VZCZCXRO8588
OO RUEHDBU RUEHIK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBUL #3761/01 2351204
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 231204Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2068
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC
RHMCSUU/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/JICCENT MACDILL AFB FL
RHMFIUU/COMSOCCENT MACDILL AFB FL
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2767
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 2915
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 6245
RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA 1594

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 003761 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/FO (DAS GASTRIGHT), SCA/A, S/CRS, 
SCA/PAB, S/CT, EUR/RPM 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG 
NSC FOR AHARRIMAN 
OSD FOR BREZINSKI 
CENTCOM FOR CG CFC-A, CG CJTF-76, POLAD 
REL NATO/AU/NZ/ISAF 
 
E.O. 12958 N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER AF
SUBJECT: TRIBAL AFFAIRS MINISTRY STILL MATTERS TO 
SOME 
 
REF: (A) KABUL 966 (B) 05 KABUL 5066 
 
KABUL 00003761  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
1.(SBU) SUMMARY: Minister of Tribal Affairs 
Mohammad Kareem Brahawi told POLCouns Simmons in an 
August 12 meeting that tribal issues and tribal 
identification still matter to a number of Afghans. 
He also supported the importance of his Ministry in 
modern Afghanistan in communicating with tribal 
leaders in the provinces and passing their messages 
to Kabul, as well as supporting those leaders with 
lodging when in Kabul.  As always, Brahawi spoke 
about the need for tribal militias in supplying 
security, with the self-serving goal of putting said 
militias under his Ministrys authority, but 
acknowledged his ministry had no resources to 
support initiatives.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.(U) Minister of Tribal Affairs Mohammad Kareem 
Brahawi discussed the history and importance of his 
Ministry with POLCouns Simmons in an August 12 
meeting.  Brahawi said his Ministry played a key 
role in solving tribal problems and maintaining safe 
borders throughout Afghan history.  In the past the 
Ministry supported tribal militias in key border 
regions.  Today, the Ministry supports the meetings 
of tribal jirgas (councils) in the provinces 
s 
(including funding for hotel and guesthouse stays) 
where local representatives pass all key info from 
these meetings to the Ministry in Kabul, and runs 
guest houses in Kabul for tribal leaders coming to 
petition the government to address grievances real 
or perceived. 
 
3.(U) The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MTA) has 
1,178 staff members, of which 484 staff provincial 
offices and 694 work at Kabul headquarters.  The two 
Deputy Ministers hold Finance and Administration and 
Tribal Affairs portfolios respectively.  A new 
officer to handle Kuchi affairs has also been 
located in his ministry. 
 
4.(U) Brahawi argued that tribes still matter in 
todays Afghanistan, though they are changing.  In 
the past, people maintained connections with their 
tribes and families throughout the communist, civil 
war and Taliban eras.  Today, he placed the main 
value of tribes in solving local disputes.  He 
explained that tribal leaders and shuras (courts) 
are often quicker with resolving cases than the 
he 
official court system, and Afghan traditional 
society is more accepting of those decisions. 
Brahawi noted that most Afghans still choose the 
traditional shura to court trials.  He estimated 
that at least 80% of Afghans still consider their 
tribe important. 
 
5.(SBU) The Minister spoke about the importance of 
tribal militias in providing security, and mentioned 
that his Ministry would like to obtain 
responsibility for these forces once again.  He 
supported this desire by noting that tribal councils 
are meeting with greater frequency in areas where 
the security situation remains difficult along the 
borders with Pakistan.  He said that the councils 
are asking the government (his Ministry) for funds 
 
KABUL 00003761  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
to establish these forces.  Brahawi said the 
councils are actively trying to assist the coalition 
by keeping information flowing and suggesting 
solutions to the problems  tribal militias.  He 
seemed disgruntled that when talk of hiring locals 
for security reasons is thrown about, it is usually 
y 
the Ministry of Interior and not the MTA that is 
mentioned. 
 
6.(SBU) Comment: Meetings with the Ministry of 
Tribal Affairs are always as interesting as they are 
predictable.  Minister Brahawi argued that tribes 
and his Ministry are still important in Afghanistan, 
and just as in the previous two meetings (reftels), 
he spoke nostalgically about the days when the 
Ministry administered tribal militias.  It is clear 
that he wants this responsibility back, but whether 
because the militias would actually be useful as he 
says, or whether it would simply provide him more 
resources is hard to say.  The Embassy usually finds 
that other ministries involved in security or 
information gathering are more useful for 
understanding what is going on in Afghanistan than 
this one, though the local offices that meet with 
tribal councils could prove a good resource for 
State officers in PRTs. 
 
NEUMANN