VZCZCXRO8061
OO RUEHDBU RUEHIK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBUL #0017/01 0031315
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 031315Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5146
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/COMSOCCENT MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 3496

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 000017 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/FO DAS GASTRIGHT, SCA/A, S/CRS, SA/PB, S/CT, 
EUR/RPM 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG 
NSC PASS FOR AHARRIMAN 
OSD FOR KIMMITT 
CENTCOM FOR CFC-A, CG CJTF-76, POLAD, JICCENT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER ASEC MARR AF
SUBJECT: PRT JALALABAD: INTELLECTUAL SHURAS 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY: During three separate "intellectual shuras" 
in Nangahar province, PRT Jalalabad heard views from local 
citizens on a range of issues that touched their daily lives. 
 Locals expressed specific concerns about the role and 
activities of ISAF, particularly ISAF searches and convoys. 
Students and faculty at Nangahar University sought more 
resources for their educational institution and questioned 
the use by farmers of land owned by the university.  At a 
local high school, teachers similarly complained about low 
salaries and lack of resources.  PRT heard an often repeated 
argument that since the mujahadeen had helped bring down the 
Soviet Union, it was now time for NATO countries to repay the 
debt by supporting Afghanistan's development.  The PRT 
Commander stressed the need for Afghans to take 
responsibility for their own development and security and to 
prioritize among many competing demands, since resources were 
limited.  He underlined that much of what people heard about 
ISAF was rumor and that ISAF forces did not arrest people 
based only on allegations.  These three shuras enabled PRT 
Jalalabad to engage directly with key local communities and 
to clarify the role of the PRT and ISAF.  END SUMMARY 
 
------------- 
Common Themes 
------------- 
 
¶2. (U) PRT Jalalabad and the Nangahar Provincial Council (PC) 
co-hosted three "engagements" or "intellectual shuras" the 
week of December 16.  The events were held in the auditorium 
of the Bureau of Tribal Affairs in downtown Jalalabad and 
attended by between 100-200 people.  All three events began 
with speeches listing the many things that different groups 
want either the PRT or the Government to fund.  The events 
eventually moved into discussion with the PRT or PC members 
of common themes, including security and the role of ISAF in 
searches and arrests, the effect of convoys on traffice, and 
U.S. support for Israel. 
 
¶3.  (U) Security issues were raised up at each event, 
including concerns about the role and activities of ISAF 
(still referred to as &Coalition Forces8 by the Afghans 
here in Nangarhar).  A number of attendees complained about 
ISAF searching peoples' homes, entering them at night or 
making arrests without sufficient evidence.  Opinions on the 
appropriate role for ISAF included that ISAF should always 
let Afghan forces do searches and arrests and an insistence 
that it is ISAF,s responsibility to provide security, as 
well as to arrest government officials they believed were 
corrupt.  The PRT Commander said that ISAF forces were now 
being more careful, always letting Afghan National Security 
Forces take the lead in every arrest or search.  He 
emphasized that Afghans needed to take responsibility for 
identifying criminal activity and corruption rather than 
waiting for ISAF to take action. 
 
¶4.  (U) Another issue repeatedly mentioned was that the 
convoys of the various ISAF groups in Nangarhar do not follow 
traffic rules, nor do they permit people to pass them even if 
they are moving very slowly.  The Commander explained that 
this was for the safety of both Afghans and ISAF, as suicide 
bombers or IEDs directed at ISAF convoys usually killed more 
innocent Afghan bystanders than ISAF personnel. 
 
----------------------------------- 
First Shura for University Students 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (U) Approximately 200 students from both Nangarhar 
University and Nangarhar Medical School attended the first 
event on December 16.  This event began with long speeches by 
the professors and administrators listing the many needs of 
the university that the PRT or Provincial Government should 
fund, including better dorms, a library, auditorium, roads, 
walls, increased teachers, salaries, and a new sewage 
system.  The Commander stressed that it is the Provincial 
 
KABUL 00000017  002 OF 003 
 
 
Development Council's responsibility to come up with a plan 
to prioritize requests, balancing needs like higher education 
with those of basic services such as water, roads, and 
electricity. 
¶6.  (U) A number of people in the university administration 
raised the question of the use of land owned by the 
university but currently used by farmers.  The campus sits on 
fertile farm land now being farmed, but much of the land 
actually belongs to the university which needs it for 
expansion. 
 
¶7.  (U) Following the speeches, the PRT Commander insisted 
that the students be allowed to speak.  A lively discussion 
followed on many topics.  One of the few female students in 
the group asked about the ISAF forces arresting innocent 
civilians (a common theme brought up at many meetings -- 
reflecting widespread perception in the province).  The PRT 
Commander stressed that much of what they hear is rumor or 
exaggeration and said that they should check multiple sources 
rather than believing one story.  He underlined that ISAF 
forces did not arrest people based on one allegation but 
consult many sources. 
 
