VZCZCXRO1127
OO RUEHPW
DE RUEHBUL #0156/01 0210625
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 210625Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6945
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC 0718
RUMICEA/USCENTCOM INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 000156 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR INL, INL/AP, INR, SCA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR PHUM KPAO AF
SUBJECT: AFGHANISTAN/COUNTERNARCOTICS:  GOVERNORS AND 
MINISTERS SUPPORT SUSTAINABLE POPPY ERADICATION 
 
REF: 08 KABUL 3066 
 
¶1. (U) This message is Sensitive but Unclassified -- please 
handle accordingly. 
 
¶2. (U)  SUMMARY:  At a January 10 conference in Kabul, Afghan 
central government and provincial authorities -- including 
eight governors -- agreed that reducing poppy cultivation on 
a sustainable basis is a high priority requiring effective 
coordination at all levels.  The workshop, sponsored by the 
Ministry of Counternarcotics and the Independent Directorate 
for Local Governance, brought together governors, ministers, 
and the international community to review the status of poppy 
cultivation in individual provinces and to lay out plans for 
the upcoming eradication season.  The conversation was frank 
and open with several governors complaining of rampant 
corruption in their provinces as a factor inhibiting 
effective eradication; the Minister of Interior promised to 
address the issue.  This was the second of two workshops 
(reftel) focused on laying the groundwork for an effective 
eradication campaign in 2009.  END SUMMARY. 
 
AFGHAN MINISTRIES VOICE SUPPORT FOR ERADICATION EFFORTS 
 
¶3. (U)   The Ministry of Counternarcotics (MCN) and the 
Independent Directorate for Local Governance (IDLG) co-hosted 
the 2nd Governors Workshop on Poppy Eradication in Kabul on 
January 10 (reftel).  The workshop brought together Ministers 
or senior representatives from the Ministries of 
Counternarcotics, Interior, Rural Rehabilitation and 
Development, Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, and the 
Ministry of Public Health. The governors of eight provinces 
also attended -- Balkh Herat, Kunar, Laghman, Jawzjan, 
Samangan, Sar-e-Pol and Takhar.  The Governors of Ghor and 
Nangahar were invited but did not attend.  The group 
discussed the challenges of eradicating poppy and how the 
central government can assist the provinces in their fight 
against narco-farmers, traffickers, insurgents and government 
corruption.  The Director General of IDLG, Jelani Popal, 
praised the governors for their eradication efforts despite 
the lack of extensive financial or human resources.  Popal 
stressed that creating alternative livelihoods is a key step 
in combating the narcotics economy, and encouraged the 
governors to share best practices and ides for reducing poppy 
cultivation. 
 
¶4. (U)  Minister Khodaidad of the Ministry of 
Counternarcotics (MCN) told the governors his ministry 
understands the problems of poppy cultivation and that more 
resources are being utilized to help them eradicate. 
Khodaidad said Helmand province cultivated 103,000 hectares 
of poppy in 2008 and he expected a sizable reduction this 
year due to Helmand Governor Mangal's "Food Zone" plan.  The 
plan will demarcate 25,000 hectares of land that will only 
grow licit crops such as wheat.  Any illicit crops within 
this zone and/or in accessible areas of "new growth" will be 
eradicated and the farmer arrested.  The plan is heavily 
supported by USAID and the British Department For 
International Development (DFID) with physical eradication 
done by the INL-funded Poppy Eradication Force (PEF), 
supported by the Afghan National Army's Counter-Narcotics 
Battalion (CNIK) beginning in late January.  The hope is that 
the plan can serve as a model for eradication efforts 
throughout the country. 
 
MINISTER OF INTERIOR PLEDGES TO ADDRESS POLICE CORRUPTION 
 
¶5. (SBU)  The Minister of Interior, Mohammed Hanif Atmar, 
described security, rule of law, and democracy as the main 
"pillars of progress" in the struggle against narcotics 
Atmar said opium "needs a place where rule of law does not 
exist, and that narcotics provide partial comfort to many 
people but eventually destroys you."  Atmar stressed the 
Afghan National Police (ANP) operates under the direction of 
the governors in their eradication efforts, but made clear 
that while the ANP will manually destroy poppy fields, it 
will not spray herbicides.  Atmar acknowledged the influence 
of corruption within the ANP and Border Police, but asserted 
that he would actively investigate and prosecute any actively 
corrupt officials brought to his attention. (Note: Atmar 
clarified that he did not intend to pursue past corruption in 
order to focus on current problems.)  Atmar invited the 
governors to identify corrupt individuals and promised to 
 
KABUL 00000156  002 OF 003 
 
 
investigate the allegations. (The governors enthusiastically 
applauded the Minister's remarks.) 
 
