VZCZCXRO9570
PP RUEHDBU RUEHPW RUEHSL
DE RUEHBUL #3409/01 2990428
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 260428Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2447
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 003409 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SRAP HOLBROOKE, SCA/FO, SCA/A 
STATE PASS USAID FOR ASIA/SCAA 
UFOR-A FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/22/2019 
TAGS: KBIO PGOV PREL AF
SUBJECT: NURISTAN,S GOVERNOR JAMALUDDIN: PORTRAIT OF AN 
ELITIST 
 
REF: KABUL 3396 
 
Classified By: Deputy IPA Coordinator Hoyt B. Yee, Reasons 1.4 (b) and 
(d) 
 
¶1. (C/NF)  SUMMARY: Habitually attired in blindingly white 
baggy trousers and tunic, Governor Jamaluddin Badr is the 
very picture of the present Afghan bourgeoisie: proud of his 
conservative religious credentials, fascinated with modern 
luxuries, and focused on narrow concerns.  His weaknesses as 
Nuristan,s governor overshadow his strengths, and his flaws 
mean he is a frustrating and limited partner 
for us.  Jamaluddin is indifferent to popular concerns and 
unable or unwilling to confront the recent increase in 
insurgent activity.  He is, however, educated, articulate, 
and free of the taint of warlord politics.  The son of a 
traditional leader (malik), he knows Nuristan,s intricate 
web of tribal relationships and has the respect of religious 
leaders.  If, as promised, Jamaluddin soon shifts 
more of his work time out of the isolation of the capital 
Parun to Nurgram district center, his proximity to the PRT 
will better position us to make use of his talents.  And even 
if the 2009 presidential election results in a shuffle of 
governors, we know of no alternative contenders for this 
difficult post (reftel).  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (C/NF)  Jamaluddin is not yet 35 years old.  By this 
accident of age he lacks the customary symbol of legitimacy 
for an Afghan leader: he is not a mujahid, and he never 
fought the Soviets.  Instead, like many younger middle-class 
Afghans, he was educated in exile in Pakistan, at the 
Jam-i-Asadya religious school.  Some Nuristanis say 
Jamaluddin earned his scholarship to university in Saudi 
Arabia through cooperation with ISI, Pakistan,s intelligence 
service.  In any case, Jamaluddin is a Salafi, part of a 
movement within Sunni Islam that seeks to purge presumed 
corrupting cultural influences supposed to have 
accumulated in the faith after the death of the Prophet 
Mohammed.  Jamaluddin strongly supports sharia law.  At 
times, the governor seems to regard the Salafi purifying 
mandate as an alternative source of political legitimacy. 
 
¶3. (C/NF) Neither Jamaluddin,s faith nor his public 
responsibilities interfere with his liking for luxury, 
however he might obtain it.  German journalists recently 
caught the governor lounging in a foyer snacking on grapes 
while local leaders met inside to work on election security. 
The governor is fond of fancy trucks and full 
air-conditioning, and complains when his work in this 
desperately poor province deprives him of these conveniences. 
 Local contractors tell us the governor authorizes his 
political allies to collect "commissions" of three to five 
percent from internationally-funded development projects. 
Still, many acknowledge Jamaluddin is less corrupt than 
former governor Tamim Nuristani, who 
stole government and aid monies allocated to the province. 
 
¶4. (C/NF) Nuristan faces fresh insurgent incursions and a 
longstanding development deficit, but Jamaluddin appears to 
give priority to provincial political alliances and 
rivalries.  Taliban forces, for example, succeeded this year 
(unlike last year) in driving into the district center of 
Nuristan,s Barg-e-Metal district, which borders on Pakistan. 
(Afghan and Coalition forces have since regained the town.) 
Barg-e-Metal district governor Ishmael, an old classmate and 
present crony of Jamaluddin, 
fled to Kabul two days before the Taliban attack - because, 
the governor,s critics say, Ishmael had sold for his own 
profit the government weapons allocated for self-defense. 
The same sources say Jamaluddin paid 12,000 USD bail to free 
Ishmael when the central government placed him in detention 
after his arrival in Kabul. 
 
¶5. (C/NF) The governor,s parochial political jockeying 
sometimes spills over into other kinds of violence.  As 
reported septel, Jamaluddin almost certainly fomented an 
August 14 demonstration at election headquarters in Parun 
that resulted in two deaths.  The Provincial Electoral 
Officer says Jamaluddin was frustrated that he was unable to 
dictate his choices for poll workers, likely a bid to 
inflate the vote for incumbent President Karzai.  His 
family,s longstanding support for the Kushtozi tribe against 
the Kam tribe leaves him unable to affect the fighting in 
Kamdesh district.  Meanwhile, the governor,s rivals - mostly 
allies of former governor Tamim now disaffected with their 
exclusion from 
political spoils  - are rumored to have distributed weapons 
 
KABUL 00003409  002 OF 002 
 
 
in volatile Wama district, to paint Jamaluddin as weak. 
 
¶6. (C/NF) Both born into the local elite and educated to 
disdain the ordinary faith of rural Afghans, Jamaluddin 
particularly dislikes the inherently democratizing effect of 
international development projects.  In discussing the 
governor, Nuristanis who work in development almost always 
mention their conviction that Jamaluddin worked to expel the 
British NGO Afghan Aid from Barg-e-Metal in 2000. 
Members of the political movement Ummat-e-Muslima, to which 
Jamlauddin belongs, destroyed Afghan Aid,s offices and 
attacked demonstration farms seen as a corrupting Western 
influence.  When working with the PRT and USAID, the governor 
appears focused on opportunities for his benefit, comfort, 
and prestige as much as, or more than, on the needs and 
concerns of his communities. He also dislikes the 
responsibility of saying no - a skill we are working now to 
add to his repertoire. 
 
¶7. (C/NF) Comment: Given the difficulty the Independent 
Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) had in finding a 
college-educated Nuristani to nominate as governor, 
Jamaluddin appears to stand a reasonable chance of remaining 
in place in any second Karzai administration.  For this 
reason, the PRT is redoubling its ongoing efforts to bring 
Jamaluddin around to more constructive behavior. End Comment. 
 
EIKENBERRY