VZCZCXRO8761
OO RUEHDBU RUEHPW RUEHSL
DE RUEHBUL #2463/01 2340433
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
O 220433Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1012
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 002463 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SRAP, SCA/FO, SCA/A, EUR/RPM 
STATE PASS USAID FOR ASIA/SCAA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/26/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS EAID MASSAF ECON AF
SUBJECT: KUNAR GOVERNOR WAHIDI DISCUSSES MOVE TO HERAT, 
ELECTIONS, DEVELOPMENT AND SECURITY 
 
Classified By: Interagency Provincial Affairs Deputy Coordinator Hoyt Y 
ee for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary:  In an August 8 meeting at the Provincial 
Reconstruction Team (PRT) Kunar offices, Kunar governor Sayed 
Fazullah Wahidi said he has accepted an assignment as Herat 
governor, to start at an unspecified date after national 
elections.  Wahidi said election preparations in Kunar were 
&very good8 and residents were eager to vote.  (Note:  For 
reporting on Afghanistan,s August 20 elections, please see 
septel reporting.)  Numerous election-related shuras have 
brought people closer to their government.  The governor 
described the insurgency in Kunar as economically driven, and 
said jobs generated by and for Afghans would tamp down the 
conflict.  Wahidi spoke at length about the need to 
professionalize the national police force.  The governor 
agreed to work with us to convene a multi-province shura for 
government officials and tribal elders to consider 
cross-provincial security and trade.  The shura will be 
designed to connect the government to more traditional 
structures and build more regional governance cohesion.  End 
Summary. 
 
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Enthusiasm for Elections 
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¶2.  (C) On August 8, Task Force Mountain Warrior Commander 
(TFMW CDR), Department of State Regional Representative and 
PRT Kunar Department of State Representative met with Kunar 
governor Wahidi for general introductions and a tour 
d,horizon of Kunar.  Wahidi said election preparations in 
Kunar were &very good8 and residents were eager to vote. 
Numerous election-related shuras had been helpful and 
positive, Wahidi said, noting that elders have reviewed site 
security and have raised objections regarding the proposed 
closing of as many as twenty polling centers due to 
insecurity.  The election-related shuras &are bringing the 
people closer to the government,8 he added.  In the previous 
national election, Wahidi said, many people &did not know 
how to work with the candidates,8 or their own political 
views.  &Now,8 Wahidi emphasized, &many nominees are young 
people, better educated, and more committed.8 
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Jobs, Training of Trainers Wanted 
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¶3.  (C)  Wahidi lobbied for more training of trainers for 
Kunar, and for projects &run by our own people.8  The 
governor described conflict in Kunar as 
economically-motivated, tied to timber and gems.  Wahidi said 
that jobs will give people alternatives to smuggling and 
other activities that finance the insurgency.  The governor 
also complained about lack of transparency for international 
development assistance and said as of now, &Afghans are not 
involved in decision making over projects.8  The governor 
received warmly the Colonel,s description of how the 
Commander,s Emergency Response Project (CERP) can be used to 
catalyze budget processes in Kunar.  To create transparency, 
the governor said he has stressed the need for signing 
ceremonies, so that administrators and contractors cannot 
simply fix their prices behind closed doors.  Ideally, Wahidi 
said, &the whole shura will be at the signing ceremony.8 
mphasized, &many nominees are young people, better educated, 
and more committed.8 
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Police Professionalization Needed 
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¶4.  (C)  Turning to rule of law, Wahidi remarked that &The 
system is good, but the implementation is not good.8 
Wahidi complained that judges are passive and the police are 
plagued with corruption.  Wahidi noted that police do not 
want to relocate to Kunar due to low salaries.  Acknowledging 
that many communities have lobbied for more locally-hired 
police, Wahidi contended that local police may have worked 
when the government first formed, but circumstances now 
mandate a trained, professional and truly national force. 
The Colonel and the governor discussed the possibility of 
swapping police across districts, followed by swapping police 
with neighboring provinces. 
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Security  Challenges 
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¶5.  (C)  The governor emphasized that Kunar,s lengthy and 
porous border, along with cross-border tribal dynamics, pose 
considerable security challenges.  Kunar needs a flexible 
approach to security and must not let insecurity spread. 
Wahidi said more Afghan Border Police (ABP) should be 
 
KABUL 00002463  002 OF 002 
 
 
deployed to the border to stop anti-Afghan forces (AAF) when 
they first descend from the mountains, before they disappear 
into villages, but he underscored that &complete control is 
not possible.8  The Colonel said a common strategy between 
Afghan and international forces is needed for the border. 
The governor suggested that Kunar also faces threats from 
neighboring Nuristan, and from certain valleys in northern 
Kunar, such as the Korengal, that must be monitored so as not 
to become a &house of al-Qaeda.8  The Colonel and the 
governor discussed at length a proposal to create a 
multi-province mega shura of government officials and tribal 
elders to address cross-provincial security and trade.  The 
shura will be designed to connect the government to more 
traditional structures and build more regional governance 
cohesion. 
¶6.  (C)  Toward the end of the meeting, the governor revealed 
that he had been appointed, two months ago, as the next Herat 
governor, effective sometime after the elections.  Wahidi 
said he has groomed his staff and other local officials for 
more senior roles in the wake of his departure, citing his 
office,s Executive Director, the Asadabad Mayor, and the 
Mangal District Sub-Governor as rising talent. 
¶7.  (SBU)  SCR-E and TFMW CDR have reviewed this cable. 
 
 
 
 
 
EIKENBERRY