This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 005180 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA/FO, SA/A, S/CT, EUR/RPM 
NSC FOR AMEND AND HARRIMAN 
OSD FOR BREZINSKI 
REL NATO/AUST/NZ/ISAF 
CENTCOM FOR CG CFC-A, CG CJTF-76 
USAID FOR AID/ANE/ AID/DCHA/DG 
 
E.O. 12958:N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER KDEM PINR EAID SNAR AF
SUBJECT: PRT: BADGHIS:  AN ALMOST FORGOTTEN PROVINCE 
 
¶1.  Summary:  In one of the poorest countries in the 
world, Badghis is one of (out of 34) the poorest 
provinces in Afghanistan.  There is no paved road 
network, no electricity except for a few small 
generators, and no radio reception outside the capital 
of Qal I Now.  Apart from its presence in Qal I Now, 
the GOA has little reach in the province.  A newly 
installed Spanish Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) 
is helping to provide security and is building several 
major infrastructure projects.  USAID and several NGOs 
are also active.  There is little anti-government or 
terrorist activity, although armed criminal gangs are 
present in several districts.  Poppy cultivation is on 
the rise and Badghis is also a transit route for 
drugs.  End Summary. 
 
---------- 
Background 
---------- 
 
¶2.  Badghis (Persian for Land of Winds) is located 
in northwest Afghanistan and borders Turkmenistan in 
the North, Faryab and Ghor provinces to the East, and 
Herat province to the West and South.  The only 
significant road inside the province leads to Herat; 
it is sometimes closed during the winter because of 
snow.  The population of approximately 400,000 is 
predominantly Tajik.  The next largest ethnic group is 
Uzbek, and there are also Pashtun and Baluch groups, 
, 
particularly in the North of the province. 
 
¶3.  Like most rural areas of Afghanistan, there is no 
industry, and small amounts of trade.  The 
economy is based on agricultural cultivation and 
livestock.  Badghis is renowned for pistachios but, 
according to the provincial director of agriculture, 
almost half the forests have been destroyed in the 
last 20 years for firewood.  With an insignificant 
budget to protect the forests, depletion continues. 
 
¶4.  According to local officials, poppy cultivation is 
on the rise.  The agricultural director told PRT 
officer that opium poppys comparatively high price, combined 
with limited provincial law enforcement capacity, 
police corruption, and the isolated nature of much of 
the province, make it an attractive crop.  The 
provincial NSD opined to PRT officer that eradication 
is the only potential solution.  Because of its 
location between Turkmenistan and Herat, Badghis is 
also a transit venue for drugs. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
The Short Reach of the Central Government 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  There are no paved streets or roads in the 
province, and the actual dirt roads are in very poor 
condition. A forty-kilometer trip to the nearest 
district capital can take between two and three hours. 
Trips to outlying district capitals can take as long 
as ten hours.  Provincial officials therefore make few 
trips to the districts. 
 
¶6.  There is only one radio station in Badghis.  Based 
in Qal I Now, Radio Qal I Now was resurrected by the 
Spanish with used equipment (it transmitted with 
Russian equipment during the Soviet occupation and 
Taleban time).  Its range is about 20 kilometers, 
although due to hills and mountains its signal cannot 
always be received within this radius.  With this 
limited reception, most of the province cannot receive 
provincial, national, or world news.  (Note.  PRT 
officer discussed with the PRT director of the Spanish 
aid agency (Spanish Agency for International 
Cooperation or AECI) the possibility of enhanced 
equipment and repeaters to increase 
transmission of the station throughout the province. 
This could also go a long way to extending the authority and reach of 
and scattered generators, there is no electricity in Badghis. 
 
¶7.  Governor Enayatullah Enayat has been in his 
current position for about eight months.  His status 
as an outsider, originally from Faryab province, his 
failure to travel much around the province, and the 
fact he has been absent from Qal I Now for the eight 
months he has been in office, has detracted from his 
authority.  The provincial police chief is acting 
governor, but general lack of esteem for the police 
has prevented him from earning respect in this 
capacity. 
 
