VZCZCXRO4978
OO RUEHPW
DE RUEHBUL #1410/01 1620610
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 100610Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4319
INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN 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/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUHEHMS/COMUSMARCENT MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 001410 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/FO, SCA/A, SCA/PPD, S/CRS, S/CT, EUR/RPM, INL/CIVPOL, 
INR/R/MR, STATE FOR NSC WOOD, OSD FOR SHIVERS, CENTCOM FOR CSTC-A, 
CG CJTF-82, POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO PGOV PREL PHUM AF
SUBJECT:  FLOTUS VISIT HIGHLIGHTS AFGHAN PROGRESS 
 
¶1.  (U)  The June 8 visit of First Lady Laura Bush to Afghanistan 
highlighted themes of critical interest to both Afghans and 
Americans.  Mrs. Bush's visit to Kabul and to the province of Bamyan 
illustrates our assessment that important progress is being made in 
many parts of the country.  In those areas where good governance is 
being implemented, opportunities for Afghan women to advance 
socially and professionally have also improved.  The allied 
commitment to Afghanistan is strong, with a large and diverse set of 
international partners sharing the security and development burden; 
Mrs. Bush was received at the New Zealand-run PRT in Bamyan, with a 
rousing traditional Maori Haka dance welcome.  Those who work on the 
ground here are convinced that success is being achieved.  For our 
Afghan partners, this visit reinforced America's commitment to the 
Afghan people through several poignant human vignettes which tell 
stories sometimes lost against a media diet weighted toward coverage 
of remaining security and military challenges.  The partnership 
message was reinforced by both sides during a meeting with President 
Karzai at the Palace. 
 
¶2. (U)  In Bamyan, Mrs. Bush, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Wood, 
and the First Lady's party met with Habiba Surabi, Afghanistan's 
first (and only) female governor.  Surabi's appointment as governor 
serves as a visible role model for Afghan women that extends far 
beyond Bamyan's provincial borders.  In a meeting with three female 
police officers, one was asked "Why do you want to be a police 
woman?" to which she responded, "If Goernor Surabi (i.e. as a 
woman) can take on such heavy  responsibilities, so can I."  Asked 
about how her children feel about their mother being a policewoman, 
the response was "They support me.  My daughter (in the 4th grade) 
says that when she grows up she also wants to be a policewoman...or 
the governor!"  The larger lesson for Afghanistan is that change is 
possible, and where good governance is being implemented, as in 
Bamyan, change takes place more rapidly.  Afghanistan's newly 
established Independent Directorate for Local Government's (IDLG) is 
tasked with ensuring that the best possible candidates are selected 
for provincial and local office, and with following up so that local 
governance issues are addressed quickly and effectively.  Governor 
Surabi is a beneficiary of this improved process, and during the 
visit she thanked the USG government repeatedly for its assistance 
in helping her to better help the people of Bamyan. 
 
¶3.  (U)  This was Mrs. Bush's third visit to Afghanistan, and her 
Bamyan stop was the furthest she has ventured from Kabul.  This 
spotlights another key theme that much of this country is "Afghan 
normal," still desperately poor, but where average citizens go about 
their lives in relative peace, although struggling with poverty, 
weak institutions, and sometimes weak leaders. 
 
¶4.  (U)  PRT Bamyan is led by New Zealand, highlighting the broad 
scope of active international participation here.  This is something 
that matters deeply to Afghanstan's people and current leaders. 
This is a country with a long history of foreign interventions and 
home-grown abuses and Afghans are understandably cautious about the 
nature and depth of the international commitment.  Put bluntly, many 
Afghans don't really believe that we will stay for the long-haul and 
so hedge their bets against a day when foreign troops and assistance 
will no longer serve as a buffer against renewed domestic conflict. 
Confronting the Afghan challenge requires many things, not the least 
of which is time for progress to take place and for entrenched 
attitudes to change.  On the positive side, and something that is 
historically unprecedented here, sixty-five percent of Afghans 
believe that the international military presence is a good thing and 
support our efforts.  Development is taking place and increasing 
numbers of Afghans are enjoying the benefits of new roads, available 
health care, ad education.  Mrs. Bush's visit comes at an opportune 
time, just ahead of the important Paris Donor's Conference, to 
further reinforce to all sides our long-term commitment. 
 
¶5. (U)  Mrs. Bush's well-known passion for education made her an 
ideal interlocutor to showcase the quiet revolution in Afghan 
schooling and the changing role of women in Afghanistan.  Almost six 
million Afghan youth are in school, more than at any time in the 
country's history, and a third of them are girls.  The threat that 
this poses to the Taliban is clearly illustrated by the insurgency's 
continued assault on schools and teachers in areas where they hold 
sway, but this battle for the next generation is being engaged and 
is being won by local communities and the government of Afghanistan, 
in partnership with the international community.  Mrs. Bush 
reinforced our financial support for improving education in 
Afghanistan, announcing a newUSAID "Learning and Community 
 
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Empowerment 2" program which will reach 312,000 people, mostly 
women, with improved education and livelihood skills, and pledged 
continued support for the American University of Afghanistan.  She 
also cut a ribbon at a ground-breaking ceremony for a new section of 
paved road in Bamyan, extending the town's only paved road (1.75 
kilometers long, completed last year with USG support) by almost 2 
kilometers.  All politics are local, and here, as elsewhere, roads 
matter. 
 
¶6. (U)  Mrs. Bush and her party, which also included Under Secretary 
for Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky, also visited an orphanage being 
constructed with funding from the Bayat Foundation, with support 
from the NGO Ayenda and the U.S.-Afghan Womens' Council.  The 
emergence of civil society and NGO organizations is another sign 
that Afghanistan is progressing out of the darkness of the past 
three generations. 
 
¶7. (U)  In their meeting with President Karzai, the party had an 
opportunity to share ideas with young students from Kabul 
University, the American International School, and the American 
University of Afghanistan.  Both Mrs. Bush and President Karzai 
offered statements to the press, emphasizing the significance of the 
visit and its timing, just prior to the Paris Support Conference. 
 
¶8. (U)  Finally, it is important for our coalition partners also to 
see this additional evidence of America's positive involvement here. 
 Combined with the supportive rhetoric on both sides of our 
political aisle, visits like this one illustrate that America's 
commitment is broad and deep and is helping the Afghan people to 
achieve important results.  Although this was a short visit, it was 
hugely productive and made a timely contribution to our national and 
international effort.  The visit ended with stop at Bagram AFB, 
where Mrs. Bush addressed enthusiastic troops from the 101st 
airborne division which, as always, provided superb logistical 
support. 
 
DELL