VZCZCXRO4571
OO RUEHDBU RUEHIK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBUL #5549/01 3250140
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 210140Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4180
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUFGFIN/HQ EUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 3274
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO PRIORITY 3340

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KABUL 005549 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/FO DAS GASTRIGHT, SCA/A 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG 
EUR FOR PRM SHEAY 
NSC FOR HARRIMAN 
OSD FOR KIMMETT 
CENTCOM FOR CFC-A, CG CJTF-76, POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PTER EAID NATO PREF MASS AF
SUBJECT: PROVINCIAL RECONSTRUCTION TEAMS MAKING A 
DIFFERENCE ON THE GROUND IN AFGHANISTAN 
 
REF: KABUL 5414 
 
¶1.  State Department officers and USAID representatives are 
working with military counterparts at Italian, Canadian, 
Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, New Zealand, Icelandic, German, 
British and Lithuanian as well as U.S.-led PRTs.  The 
difficult and often dangerous environment in which they work, 
coupled with the lack of governance experience on the part of 
the local counterparts, has made the work more challenging 
and the start-up less rapid than many anticipated.  The 
lead-up to discussions at the NATO Summit in Riga provides an 
opportunity to offer examples of how the military-civilian 
initiatives led by the Provincial Reconstruction Teams are 
making a difference.  The following reports, provided by U.S. 
Department of State and USAID officers working at the PRTs, 
reflect the breadth of the projects initiated across 
Afghanistan.  Expanded and deepened support for the PRTs' 
efforts and outreach will be a wise investment in 
Afghanistan's stable, secure, and democratic future. 
 
¶2.  In Panjshir Province, the PRT does its development work 
through various partnerships, the most important being with 
the Governor himself.  All agreed that roads were the most 
important infrastructure project, as they would connect the 
valley to the outside world.  The main valley road is an AID 
project.  But rather than spending the bulk of the 
development aid on side-valley road-building projects, the 
PRT put together a road-equipment package, including eight 
construction vehicles, as well as training and maintenance 
components.  The Governor now employs these vehicles on small 
road projects, extending his authority by both the 
construction projects and use of the roads.  Encouraged by 
the partnership, the Governor asked for the PRT's assistance 
in drafting his Provincial Development Plan.  A native 
Panjshiri working in the PRT was assigned to the task, and 
worked with the Governor to draft a five-year strategic plan. 
 The PRT makes every effort to team up with local contractors 
on all projects.  In some instances, the PRT simply 
facilitates local projects.  This includes a project in one 
remote village where the workers were building a high 
mountain pass literally with their hands.  The PRT provided 
picks, shovels, hammers, and wheelbarrows -- and the job was 
completed. 
 
¶3.  PRT Asadabad, in Kunar Province, reached out to help the 
newly-appointed governor establish credibility in the 
province by quickly identifying and funding projects which 
showed the population that he could deliver needed new 
infrastructure.  The projects included a community center, 
refurbishment of several mosques, and paving several roads 
around the provincial capital.  These initiatives help 
demonstrate that the government is prepared to listen and 
respond to the population's needs. 
 
¶4.  Khost Province, on the border between Afghanistan and 
Pakistan, currently has the highest rate of Improvised 
Explosive Devices (IEDs) of any province in Afghanistan.  The 
recent rapid growth of mobile phone usage in the province 
created an opportunity for introducing a novel tool in the 
war on terrorism there.  The establishment, in early 2005, of 
a 24-hour hot-line allows residents to report any suspicious 
devices they might find in their community.  Supported by the 
PRT, the Provincial Coordination Center facilitates a rapid, 
coordinated response from Afghan police and military, and 
Coalition Forces.  Provincial events and district-level 
meetings with elders and mullahs (held weekly in at least one 
district to promote dialogue) are used to explain and 
encourage use of the hotline.  The message at the meetings 
emphasizes that every citizen has both the ability and the 
responsibility to combat the terrorist threat in their 
community.  Call anonymity helps encourage participation. 
Since the hotline was initiated more IEDs have been reported 
before detonating than have detonated. 
 
 
KABUL 00005549  002 OF 004 
 
 
¶5. In Kandahar Province, work has already begun on the first 
leg of a USAID-funded road running to the east from Highway 
4, south of Kandahar Airfield to the Afghanistan District 
center over 90 miles away.  The road will cut vehicle travel 
time by more than a half, reducing isolation, improving 
security and communication, and creating market access for 
legitimate crops, including pomegranates, grown by local 
farmers.  Residents of villages along the road will be the 
early beneficiaries of the project, as they will provide 
input and labor for the project through four community 
development groups. 
 
¶6.  Laghman Province, in the Northeast, is isolated, 
underdeveloped, and suspicious of outsiders.  The opening of 
a new micro-hydroelectic plant capable of providing 
electricity to 300 homes in the area has given residents 
reason to see the international community, working through 
the Methar Lam PRT, as a partner.  The project, begun in 
mid-2005, faced security and political challenges, but 
cooperation between the PRT, local government officials, and 
residents made completion possible. 
 
¶7.  In Zabul Province, the PRT worked closely with the 
governor to facilitate negotiations between the Nasir and 
Shamulzai tribes over disputed land in the southern portion 
of the province.  The dispute had become violent, and the PRT 
accompanied the governor to the site for discussions.  This 
action helped the governor establish credibility as an agent 
for resolving disputes.  The same PRT houses a trade school 
offering basic courses in carpentry, welding, computers, rug 
weaving and nursing.  The school has graduated over 1100 
students since it began in November 2005. 
 
