Badghis province by more than two-to-one over President Karzai. In
    the predominantly non-Pashtun districts of Qala-e-Naw, Qadis, Ab

    KABUL 00000102 003 OF 004

    Kamari and Jawand, voters cast their ballots in overwhelming numbers
    for Dr. Abdullah. In ethnically-divided Moqur district, the turnout
    was low and a majority of those participating voted for President
    Karzai. Only eight polling centers opened in Bala Murghab, where
    Karzai won overwhelmingly. The number of votes cast in Bala Murghab
    did not square with the State PRT representatives on-the-ground
    observations, suggesting ballot box stuffing may have occurred. The
    complete lack of national or international observers in Jawand,
    coupled with the lack of ANSF personnel at many of its 37 polling
    centers, also made those results suspect. The IEC recounted 13
    ballot boxes from Bala Murghab, Ab Kamari, Jawand and Qades,
    resulting in changes to the final tally, including the elimination
    of one Provincial Council candidate from the list of winners.

    DEVELOPMENT

    ¶14. (U) One of the poorest provinces in Afghanistan, Badghis has
    development priorities that include potable water, water storage and
    irrigation systems, electricity and completion of the Ring Road.
    Although the Bala Murghab district in the north is supplied year
    round with water from the Bala Murghab River, the south of the
    province suffers from a shortage of water and has limited
    infrastructure to collect rain and snowmelt for use in the arid
    summer months. Qala-e-Now city and Jawand center are the only two
    places in Badghis with an electricity grid. Electricity in
    Qala-e-Now is supplied by diesel generators. The Asian Development
    Bank is currently considering funding a proposal to build a
    30-kilometer electrical transmission line from Turkmenistan to
    Qala-e-Now; however, the high cost of the project versus the small
    number of people benefited may make it unfeasible.

    ¶15. (SBU) Completing the Ring Road is critical to the economic
    development and security of Badghis and has implications for
    inter-regional trade. Construction in the north reaching to Bala
    Murghab stalled in the Gormach district of Faryab (formerly a
    district of Badghis) due to security problems. In early November,
    the Asian Development Bank (ADB) fired the contractor for
    nonperformance. The longest stretch of the Ring Road in the
    province, from south of Qala-e-Now to Bala Murghab, has yet to be
    contracted for construction. The proposed route would run through
    the Bala Murghab valley, where most of the population lives but
    which is largely insurgent-controlled. The ADB is discussing with
    the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) the possibility of sole
    sourcing the construction of this last stretch (as well as the
    uncompleted portion in Faryab). The ADB/USACE project is estimated
    to cost approximately $340 million and may take up to four years to
    complete, given the rough terrain and security problems along much
    of the route.

    ¶16. (U) USAID's Local Government and Community Development (LGCD)
    program began operations in the province in November. The
    implementer, DAI, has already established an office in Qala-e-Now
    and is identifying projects in Moqur, Qades and Bala Murghab
    districts. USAID has also increased its programming presence in
    Badghis over the past six months, starting major wheat seed
    distribution, agricultural supply-chain improvements, large-scale
    cash-for-work programs and instituting the Afghan Civilian
    Assistance Program (Leahy Program). These programs will continue
    well into this year, with a special emphasis on Muqor and Qades
    RHTQwsQfjQQQocuments to al-Hol, and we have advocated for
    them to be left alone pending another option like
    resettlement, Dubini explained.

    ¶6. (C) Vice Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad praised the
    closure of al-Tanf camp in a January 9 meeting with Staffdel
    Marcus (reftel), and told us he was supportive of efforts to
    resettle the Palestinian refugees to third countries.
    However, he said the SARG was wary of Iraqi Palestinian
    refugees who had blended into cities like Damascus. Miqdad
    related that the SARG must be careful not to appear too
    welcoming of the remaining Iraqi Palestinians in Syria for
    fear of attracting Palestinians still living in Baghdad.
    There are over 10,000 Palestinians still sitting in Baghdad,
    and they are watching to see what we do, he said. Having
    successfully closed al-Tanf, Miqdad added the SARG did not
    want to do anything that might attract additional Palestinian
    refugees.

    ¶7. (C) Miqdad stressed the SARG is not interested in another
    wave of Palestinian refugees from Iraq given the nearly
    500,000 Palestinian refugees already living in Syria. He
    added, however, that the SARG would not force them back and
    would seek a humanitarian solution. Miqdad harshly
    criticized the Iraqi government for not doing enough to
    assist Iraqi refugees, and stated the SARG is waiting for
    upcoming Iraqi parliamentary elections to send a big signal
    that change and reconciliation would come to Iraq, allowing

    KABUL 00000102 004.2 OF 004

    presence. The PRT's strategy for the medium-term focuses on the
    Moqur and Qades districts, bringing quick impact projects
    (particularly through the LGCD program) and identifying more
    long-term development opportunities. In addition, the PRT is
    working with the ANSF to reinforce security outposts in key sites,
    such as Langar in Qades district. Increased government services and
    better security in these ethnically-mixed districts can offer their
    Pashtun communities a viable alternative to the Taliban. A
    long-term objective is to pursue development and governance projects
    in Bala Murghab district as the security situation there stabilizes.
    However, presently there are insufficient security forces in the
    province to control this isolated valley. End Comment.

`