VZCZCXRO5830
OO RUEHDBU
DE RUEHBUL #4599/01 2740418
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 010418Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3027
INFO RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHMFISS/JICCENT MACDILL AFB FL
RHMFISS/COMSOCCENT MACDILL AFB FL
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3023
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 3158
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 6484
RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA 1833

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 004599 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/FO DAS GASTRIGHT, SCA/A, S/CRS, S/CT, EUR/RPM 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG 
NSC FOR AHARRIMAN 
OSD FOR BREZINSKI 
CENTCOM FOR CFC-A, CG CJTF-76, POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/29/2016 
TAGS: SNAR PTER PGOV ASEC AF
SUBJECT: PAYING THE AUXILIARY POLICE 
 
REF: KABUL 4388 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires a.i. Richard Norland, for reasons 1.4 
b, d. 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  Embassy is urging LOTFA donors, 
particularly those engaged in security operations in 
the south, to facilitate and provide additional 
funding for auxiliary police under command and 
control of the Ministry of Interior, in order to 
quickly establish a security presence in fragile 
areas of the south.  We do not expect to request 
any additional US funding from Washington in order 
to support this program.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (C)  German Ambassador for Police Affairs Helmut 
Frick called a meeting of Law and Order Trust Fund 
Afghanistan (LOTFA) donors on September 28 to 
discuss the following issues:  1) could LOTFA funds 
be used to pay salaries of auxiliary police; 2) what 
amount of money would be needed; and 3) how to 
resolve the issue of governors, operational funds 
that are now being used to pay for militias. 
Attendees included Charge and A/PolMilCouns, CSTC-A 
Commander MG Durbin and Deputy Commander BG O,Brien, 
UNDP, EU, UK, Canadian, Dutch, and Japanese 
representatives. 
 
¶3.  (C) It was quickly agreed that since the 
auxiliary police under the new Terms of Reference as 
approved by President Karzai are recruited by and in 
the regular chain of command of the Ministry of 
Interior, and differ from regular police only in 
that they are contracted for one year (vice three 
for the regular police) and receive training in 
stages, they are indeed police and eligible to be 
paid by LOTFA. 
 
¶4. (C) MG Durbin said that the maximum cost for 
auxiliary police (AXP) in this solar year (Mar 21- 
Mar 20) was USD 6 million.  That would be if 11,000 
AXP (the number requested by the GOA) were 
immediately recruited and fielded to 124 districts 
in 14 provinces.  In practice, the cost will be 
substantially lower since recruitment is proceeding 
first in Zabol and then will move to other key 
provinces such as Ghazni and Kandahar.  It is 
therefore highly unlikely that the 11,000 figure 
will be reached by March 2007. 
 
¶5. (C) Vladimir Krivenkov, Project Manager for 
LOTFA, briefed that the fund is approximately USD 18 
million in arrears for this solar year.  That number 
may drop further as audit teams count the actual 
number of policemen in the provinces (probably 
substantially less than the 65,000 that MOI bills 
LOTFA for every month).  The Dutch and Canadian 
representatives indicated that their countries are 
considering making substantial new contributions to 
LOTFA. 
 
Support for Operations in the South 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶6. (C) Charge made a strong case that, in order to 
follow up Operation Medusa with necessary security 
(reftel), nations with troops in the southern 
provinces where the auxiliary police concept will be 
implemented, i.e. the British, Canadians, and Dutch, 
should step up with additional donations to cover 
 
KABUL 00004599  002 OF 002 
 
 
the LOTFA deficit so that the police can be fully 
funded.  While there is no mechanism to earmark 
funds for auxiliary police, it is to be hoped that 
the deficit will be covered for this solar year. 
(Note:  BG O,Brien explained that the amount of 
money needed for LOTFA next year will probably be 
significantly higher than this year,s USD 120 
million, due in part to the full implementation of 
the auxiliary police program, i.e. a USD 11 million 
additional requirement, and other factors.) 
 
Governors, Operational Funds 
---------------------------- 
 
¶7. (C) The group also discussed the governor,s 
operational funds that are now being used to pay for 
militias/arbakei.  Krivenkov explained that this 
fund was the result of a Presidential directive 
several years ago, originally intended for security 
but now treated as a discretionary fund that the 
governors receive from MOI in the amount of USD 
100,000 to 200,000 per month.  He added that the 
central fund is close to depletion for this solar 
year, having spent all but USD 2 million of the 
total amount available.  It was agreed that the 
international community would not try to have the 
fund revoked, but that it would request the PAG, in 
a Presidential meeting, to direct that in places 
where the auxiliary police had been formed the 
governors could not use their operational fund to 
play for additional militias.  (Note: There was also 
discussion of the role of the governor in the police 
command and control structure; MG Durbin explained 
that ambiguous language in the Police Law is being 
clarified by the MOI and Attorney General,s office 
so that the governors understand that they have a 
consultative rather than command role.  He said MOI 
Deputy Minister Khalid briefed the governors in the 
southern provinces on this during a long meeting on 
auxiliary police in Kandahar on Sept 27 (septel). 
End note.) 
 
¶8. (C)  The final decision regarding release of 
LOTFA funds to pay for the auxiliary police must be 
taken by the LOTFA Steering Committee soon, in order 
for the first batch of policemen in Zabol to be paid 
on Oct 21.  It was therefore agreed that an 
extraordinary session of the Steering Committee 
should be called within the next two weeks. 
NORLAND