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

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 005194 
 
SIPDIS 
 
INL/FO, SA FOR AMBASSADOR QUINN, NSC AHARRIMAN, KAMEND 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/18/2015 
TAGS: KRIM SNAR AF
SUBJECT: MOI MINISTER DAOUD PROMISES SWIFT ACTION ON CN 
 
Classified By: ADCM ASIMMONS FOR REASONS 1.4 B AND C 
 
 ¶1. Summary: (U) Ambassador Neumann met with General Daoud 
Daoud, Afghan Deputy Minister of Interior for Counter 
Narcotics (CN), on December 17. The Ambassador used this 
first meeting as an opportunity to congratulate Daoud on the 
progress his Ministry has made on CN issues and encouraged 
him to continue developing his CN programs. The Ambassador 
said that the Government of Afghanistan (GOA) must take quick 
and decisive action against corrupt officials and police and 
it must arrest, charge and incarcerate drug traffickers. 
Neumann said if the GOA tackles these issues it will show the 
international community that it is serious and committed to 
CN. Daoud said that he plans to arrest 20-25 allegedly 
corrupt government officials and 75 drug traffickers. 
Minister Daoud advocated for the increased involvement of 
municipal and provincial leadership in the development of 
Alternative Livelihoods (AL) programs. The Ambassador 
suggested that the MOI develop a pilot program for roll-out 
in all seven PEP provinces to see if such a program is 
workable. Minister Daoud said while he believes the GOA is 
making progress on CN, he knows efforts to counter 
cultivation, stop opium production and combat corruption need 
to be intensified in the coming year. End Summary. 
 
MOI-sponsored Governors' Conference on PEP 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (U) Ambassador Neumann met with General Daoud Daoud, 
Afghan Deputy Minister of Interior for Counter Narcotics 
(CN), on December 17 and used this first meeting as an 
opportunity to congratulate Daoud on the progress his 
Ministry has made on CN issues and encouraged him to continue 
his efforts in this regard. Daoud told the Ambassador about 
the positive effects of recent trips made by Counter 
Narcotics Task Force Director Doug Wankel to the major opium 
producing provinces and also spoke about his meetings with 
the Provincial Governors. Daoud said it is important that the 
governors realize that they are on the hook to develop plans 
to reduce poppy cultivation in their provinces. This message 
was reiterated at MOI-sponsored Governors' Conference on 
Eradication held in Kabul December 14-18 which brought 
together the governors and principal community leaders from 
the seven major poppy producing provinces. Using the 
conference as a means to drum up support for governor-led 
eradication, Daoud drove home the message that much has to be 
done to significantly reduce poppy cultivation in 2006. 
 
Corruption and CN Investigations 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) Ambassador Neumann talked with Minister Daoud about 
corruption, especially relating to officials who facilitate 
drug trafficking. The Ambassador told Daoud that it is 
imperative that the GOA take quick and decisive actions to 
arrest and incarcerate drug traffickers, corrupt officials 
involved in the narcotics trade. Neumann said,  the 
corruptive inherent influence of drug money affects the 
ability of government to function as it should and that the 
criticism from the international community is that the GOA 
has ben slow to act against corrupt officials. He emphasized 
that combating corruption is important not just because "it 
needs to be done," but pointed out that significant actions 
against corruption would send a positive sign to the 
international community that the GOA is serious about 
resolving this issue. Daoud agreed and said that corruption 
and how to combat it was a key theme of the Governors' 
Conference. 
 
¶4. (U) Minister Daoud informed the Ambassador that he intends 
to arrest 20-25 government officials (including 13 District 
Managers) on corruption charges and 75 opium and/or heroin 
traffickers for which he has evidence against and witnesses 
in some cases. Daoud plans to brief President Karzai on the 
intended arrests in the coming days. 
 
¶5. (U) Daoud discussed the case involving the recent 
appellate court decision to reduce the sentencing of a major 
drug trafficker. Reportedly the same judge also reversed the 
conviction and ordered the trafficker's release. Daoud said 
that he will ask President Karzai to authorize the removal of 
this judge and will arrest him on corruption charges. Upon 
the judge's removal from the appellate court, the lower 
court's decision will be reinstated. Daoud said he believes 
that this needs to be done in order to send a message to the 
judiciary, et al that the MOI will aggressively pursue 
corruption. 
 
Mixed Messages; Alternative Livelihoods 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) Minister Daoud expressed concerns to the Ambassador 
about the recent activities of the Senlis Council. He said 
that its campaign to "legalize" poppy and opium production in 
Afghanistan is troublesome. Daoud said that talk of 
legalization sends conflicting and confusing signals to 
farmers. Daoud told the Ambassador that he is consulting with 
 his government on how to get Senlis to cease these 
activities. 
 
¶7. (C) Speaking about future planning for alternative 
livelihoods (AL) programs, Minister Daoud said that he would 
like the AL implementers to work with the provincial 
leadership to develop projects, rather than work solely with 
authorities in Kabul. Ambassador Neumann said that he agreed 
that the provincial leadership should take a more active role 
in developing AL programs, but questioned whether the 
Provincial Council is a fully adequate body. The Ambassador 
said that in some provinces, the Provincial Councils may not 
represent the interests of all parts of the province and the 
potential for disparity and inequities exists regarding the 
allocation of resources. The Ambassador recommended that the 
Provincial Councils and local leadership become more involved 
in recommending projects and forwarding their suggestions to 
the leadership in Kabul. 
 
¶8. (U) Ambassador Neumann asked whether it makes sense to 
launch pilot AL projects using this more inclusive approach 
(as outlined in para 7) in several provinces rather than 
launch a program, of this nature, country-wide. CNTF Director 
Wankel suggested that a pilot program be conducted in the 
seven PEP provinces, six of which have ongoing AL programs 
and could call upon the expertise of the AL personnel working 
in these areas. The Ambassador asked CNTF Director Wankel to 
raise this issue at the next CN Strategy Meeting and said 
once a plan was ready, it should be presented to Karzai for 
discussion with his Cabinet and the donor community. Note: 
USAID AL programs are working very closely with provincial 
governments on project design and implementation. Provincial 
governments as well as district shuras were closely involved 
with "cash for work" site selections in the East and Southern 
regions. USAID will continue to work with its implementing 
partners to increase local and provincial involvement in 
their comprehensive development programs. End Note. 
 
¶9. (U) Minister Daoud ended the meeting by thanking the 
Ambassador for his support and said that while he believes 
the GOA is making progress on the CN front, he knows that 
this year's results will have to be significantly improved. 
 
 
 
 
 
NEUMANN