VZCZCXRO7077
RR RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHNEH RUEHPW RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHDBU #1379/01 3150644
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 100644Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1125
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNCLS/SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 0284
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 0021
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC 0094
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC 0187

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSHANBE 001379 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INL (BUHLER) 
SCA/CEN (HUSHEK) 
CENTCOM FOR POVELONES 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL SNAR TI
SUBJECT: CONCRETE STEPS TO CROSS THE BORDER 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Ambassador, DCM, and INL Officer attended 
the EU/OSCE/UNODC-organized Ministerial Conference on Border 
Management and Drug Control in Central Asia held in 
Tajikistan October 21-22.  The Conference was 
organizationally challenged and results were meager.  For the 
United States, the silver lining in the conference cloud was 
President Rahmon's speech where he specifically advocated for 
joint Tajik-Afghan law enforcement training.  First Deputy of 
the Committee for National Security (ex-KGB) reversing early 
obduracy on this issue told the Ambassador on the conference 
margins that he was looking forward to Tajik-Afghan 
collaboration in this area.  Drug Control Agency chief 
General Rustam Nazarov and Afghan Deputy Minister for 
Counter-Narcotics told INL officer that their agencies stood 
ready to participate in joint training.  Embassy Dushanbe is 
taking advantage of the opening and has reached out to 
Embassy Kabul and PRT Kunduz to nail down next steps.  End 
summary. 
 
MISTEPS BUT... 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Given the administrative scramble to pull together 
the Ministerial Conference on Border Management and Drug 
Control in Central Asia in Dushanbe on October 21-22 we did 
not have high expectations of a meaty outcome, and we were 
not disappointed.  Frenetic 11th hour phone calls to add U.S. 
names to the registration list, snafu's with vehicle entrance 
to the Presidential Dacha, and the failure of the United 
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to give credit to the 
United States for being the largest donor to border programs 
in Tajikistan all were emblematic of the overall conference. 
Too many cooks seem to have scorched the conference broth. 
The UN promised to pay closer attention in the future.  We 
told them the next pledge letter would contain conditions on 
recognition of U.S. assistance when advertising projects to 
which we have contributed. 
 
NEW OPENINGS 
 
¶3. (SBU) President Rahmon's opening speech was worth the 
conference headaches however.  While dinging international 
donors for insufficient coordination, he specifically agreed 
to joint Tajik-Afghan law enforcement training. (Note. We 
assess that donors do a remarkable, although not perfect, job 
of coordinating on provision of assistance given the 
limitations of the border and law enforcement services to 
provide liaison support.  As an example, the Border Guards 
International Department has nine billets and only four are 
filled, considerably slowing down donor engagement. End 
Note.)  Rahmon's remarks were echoed in Ambassador Jacobson's 
side-bar conversation with First Deputy of the Committee for 
National Security, Kasim Gafarov.  Gafarov, warmly echoing 
Rahmon's thoughts, seems to have developed new interest in 
joint training with Afghans.  He told the Ambassador that he 
welcomed meetings to discuss specific events and venues. He 
reiterated his interest to INL officer during a subsequent 
walkthrough of an on-going project to create an intelligence 
analytical center in the Committee's training academy, noting 
that he needed to find barracks space for expected Afghan 
students. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Conference attendees General Rustam Nazarov and 
Deputy Counter-Narcotics Minister in Afghanistan, General 
Daud, favorably received an INL Officer suggestion to hold 
QDaud, favorably received an INL Officer suggestion to hold 
discrete high-level counter-narcotics discussions to chart 
out joint training opportunities.  The Tajik drug agency 
already has a collaborative relationship with Afghan 
counterparts with liaison officers working from northern 
Afghanistan cities. 
 
NEXT STEPS 
 
¶5. (SBU): We will use the opening provided by Rahmon, 
Gafarov, and Nazarov to nail down concrete next steps on 
joint training perhaps using the U.S.-financed border 
training center in Khorog.  We also are using the commitment 
to leverage improved operating modalities on the U.S.-built 
Nizhniy Pyanj/Sher Khan Bandar Bridge. 
 
 
DUSHANBE 00001379  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) INL Dushanbe has reached out to Embassy Kabul (Pol 
Section, INL, BTMF, and CSTC-A) to begin planning joint 
confidence building security measures and proposed an initial 
meeting in Kunduz. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Dushanbe,s Office of Defense Cooperation has been 
in contact with the PRT Kunduz to move forward on improved 
bridge operations and training for both Afghan and Tajik 
border guards and customs officers with a meeting scheduled 
for the end of November. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment: The Tajik bureaucracy can be incredibly 
obstructionist so Rahmon,s speech notwithstanding all is not 
smooth sailing.  Given the President,s interest though we 
assess that we will achieve some results.  We will use next 
week,s visit of DAS Krol to drive home the point. 
 
JACOBSON