¶8.  (U) The PRT hosted a lunch following the three-hour 
session, and many students engaged with PRT members, 
including the Commander, PRT Information Officer, State Rep, 
and even the Force Protection Soldiers waiting with the 
Humvees parked outside.  The students used these informal 
discussions to raise additional issues, from U.S. support for 
Israel to the appropriate amount of assistance that should be 
provided for aid to Afghanistan. 
 
------------------------------ 
Shura for High School Teachers 
------------------------------ 
 
¶9.  (U) The second engagement was for high school head 
masters and teachers on December 18.  Fifteen of the 17 
members of the Provincial Council were present on stage with 
PRT officials.  This was the largest attendance of the three 
shuras, with over 200 people including approximately 30 
women.  The Director of Education opened the event, stressing 
the need for more teachers and more schools.  Various 
teachers followed, each reiterating the same problems, 
including low salaries, impossible teacher/student ratios, 
and the lack of books.  Several directly addressed the 
Provincial Council members on the stage, saying that they 
gave them their votes, and it was now time to give something 
back. 
 
¶10.  (U) Several people repeated an argument PRT is hearing 
more frequently -- that it is thanks to the Afghan mujahadeen 
and their sacrifices that the Soviet Union had collapsed. 
Therefore, it was now time for ISAF to repay the debt by 
supporting Afghanistan's development.  The PRT Commander 
agreed that the Afghan people did make a significant 
contribution to the collapse of the Soviet Union, and that 
ISAF forces and NGOs were working to build schools.  However, 
he emphasized the need for Afghans themselves to participate 
more actively in their country's reconstruction.  As an 
example, he noted that Afghans built the finest walls in the 
world and asked why community resources were not being used 
to build the perimeter walls that they keep requesting from 
NGO and ISAF for school construction projects. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Adrian Yon, a Member of Parliament from Nangarhar, 
joined the Provincial Council members on stage to speak at 
the end of the shura, raising several disparate and 
controversial themes.  She said that the salaries for Members 
of Parliament needed to be increased in order to reduce the 
likelihood of corruption and bribery.  She also spoke out 
against the government's anti-poppy campaign, saying that it 
was inappropriate if it did not provide a viable alternative 
livelihood.  Her third theme was not uncommon for a 
politician -- the issue of ethnicity and discrimination 
 
KABUL 00000017  003 OF 003 
 
 
against Pashtuns that existed in Kabul.  She also claimed 
that Nangarhar was short 4,000 teachers while other provinces 
had a surplus, with teachers waiting for students.  She said 
that when textbooks were printed for schools, the proportion 
printed in Pashtun is disproportionately low. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Comment:  Adrian Yon and her husband, Smail Yon, a 
prominent journalist, joined members of the PRT for lunch and 
participated in a lively discussion about politics, 
elections, and Afghanistan in general.  It was rare to be 
able to engage an articulate Afghan couple in this 
conservative part of the country where PRT members almost 
never have a chance to talk with local professional women. 
End Comment 
 
------------------ 
Intellectual Shura 
------------------ 
 
¶13.  (U) The third event co-hosted by the Provincial Council 
and the PRT was for authors and media personnel.  The crowd 
was smaller than at the other two shuras, with about 70 
people, only two of whom were women.  The new Minister of 
Education and Culture, Awrang Samin, opened the session with 
the longest list yet of things requested from the PRT, 
including salaries and housing for his employees, office 
renovations, generators, computers, digital cameras, 
motorcycles, and many other items.  Provincial Council 
Chairman Fazlhadi Muslimyar rose to the occasion and 
responded that the intent of the meeting was for this 
intellectual group to discuss solutions to the problems and 
challenges in the province.   A number of speakers followed 
his lead, insisting that Afghans stop asking for handouts and 
start taking responsibility for their own lives and future. 
One speaker forcefully declared, "Our grandparents would be 
ashamed of us." 
 
¶14.  (U) The discussion again emphasized the challenges of 
addressing the needs of various levels of society, from those 
with the most basic needs (food and water) to those insisting 
that access to higher education and better connection to the 
outside world were the most pressing needs.  The PRT 
Commander used this discussion to point out the difficulty of 
prioritizing needs, balancing short and long term goals, and 
providing sustainability so that accomplishments do not 
collapse.  He brought up his common theme of the need for the 
province to be serious about creating a Provincial 
Development Plan. 
 
¶15.  (U) COMMENT:  While no concrete responses were made to 
the many requests -- and many of them were impossible to meet 
-- the ability to have a face-to-face discussions was 
extremely valuable.  Certainly the different audiences, and 
the PRT and the Provincial Council members likewise, were 
exposed to different points of view and ways of looking at 
complex issues, ranging from security to education to the 
role of government, which shows the value of regular PRT 
engagement with various forms of shuras. 
 
 
NEWELL