¶8.  The Italian-led PRT in Herat is a key donor for the 
reconstruction and rehabilitation of the major regional 
pediatric rehabilitation hospital in Herat that serves three 
western provinces.  Between the U.S. and Italy, approximately 
three hundred projects, including wells and health centers, 
have been established in Herat Province. 
 
 
¶9.  PRT Farah has used U.S. military CERP funds to support 
projects including construction of an orphanage, bridge 
repair, and providing motorcycles, bicycles and looms to 
encourage small enterprise.  USAID money has been invested in 
the Ring Road as well in a new courthouse and women's center. 
 The State Department officer works with the Governor, 
provincial council, and the Provincial Development Council in 
capacity-building efforts designed to allow local officials 
to take on the responsibility of self-governance.  This 
effort is meant to create an increased sense self of 
self-sufficiency and responsibility on the part of provincial 
and local officials. 
 
¶10.  In Nangarhar Province, a group of some 400 families 
originally from Kunar Province returned to Afghanistan from 
Pakistan in 2005 and settled in a valley a few kilometers 
from Jalalabad, on barren and unused government land.  The 
property was not sanctioned as returnee land, but the 
returnees built a community, including residential compounds. 
 Using money they had saved in Pakistan and with some help 
from UNICEF and UNHCR, they built wells and became 
established.  A school and clinic were built and operated 
using skills from within the group.  When efforts by the 
community to gain official status and rights to the land 
stalled, the PRT officers took the Governor, Deputy Governor, 
and Mayor of Jalalabad to the settlement.  Impressed by what 
they saw, the officials agreed to issue a letter of intent to 
sanction the property as returnee land.  The PRT also hosted 
an intellectual shura in October, inviting writers, 
reporters, and professors to discuss the problem of 
corruption and the need for more qualified government 
officials.  In this border province, participants cited these 
problems as more important than the insurgency.  The PRT 
 
KABUL 00005549  003 OF 004 
 
 
representatives emphasized the importance of citizens 
addressing their own problems rather than waiting for others 
to do it for them. 
 
¶11.  The New Zealand-led PRT in Bamyan regularly engages the 
local population with its work with a particular orphanage in 
nearby Mullah Gullam providing one example.  The PRT has 
built a well there and makes regular visits, bringing 
humanitarian assistance including beds constructed by the New 
Zealand military personnel and clothing for the children. 
These low-key efforts have been praised by the Governor and 
helped establish a working relationship with the community. 
 
¶12.  Following threats to members of the Provincial Ministry 
of Women's Affairs, the UK-led PRT in Helmand Province 
responded with measures to increase security for the 
ministry's Lashkar Gah office.  This initiative, meant to 
signal the importance of women's rights, involved encouraging 
the Afghan National Army to post a guard at the office and 
patrol the nearby streets.  The PRT has also provided 
security training as well as paying for wall in front of the 
ministry's office. 
 
¶13.  Tarin Kowt PRT, led by the Dutch, recently initiated a 
number of projects designed to produce significant and 
visible benefits for the residents of Uruzgan Province, 
nestled just north of Helmand, Kandahar, and Zabul Provinces. 
 The projects include refurbishment of the primary school in 
Chora, the second largest population center in the province, 
and bridge repair work near the town.  Other projects include 
the repair of the USAID-funded district building which had 
been damaged by insurgents in May.  In Tarin Kowt itself, the 
Dutch provided paint for shop owners to paint their 
establishments and funded the hiring of 60 people for a 
two-month Cash-for-Work project to clean the town's streets. 
Ten additional phases are planned in this "Clean-Up Tarin 
Kowt" project which reinforces the self-help values that can 
be translated into the governance process. 
 
¶14.  These specific examples are complemented by national 
programs that benefit all the provinces.  Since 2004, USAID 
programs have funded the construction of over 100 government 
buildings, spread across the provinces.  The construction 
projects provide employment, and the buildings, including 
courthouses, ministry buildings, and provincial and district 
offices, enabling the government to establish a presence in 
the communities.  This effort has been reinforced by over 30 
separate training or capacity-building programs for 
provincial-level officials.  CERP-funded projects in the 
twelve U.S.-led PRTs have complemented these efforts by 
addressing the most pressing needs of provincial and local 
leaders, particularly in the area of rebuilding infrastucture 
and capacity in the regions. 
 
------- 
Comment 
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¶15.  The examples are as varied as the PRTs and the provinces 
in which they are located.  Local factors dictate that some 
PRTs are still building bridges to the communities and local 
governance structures.  Others are using leverage already 
established to build partnerships to combat terrorism while 
encouraging development and institution-building.  While not 
the subject of this cable, PRTs have coordinated with 
maneuver unit commanders.  During offensives in the South and 
East, project work and support for governance have been parts 
of an integrated strategy. 
 
¶16.  Regardless of the province, the work is difficult, 
isolated, and often dangerous.  Security restrictions make it 
challenging (and expensive) in many cases to identify and 
carry out projects, and the lack of local governance 
experience means that progress is often slow.  Conversations 
 
KABUL 00005549  004 OF 004 
 
 
with provincial and local officials in Kabul and during 
visits to the provinces confirm the efforts are making a 
difference.  Governors in provinces without a PRT campaign 
endlessly to have PRT established.  Wardak, Panjshir and 
Nuristan are only the most recent cases of governors 
successfully seeking PRT establishment in their provinces.  A 
deepening and expansion of the human and financial support 
for these efforts, using military and civilian assets as 
complements, will be a wise investment in Afghanistan's 
stable, secure, and democratic future. 
NEUMANN