------------------------ 
Security - Relative Calm 
------------------------ 
 
¶8.  In June 2004, in a widely-publicized international 
incident, five staff members of the French NGO Doctors 
Without Borders (MSF) were ambushed and killed in 
Qadis district.  Citing concerns about security and 
the failure of the GOA to make arrests, MSF closed 
down its Afghanistan program.  A year later, the Qadis 
police chief whose family allegedly controlled opium 
trafficking in the district, as well as a Mullah with 
suspected Taleban ties, were arrested for the crime. 
 
¶9.  Since the MSF incident, the province has enjoyed 
relative calm.  According to the provincial National 
Security Directorate (NSD) director, there is 
virtually no Taleban activity in the province, 
although some remnants of the Taleban regime are 
believed to be living in Badghis.  Individual rocket 
attacks, one on the airport and one on Qal I Now, 
occurred in October and November; the perpetrators are 
unknown.  The main threat to security is caused by 
criminal gangs, particularly the Goliah, a Pashtun 
sub-tribe in Ghormach district on the Turkmenistan 
border, which has long been engaged in livestock 
rustling and common banditry. 
 
¶10.  An Afghan National Army (ANA) battalion was 
stationed in Qal I Now and occasionally traveled in 
the province, providing a GOA security presence.  It 
was withdrawn to Herat in November because of 
inadequate winter accommodation and inability to bring 
food supplies to Qal I Now.  ISAF and the PRT support 
its return to Badghis since, in its absence, the only 
provincial security force is the under-equipped and 
corrupt Afghan National Police (ANP).  The GOA has not 
yet indicated whether the ANA will return to Badghis. 
The provincial NSD director opposes the Anas return 
because almost all of its members come from other 
provinces, and in his opinion, the local population 
therefore opposes its presence. 
 
---------------------------- 
Spanish Focus on Development 
---------------------------- 
 
¶11.  The Spanish government established the PRT in 
May.  There are approximately 130 military and four 
civilians  an ambassador from the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs who serves as the civilian representative of 
the PRT and supervises development efforts, two 
o 
representatives of the AECI, and an engineer. 
 
¶12.  The Spanish military conducts daily patrols in 
Qal I Now and infrequently travels to the rest of the 
province in order to maintain peace and security. 
(Note.  PRT military officials explain that duties in 
Qal I Now, including providing force protection for 
its civilian development activities, and the poor 
provincial roads, make more frequent travel difficult. 
End Note.)  The military also provides force 
protection for travel to and at AECI projects.  A civilian- 
military (CIMIC) team prints a small number of 
newspapers in Dari providing news of the province and 
of PRT activities; provides small amounts of 
humanitarian assistance, such as blankets for winter 
and food; and does quick impact projects including 
mosque, orphanage, and soccer field refurbishments, 
and digging of wells.  Finally, it maintains relations 
with local officials. 
 
¶13.  A primary focus of the PRT is development.  AECI 
has provided a three-year EUR 10 million (USD 12 
million) budget.  Significant projects are: 
 
--Construction of a 55 kilometer road from Qal I Now 
to the border with Herat province.  (Note and Comment. 
Iran plans to construct a road of about 100 kilometers 
from Herat to Badghis.  Once both sections are 
finished, the current driving time, now as much as ten 
hours, will be reduced to about three hours.  This 
will significantly open up the province to trade and 
will facilitate the travel of the ANA from Herat to 
Badghis.  End Note and Comment.) 
 
--Construction of a potable water system for Qal I Now 
 
--Construction of a vehicle bridge across the river in 
Qal I Now that separates the town from the airstrip 
and the road to Herat 
 
--Construction of a provincial hospital 
 
--Construction of 17 pedestrian bridges across rivers 
in the province 
 
¶14.  In general, there is less foreign assistance in 
Badghis than in many other provinces.  USAID has been 
active since 2002 and has been principally focused on 
construction of schools.  World Vision, DACAAR 
(French) and Brac (Bangladeshi) also work in the 
province and have concentrated mostly on potable water 
and irrigation. 
 
¶15.  Comment.  Badghis remoteness, relative 
tranquility, and absence of significant Taleban 
activity have resulted in little attention from Kabul. 
The presence of the PRT in Qal I Now is helping to 
extend the reach of the central government, but most 
of the province remains forgotten.  End comment. 
 
NEUMANN