¶6. (SBU)  The Deputy Minister of Interior for 
Counternarcotics, Gen. Daoud Daoud, stated the MOI and 
Ministry of Defense (MOD) are working well together to fight 
poppy cultivation.  Daoud said the MOD will support PEF 
forces in Helmand and Kapisa provinces. Daoud also stated the 
Afghan National Police will provide 300 police officers to 13 
provinces to assist with security during Governor Led 
Eradication (GLE) efforts.  (NOTE: The GLE is a governor led 
effort to use their provincial resources to eradicate poppy. 
In the past, the ANP has not provided extra assistance in 
this effort.)  According to Daoud, arrests of corrupt police 
went up 350 percent from 2007 to 2008, and he stressed the 
MOI will continue its efforts to clean up the police force. 
 
¶7. (U)  The Minister of Public Health, Sayed Mohammad Amin 
Fahtimi, talked of the government systems and social 
structures that were destroyed by more than 30 years of war 
in the country.  Fahtimi noted that poppy cultivation and 
drug use create poverty and instability, and the number of 
drug addicts is estimated to be 920,000 people.  Fahtimi 
thanked the Ministry of Counternarcotics for providing $19 
million to address drug addiction in Afghan.  The Minister of 
Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, Asif Rahimi, said job 
opportunities, road construction and rigatoni repair are part 
of a holistic approach to fighting drugs and that providing 
alternative livelihoods was a key to future success.  Rahimi 
stressed that a faster, less bureaucratic government was 
needed to better deliver essential services. 
 
UN CALLS FOR MORE SUPPORT TO PROVINCES 
 
¶8. (U)  Mr. Kai Eide head of the UN Assistance Mission to 
Afghan (UNAMA), praised the governors for their efforts and 
called on the international community to increase its 
commitment to the counternarcotics struggle.  He complained 
about the lackluster performance of the Counternarcotics 
Trust Fund (CNTF), and said that the Good Performer's 
Initiative (GPI), was "too small" and should be increased. 
(Note:  The CNTF receives support from several international 
donors -- not including the U.S. -- and is responsible for 
providing development assistance to provinces in which poppy 
cultivation is reduced; the GPI -- supported only by the U.S. 
and UK -- provides provincial governors with timely, targeted 
development funds used for community projects such as micro 
hydro facilities that create electricity, small dam projects 
to control flooding, and irrigation canals to direct water to 
farmland.)  The governors praised the GPI as a valuable tool 
in combating illicit poppy cultivation and noted that it 
provides a quick and effective way to provide quick 
assistance to their citizens. 
 
GOVERNORS RECEIVE POPPY GROWING MAPS 
 
¶9. (U)  Embassy INL/NAS reps and the British Counternarcotics 
team met on the margins with the governors of Laghman 
(Luftullah Mashal), and Kunar (Sayed Fazullah Wahidi), and 
the Deputy Governor of Herat (Haji Mir), to discuss where 
poppy might be grown in 2009.  The three provinces are nearly 
poppy free but there are remote areas in each province where 
poppy could be grown.  We pointed out the areas on detailed 
maps so the governors know where they may have to eradicate. 
The governors knew from past experience which areas were 
likely to cultivate poppy, but appreciated receiving more 
current information.  The Governor Mashal of Laghman said he 
supports the Governor Led Eradication (GLE) program but 
complained about the lack of money, equipment and manpower 
necessary to reach remote areas of his province.  Mashal 
asked for additional support from the central government and 
international community to help him and the other governors 
eradicate poppy.  The Deputy Governor of Herat argued that 
potential cultivation areas in his province are so remote 
that vehicles cannot reach them.  During his voter register 
campaign he had to rent mules to carry people and material to 
those areas. 
 
¶10. (SBU)  The workshop was praised by central government 
representatives and the provincial governors as being 
productive and informative in the fight against poppy 
cultivation.  The governors who attended this workshop -- in 
contrast to the first workshop -- generally do not face high 
 
KABUL 00000156  003 OF 003 
 
 
levels of poppy cultivation, but keeping these provinces 
poppy free or nearly free is a high priority for the coming 
growing season.  The various Ministers were encouraged by the 
governors' efforts to date and expressed understanding of the 
e challenges they face.  In the past, the central government 
has not provided much assistance, but there is hope that this 
year will be different. 
WOOD