VZCZCXRO3629
OO RUEHDBU RUEHIK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBUL #0178/01 0200538
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 200538Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5542
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE 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
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 3526

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 000178 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/FO DAS GASTRIGHT, SCA/A 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG 
NSC FOR HARRIMAN 
OSD FOR KIMMITT 
CENTCOM FOR CG CFC-A, CG CJTF-76 POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: MCAP MOPS PREL PGOV PTER PHUM AF
SUBJECT: BOUCHER SEES COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY WORKING IN 
PANJSHIR PROVICE 
 
 
Summary 
-------- 
 
¶1.  (U) During his January 10 visit to Panjshir Valley, 
Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs 
Richard Boucher heard an extensive analysis of the province 
from its Governor, Haji Bahlul.  The Governor portrayed 
Panjshir as free of terrorist activity, official corruption 
and 
poppy cultivation.  In response to the Assistant Secretary,s 
question ) "why is Panjshir different?" ) the Governor 
noted his province and the U.S. shared strategic interests, 
born of common experience in September 2001 when terrorists 
struck first against majahideen leader Massoud and then 
against the American homeland. 
 
¶2.  (U) Assistant Secretary Boucher visited Panjshir, 
accompanied by his Senior Advisor, Caitlin Hayden, Embassy 
Political Officer Kimberly McClure and USAID Provincial 
Reconstruction Team Deputy Director David Billings.  They met 
with General Qassim, the community liaison for the 
USAID-funded road construction; attended a session of the 
Provincial Development Council, which was discussing budget 
decisions; toured the Provincial Reconstruction Team office 
site and talked with Team members; met with Panjshir Governor 
Bahlul and discussed topics covered in this message; and 
concluded their program with a tour of the tomb of the slain 
mujahideen leader Ahmed Shah Massoud. End Summary. 
 
State of the Province 
--------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U) Panjshir, the Governor led off, was "the beating 
heart of the Hindu Kush."  It was a new province but had a 
long history of resistance, first against the Soviets and 
then the Taliban.  Today it remained a secure environment and 
free from the scourge of corruption.  It also remained 
opposed to the Taliban and terrorism in general.  After the 
years of strife, the province was ready for peace and eager 
to rebuild.  It sought to stand on its own two feet. 
 
¶4.  (U) Panjshir was also free of poppy cultivation and drug 
trafficking, he said.  A few years ago, there were some poppy 
fields in the valley, which had little other economic 
activity, but they were stamped out.  The Governor said he 
was pleased that the Ministry of Counter Narcotics had 
recognized Panjshir as clean on poppy and thus eligible for 
$500,000 under the Good Performance Fund. 
 
¶5.  (U) Panjshir, the Governor said, was poised to 
develop.  The USAID-funded road through the southern third of 
the valley was the linchpin.  It would connect Panjshir to 
Kabul, thus facilitating the transport of goods to the 
metropolitan market.  It would also link Kabul to Panjshir, 
thus increasing the flow of tourism and investment into the 
valley.  If extended in the other, north-east direction, the 
road would recreate an ancient Silk Road connection to 
Badakhshan and ultimately China. 
 
¶6.  (U) The provincial administration was making a push for 
more electricity and more diversified energy sources.  Indeed 
energy was a top priority in the recent 5-year provincial 
plan, ranking with road and canal construction.  The Governor 
identified one of his key tasks as  building infrastructure 
in sync with the Afghan National Development Strategy. 
 
¶7.  (U) Turning to education in response to Boucher,s 
question, the Governor outlined two main stumbling blocks. 
First, Panjshir had only 25 school buildings, insufficient 
for the 50,000 students, many of whom had to attend school in 
tents.  Second, Panjshir had difficulty in retaining trained 
teachers, who made on average only 50 U.S. dollars per month. 
 The higher salaries offered by nongovernmental organizations 
and the international community lured many teachers away. 
The Teachers, Training College, a converted Ministry of 
Defense facility opened last year, was a good start, the 
 
KABUL 00000178  002 OF 003 
 
 
first of its kind in the province.  That said, the 
infrastructure element of education was easy to address 
compared to the human element. 
 
¶8.  (U) On health care, the Governor painted a more 
positive picture.  There was no comparison with standards in 
the West, but Panjshir,s medical facilities were good 
compared to those elsewhere in Afghanistan.  Some of them, 
such as the Emergency Hospital run by a non-governmental 
organization, dated from the struggle against the Taliban. 
 
