VZCZCXRO7964
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHLZ
RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAH #0821/01 1841001
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 021001Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1087
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 3967
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1784
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1651
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 2220
RUEAWJA/DOJ WASHDC
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 2650

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000821 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EUR/ACE, INL 
DUSHANBE FOR DEA 
MOSCOW FOR DEA 
ISLAMABAD FOR DEA 
ANKARA FOR DEA 
AID/W FOR EE/EA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID SNAR TX
SUBJECT:  TURKMENISTAN'S STATE COUNTERNARCOTICS AGENCY ASKS 
FOR TRAINING, EQUIPMENT 
 
REF: ASHGABAT 347 
 
¶1.  (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet. 
 
 
¶2.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  The chief of Turkmenistan's DEA-like 
State Counternarcotics Service (SCNS), Murad Islamov, said in 
a June 24 meeting that he is eager to accept technical 
assistance from the United States and that "we need a 
foundation on which we can work together in the future." 
Islamov has a list of equipment, facilities, and training 
programs that he would like and is shopping them around to 
various donors.  Islamov repeated earlier statements that he 
is strategic about deciding on training needs and will not 
send officers for training if he thinks that it will not be a 
good use of time.  DEA now needs to decide what it can offer. 
 END SUMMARY. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Islamov met with DEA Special Agent William 
Gustafson, the Chief of the Embassy's Office of Military 
Cooperation and INLoff for almost two hours on the fringes of 
the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Caspian Sea 
Initiative conference on June 24.  Islamov was primarily 
concerned with his new agency's technical needs (reftel). 
Islamov asked questions about U.S. practices and laws during 
the interactive meeting. 
 
ISLAMOV SPELLS OUT HIS AGENCY'S NEEDS 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Islamov spelled out the priorities of the State 
Counternarcotics Service: 
 
-- 70 Toyota Hilux trucks and 30 Toyota Corollas.  (Islamov 
cited ease of serviceability of Toyotas in Turkmenistan.); 
 
-- A state-of-the-art regional training center. (Later in the 
conversation, he indicated that the State Counternarcotics 
Service is building a new training center and gymnasium in 
Bekrove, a western suburb of Ashgabat.  He said that he would 
like DEA to provide training at this center when construction 
is completed.); 
 
-- One- or two-month courses for Special Forces investigative 
units in the latest crime-solving and counternarcotics 
techniques -- taught locally and overseas by DEA if possible; 
 
-- Scanners at border crossing stations; 
 
-- Additional border crossing stations; 
 
-- Six working sniffer dogs; 
 
-- Training manuals on operations and investigation 
techniques, including a catalog with photos of synthetic 
drugs; 
 
-- Face recognition and fingerprint analysis software. 
Gustafson added that DEA could provide training on best use 
of this equipment, and the chief of the Office of Military 
Cooperation suggested a familiarization trip to the U.S. on 
these products, to which Islamov reacted positively; 
 
-- Two or three fast boats for patrolling the Caspian Sea. 
Islamov added that the State Border Service would also need 
boats for its work; and 
 
-- Training on weapons use and techniques. 
 
ASHGABAT 00000821  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
He asked for feedback as soon as possible on which equipment 
the U.S. Government can fund, so that he can plan his budget. 
 Islamov hoped to receive this information before leaving for 
the International Drug Enforcement Conference in Istanbul on 
July 7.  DEA is sponsoring Islamov's and Deputy Minister of 
Internal Affairs Mustafa Geldiyev's participation in the 
conference. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The U.S. delegation suggested a one-year course in 
English training at the Defense Language Institute in El 
Paso, Texas, followed by extended training at the DEA Academy 
in Quantico, Virginia.  Gustafson added that it might be 
possible to embed foreign drug-enforcement officers in DEA 
headquarters if the relationship with that country is a close 
one. 
 
PRAISE FOR THE U.S. RELATIONSHIP AND ASSISTANCE 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Islamov said that the U.S. Government provides the 
only real useful assistance -- other countries and 
organizations just talk about it.  While it was too early for 
DEA agents to come regularly to provide technical assistance, 
Islamov said, "We need a foundation on which we can work 
together in the future," and asked that the U.S. and Turkmen 
sides make rational decisions about assistance and 
cooperation together as a team. 
 
COMMENTS ON TRAINING 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Islamov said that he refuses to have his valuable 
personnel participate in some donors' training programs, if 
he thinks that the particular training will not be useful. 
He added that he carefully picks participants in order to 
allocate training resources most rationally.  Islamov asked 
that DEA have some role in the upcoming Port Security 
Project, which the U.S. Coast Guard is running. 
 
NEW ROLE OF STATE CUSTOMS SERVICE 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Islamov said that the State Customs Service and the 
State Counternarcotics Service have a good relationship.  He 
said that Customs "has its own assignments, but we specialize 
in narcotics.  We have a narrow direction and we know what we 
want."  He said that the State Counternarcotics Service is 
already detecting and intercepting drugs. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) COMMENT:  It appears that Islamov wants to work 
with the United States -- but we know from other donors that 
he has spoken to them about assistance needs also. 
Nevertheless, it is clear that there are areas that we can 
work on with Turkmenistan's State Counternarcotics Service. 
DEA and others need to identify training to offer so that we 
can move this relationship forward.  END COMMENT. 
HOAGLAND