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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 000024 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR SA/FO AMBASSADOR QUINN, S/CT, SA/A 
NSC FOR AHARRIMAN, KAMEND 
CENTCOM FOR POLAD, CG CFA-A, CG CJTF-76 
USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINR KDEM AF
SUBJECT: MP BIO: ALEMI BALKHI 
 
¶1. (U) This is the first in a series of biographic reporting 
cables on Afghanistan's newly elected Parliamentarians. 
Additional reports will be sent as PolOffs continue to meet 
personally with new MPs during the coming weeks. 
 
¶2. (U) SUMMARY: The striking feature of PolOff's December 31 
meeting with MP Alemi Balkhi was its uncharacteristic 
efficiency.  Despite his traditional appearance, Balkhi 
presented himself as a modern intellectual with progressive 
proposals for organizing Parliament, balancing the Parliament 
and the Karzai government, and reminding MPs of their 
responsibilities to constituents back home.  The fact that he 
explained his proposals in less than 45 minutes before 
sending his guests home must be seen as a testament to 
Balkhi's clarity of thought, especially in this atmosphere of 
lengthy political rhetoric.  The owner and publisher of a 
newspaper in Kabul, Balkhi made a political name for himself 
as Qanooni's running mate in the 2004 Presidential election. 
It will be interesting to see how his mullah-cum-intellectual 
ideology plays out in Parliament.  END SUMMARY. 
 
ATMOSPHERICS 
------------ 
 
¶3. (U) MP Alemi Balkhi requested an introductory meeting with 
PolOffs on December 31 to share his thoughts on the progress 
of the new Parliament and to welcome USG officials in his 
cold but bustling office just down the street from the 
National Assembly building.  Appearing in his small reception 
room in a black turban, tan cape, and tinted glasses, 
together with his salt-and-pepper beard and impressive rings 
on both hands, Balkhi initially gave the impression of being 
a traditional Shi'a mullah with expensive tastes.  As his 
initial nervousness melted into quiet conversation, however, 
it quickly became clear that Balkhi had clear ideas about the 
modernization and strengthening of the Afghan government, 
regardless of religious affiliation. 
 
STRENGTH THROUGH RELATIONSHIPS 
------------------------------ 
 
¶4. (U) Like many politicians in Kabul, Balkhi believes that 
Afghanistan needs continued USG support in order to hold back 
its foreign enemies.  In the meantime, he hopes that 
developing strong relationships between the various parts of 
the GOA is the key to future Afghan independence from the US. 
 Over the course of the meeting, Balkhi described three 
separate bilateral relationships as being crucial to the 
future development of the country: (1) the relationship 
between the Wolesi and Meshrano Jirgas in Parliament, (2) the 
relationship between Parliament and Karzai's government, and 
(3) individual MPs' relationships with their constituents, 
which he believes can help build grassroots trust in the 
central government.  On this last point, Balkhi explained 
that USG-sponsored trainers should emphasize to future 
classes of MPs that they have a responsibility to the people 
who elected them, and that the Afghan people should be 
satisfied if their elected MPs observe and balance the 
government's actions. 
 
PARLIAMENT - COMMITTEES ARE KEY, BUT STILL TOO EARLY FOR 
POLITICS 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶5. (U) When asked about the current state of early 
Parliamentary development, Balkhi explained that it is still 
too early to talk about forming political groups based on any 
sort of common ideology.  Committees, however, can still be 
formed based on members' diverse professional experiences 
even as some members choose to remain politically neutral. 
Balkhi also pointed out that many people will confuse the 
role of committees and ministries because they do not 
understand the difference between recommending bodies 
(committees) and implementing bodies (ministries).  This was 
another point that he felt USG-sponsored trainers should 
incorporate into further training sessions. 
¶6. (U) Also on the subject of training, Balkhi believes that 
USG-funded trainers should have directed their orientation 
programming at separate groups of MPs, divided according to 
prior levels of government experience and by education level. 
 Classes on the basic structure and function of government, 
for example, were more necessary for MPs with little or no 
government experience, while long time national leaders like 
Rabbani or Mojaddedi hardly needed basic lessons.  At one 
point, Balkhi criticized the fact that too many orientation 
trainers had been brought in from "third world countries" 
rather than developed democracies, although he later 
complemented the USG for incorporating Palestinian trainers. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) In this first meeting with USG PolOffs, Balkhi 
refrained from talking too much about himself, although some 
of his professional history is known.  As a newspaper 
publisher and owner in Kabul, Balkhi made a name for himself 
politically when he was selected by Qanooni to act as his 
running mate in the 2004 Presidential election.  He seemed 
comfortable in expensive but traditional clothes, speaks 
Iranian Farsi, and loosened up considerably when conversation 
turned from social niceties to actual political business. 
Whether he leans toward the intellectual technocrats on 
future Parliamentary debates or towards his Shi'a mullah 
colleagues remains to be seen, but he is certainly a deep 
thinker who will make a good addition to the Wolesi Jirga. 
END COMMENT. 
 
NEUMANN