Pulse of the People 
------------------- 
 
¶9.  (U) Panjshir, the Governor said, was a narrow valley with 
a wide perspective.  Panjshiris had a proclivity to leave 
their homes and settle throughout Afghanistan and indeed the 
region.  They were entrepreneurial and adaptable.  They also 
represented an untapped source of investment in their home 
province.  "I,m doing everything in my power to attract 
them, with offers of security, peace 
and even land."  The Governor believed Panjshiris would 
return if they saw opportunities in education and employment. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Panjshiris were weary of war, he continued, one 
reason they were serious about security in their valley.  One 
group of Panjshiris, however, had suffered 
disproportionately: the mujahideen.  Some 12,000 had fallen 
in the resistance.  Those who survived faced unemployment 
after demobilization and disarmament; they had participated 
in the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration program 
and received only $300, paid in small installments, as 
severance.  Many had tried to sign up for the Afghan army or 
police, but "like me," the Governor added, lacked formal 
qualifications and "book learning."  This was a travesty, the 
Governor said, since the former mujahideen had extensive 
hands-on experience in the profession of arms, and yet could 
not qualify for the 
army or police.  The Governor said he had approached both 
Afghan and international security officials to recommend the 
former mujahideen as an auxiliary force who could help defeat 
the Taliban. 
 
Government Links 
---------------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU) The Governor noted that links with the central 
government in Kabul had both good and bad aspects.  He cited, 
as a negative example, 
his new office building, which had been under construction 
for two years.  The Ministry of Interior had let the 
contract, which had gone to a company with 
family connections in the Ministry and with an evident 
interest in skimming some of the funds.  "My patience is 
running out," the Governor concluded.  He also voiced 
irritation that President Karzai, despite several 
invitations, had not visited Panjshir.(Note: Assistant 
Secretary Boucher passed this request on to President Karzai 
 
SIPDIS 
in Kabul later that day.) 
 
¶12.  (U) The line directors, representing their Afghan 
ministries in Panjshir, were important connecting 
ligaments.  They had recently passed up their strategic plan 
and awaited response from the central government.  On the 
flip side, the Panjshiri representatives in the central 
government, while high ranking, did not attend to the 
province sufficiently; their visits to home valley were 
usually personal rather than official. 
 
¶13.  (U) Asked about his own presence in Kabul, the 
Governor contended that he had little access to the 
central government.  He had no time to waste in waiting for 
weeks to arrange appointments.  He backed off his 
description, however, when pushed.  (Provincial 
Reconstruction Team Comment:  In fact, Bahlul has emerged as 
a strong lobbyist for his province in central government 
 
KABUL 00000178  003 OF 003 
 
 
corridors.  End Comment.) 
 
Provincial Reconstruction Team Ties 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶14.  (U) The Governor called his relationship with the 
Provincial Reconstruction Team "a strong partnership."  He 
cited various examples of cooperation on specific projects, 
such as the Teachers, Training College, where the Provincial 
Reconstruction Team is helping improve the facility (see para 
7); a printing press, furnished by the Provincial 
Reconstruction Team to help disseminate news; and medical 
assistance, which the Provincial Reconstruction Team takes 
out to remote villages. 
 
U.S. Relations 
-------------- 
 
¶15.  (U) Panjshir,s ties with the U.S., the Governor said, 
were close, forged in the tragedies of September 2001, when 
terrorists assassinated Ahmed Shah Massoud on Sept. 9 and 
then attacked the U.S. two days later.  Thus there was a 
strategic alignment, born of common historical experience. 
That was one reason the province was secure for the American 
Provincial Reconstruction Team presence ) and one answer to 
Boucher,s question, "why is Panjshir different?" 
 
¶16.  (U) Clearly up on his news, the Governor asked Boucher 
about recent statements by new Speaker of the House Nancy 
Pelosi, particularly whether more troops for Iraq meant fewer 
in Afghanistan and whether he expected any change in policy 
with a new Congress. In response to these questions from the 
Governor, Boucher explained U.S. policy on Afghanistan and 
the 
Region and reiterated our firm commitment to Afghanistan. 
The Governor offered his support for the policy,spelled out 
by President Bush and Prime Minister Blair at the Riga NATO 
summit, on fighting terrorism. 
 
¶17.  (U) The Governor also recalled that the U.S. had 
failed to heed Massoud,s warnings over the threat posed by 
bin Laden; then September 2001 had come.  Mindful of this 
trauma, the Governor said, the international community should 
not abandon Afghanistan again. 
 
Bio Info 
-------- 
 
¶18.  (U) The Governor recounted his three-year experience in 
Iran, after he and Massoud had a falling out and Bahlul had 
taken his family to Tehran.  The Bahlul children attended 
school there, but Bahlul himself remained unemployed.  It was 
not until President Karzai, while visiting Tehran in early 
2005, asked him to accept the position of Governor, that 
Bahlul returned to Panhshir with his family. 
 
¶19.  (U) The Governor portrayed himself as a public 
servant, dedicated to the people of Panjshir and striving to 
advance their interests.  He was prepared to put up with his 
low salary, USD 900 a month, to stay as Governor, but he was 
also ready, if asked, to give up the job. 
 
¶20.  (U) There were two types of people, the Governor 
stated.  Some people, while rich, were inherently 
dissatisfied; even a big bank account in Dubai could not make 
them happy.  Others, while not well off, were well centered; 
they woke up every morning sensing the joy of living.  He put 
himself in the latter category. 
 
¶21.  (U)  This cable has been cleared by SCA Senior Advisor 
Caitlin Hayden. 
NEUMANN