VZCZCXRO8975
RR RUEHLN RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHDBU #2191 3411245
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 071245Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9203
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 1895
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 1933
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1924
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 0715

UNCLAS DUSHANBE 002191 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR SCA/CEN AND INL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL SNAR PGOV PINR TI AF
SUBJECT: NOVEMBER 06 TAJIK BORDER WRAP-UP 
 
REF: DUSHANBE 2153, DUSHANBE 2109, DUSHANBE 1945 
 
¶1.  (U)  This cable summarizes Post's border security, 
counterterrorism and counternarcotics activities for November 
¶2006. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Border Guard Training Center Visit: EmbOffs visited 
Dushanbe's Leninsky Training Center, where the Russian military 
trains the Tajik Border Guards.  Decorated with propaganda 
pictures and monuments commemorating Soviet World War II battle 
victories, the Russian-run training facility for Tajik troops 
has some modern conveniences, but the training program relies on 
Soviet educational methods to teach under-educated Border Guards 
the basics.  This Soviet-style facility provides acceptable 
living conditions with working heat and electricity, but the 
fact that new recruits fire only nine shots over a 40-day 
training period suggests a weak curriculum, larger funding 
shortages and an alarming lack of preparedness for actual combat 
(Dushanbe 2153). 
 
¶3.  (SBU) BIWG: EmbOffs attended a November 22 Border 
International Working Group (BIWG) meeting, a monthly forum of 
donors and implementers to discuss border-related issues.  At 
this meeting, International Law Enforcement and Narcotics (INL) 
announced that an INL-funded Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) 
mobile training team would visit Tajikistan to conduct 
counternarcotics training as part of a NATO-Russia Council 
Project December 4-14.  Neither Russia nor European NATO 
partners planned to provide any trainers.  Post requested that 
both sides reconsider these decisions, and Russia and Greece 
subsequently agreed to provide one trainer each. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Drug Detecting Dogs: In late 2005, INL funded a 
program to provide the Tajik Border Guards with drug-detecting 
dogs.  The Border Guards cannot account for all the dogs 
provided, and post has previously suspected that local Border 
guards sold the pups of these dogs for personal profit.  During 
October and November visits to the Bog and Bakhorat border 
posts, EmbOffs observed other INL-donated dogs posted outside in 
sub-zero temperatures to serve as watchdogs, which adversely 
affects their intended purpose of detecting narcotics.  COMMENT: 
Post is deeply disturbed by the misuse of INL-provided dogs. 
While this project is designed to help fortify the border from 
the illicit narcotics transit, the Border Guards have made no 
sincere effort to integrate the dogs into their work program. 
Post's Senior Law Enforcement Advisor attended an unproductive 
National Canine Strategy Interministerial Subcommittee meeting. 
The Interministerial group has failed to come up with government 
resources to maintain the dogs.  As a result, Post has decided 
that until the National Canine Strategy is finalized with clear 
delineation of responsibilities among the Tajik law enforcement 
agencies, we will not conduct any dog-related program.  Nor will 
we agree to provide additional dogs, unless they are first 
neutered and spayed to preclude breeding for sale.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶5.  (U) Uniforms: In November, INL awarded a contract to a local 
company to provide 10,000 winter uniforms to the Border Guards. 
This is the first time that Post has awarded a contract to a 
local company.  While there were initial issues with the fabric 
quality the contractor used, the situation is resolved for the 
time being.  At first, the fabrics were mis-matched and of 
extremely cheap quality.  The women making the uniforms had also 
not been paid for their work.  INL has worked to correct these 
problems with the contractor and the work has improved. 
 
¶6.  (U) Vehicles: INL is providing five KAMAZ and five UAZ 
vehicles to the Shurabod and Muskovski border posts. 
 
¶7.  (U)  Japan:  The Japanese International Cooperation Agency 
(JICA) has a supplemental budget to spend in Central Asia by 
March 2007.  The agency plans to spend $220,000 to provide 
equipment to the Tajik Customs authorities and hopes to receive 
additional funding in the future. 
 
¶8.  (U)  EXBS: Post's Export Control and Border Security (EXBS) 
office recently donated CT30 drug and radiation detecting kits 
to the Tajik Border Guards.  EXBS is also funding a biologist to 
Tajikistan December 11-14 to conduct additional training on 
these items. 
 
¶9.  (U)  New Bridge: His Highness the Aga Khan officially opened 
a bridge between Tajikistan and Afghanistan at Ishkashim 
November 14, financed and constructed by the Aga Khan 
Development Network.  The bridge is one of five supported by 
AKDN in Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region along the Afghan 
border. 
 
JACOBSON