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Cablegate: Prt: Badghis: An Almost Forgotten Province

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 005180

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SA/FO, SA/A, S/CT, EUR/RPM
NSC FOR AMEND AND HARRIMAN
OSD FOR BREZINSKI
REL NATO/AUST/NZ/ISAF
CENTCOM FOR CG CFC-A, CG CJTF-76
USAID FOR AID/ANE/ AID/DCHA/DG

E.O. 12958:N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER KDEM PINR EAID SNAR AF
SUBJECT: PRT: BADGHIS: AN ALMOST FORGOTTEN PROVINCE

1. Summary: In one of the poorest countries in the
world, Badghis is one of (out of 34) the poorest
provinces in Afghanistan. There is no paved road
network, no electricity except for a few small
generators, and no radio reception outside the capital
of Qal I Now. Apart from its presence in Qal I Now,
the GOA has little reach in the province. A newly
installed Spanish Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT)
is helping to provide security and is building several
major infrastructure projects. USAID and several NGOs
are also active. There is little anti-government or
terrorist activity, although armed criminal gangs are
present in several districts. Poppy cultivation is on
the rise and Badghis is also a transit route for
drugs. End Summary.

----------
Background
----------

2. Badghis (Persian for Land of Winds) is located
in northwest Afghanistan and borders Turkmenistan in
the North, Faryab and Ghor provinces to the East, and
Herat province to the West and South. The only
significant road inside the province leads to Herat;
it is sometimes closed during the winter because of
snow. The population of approximately 400,000 is
predominantly Tajik. The next largest ethnic group is
Uzbek, and there are also Pashtun and Baluch groups,
,
particularly in the North of the province.

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3. Like most rural areas of Afghanistan, there is no
industry, and small amounts of trade. The
economy is based on agricultural cultivation and
livestock. Badghis is renowned for pistachios but,
according to the provincial director of agriculture,
almost half the forests have been destroyed in the
last 20 years for firewood. With an insignificant
budget to protect the forests, depletion continues.

4. According to local officials, poppy cultivation is
on the rise. The agricultural director told PRT
officer that opium poppys comparatively high price, combined
with limited provincial law enforcement capacity,
police corruption, and the isolated nature of much of
the province, make it an attractive crop. The
provincial NSD opined to PRT officer that eradication
is the only potential solution. Because of its
location between Turkmenistan and Herat, Badghis is
also a transit venue for drugs.

-----------------------------------------
The Short Reach of the Central Government
-----------------------------------------

5. There are no paved streets or roads in the
province, and the actual dirt roads are in very poor
condition. A forty-kilometer trip to the nearest
district capital can take between two and three hours.
Trips to outlying district capitals can take as long
as ten hours. Provincial officials therefore make few
trips to the districts.

6. There is only one radio station in Badghis. Based
in Qal I Now, Radio Qal I Now was resurrected by the
Spanish with used equipment (it transmitted with
Russian equipment during the Soviet occupation and
Taleban time). Its range is about 20 kilometers,
although due to hills and mountains its signal cannot
always be received within this radius. With this
limited reception, most of the province cannot receive
provincial, national, or world news. (Note. PRT
officer discussed with the PRT director of the Spanish
aid agency (Spanish Agency for International
Cooperation or AECI) the possibility of enhanced
equipment and repeaters to increase
transmission of the station throughout the province.
This could also go a long way to extending the authority and reach of
and scattered generators, there is no electricity in Badghis.

7. Governor Enayatullah Enayat has been in his
current position for about eight months. His status
as an outsider, originally from Faryab province, his
failure to travel much around the province, and the
fact he has been absent from Qal I Now for the eight
months he has been in office, has detracted from his
authority. The provincial police chief is acting
governor, but general lack of esteem for the police
has prevented him from earning respect in this
capacity.

------------------------
Security - Relative Calm
------------------------

8. In June 2004, in a widely-publicized international
incident, five staff members of the French NGO Doctors
Without Borders (MSF) were ambushed and killed in
Qadis district. Citing concerns about security and
the failure of the GOA to make arrests, MSF closed
down its Afghanistan program. A year later, the Qadis
police chief whose family allegedly controlled opium
trafficking in the district, as well as a Mullah with
suspected Taleban ties, were arrested for the crime.

9. Since the MSF incident, the province has enjoyed
relative calm. According to the provincial National
Security Directorate (NSD) director, there is
virtually no Taleban activity in the province,
although some remnants of the Taleban regime are
believed to be living in Badghis. Individual rocket
attacks, one on the airport and one on Qal I Now,
occurred in October and November; the perpetrators are
unknown. The main threat to security is caused by
criminal gangs, particularly the Goliah, a Pashtun
sub-tribe in Ghormach district on the Turkmenistan
border, which has long been engaged in livestock
rustling and common banditry.

10. An Afghan National Army (ANA) battalion was
stationed in Qal I Now and occasionally traveled in
the province, providing a GOA security presence. It
was withdrawn to Herat in November because of
inadequate winter accommodation and inability to bring
food supplies to Qal I Now. ISAF and the PRT support
its return to Badghis since, in its absence, the only
provincial security force is the under-equipped and
corrupt Afghan National Police (ANP). The GOA has not
yet indicated whether the ANA will return to Badghis.
The provincial NSD director opposes the Anas return
because almost all of its members come from other
provinces, and in his opinion, the local population
therefore opposes its presence.

----------------------------
Spanish Focus on Development
----------------------------

11. The Spanish government established the PRT in
May. There are approximately 130 military and four
civilians an ambassador from the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs who serves as the civilian representative of
the PRT and supervises development efforts, two
o
representatives of the AECI, and an engineer.

12. The Spanish military conducts daily patrols in
Qal I Now and infrequently travels to the rest of the
province in order to maintain peace and security.
(Note. PRT military officials explain that duties in
Qal I Now, including providing force protection for
its civilian development activities, and the poor
provincial roads, make more frequent travel difficult.
End Note.) The military also provides force
protection for travel to and at AECI projects. A civilian-
military (CIMIC) team prints a small number of
newspapers in Dari providing news of the province and
of PRT activities; provides small amounts of
humanitarian assistance, such as blankets for winter
and food; and does quick impact projects including
mosque, orphanage, and soccer field refurbishments,
and digging of wells. Finally, it maintains relations
with local officials.

13. A primary focus of the PRT is development. AECI
has provided a three-year EUR 10 million (USD 12
million) budget. Significant projects are:

--Construction of a 55 kilometer road from Qal I Now
to the border with Herat province. (Note and Comment.
Iran plans to construct a road of about 100 kilometers
from Herat to Badghis. Once both sections are
finished, the current driving time, now as much as ten
hours, will be reduced to about three hours. This
will significantly open up the province to trade and
will facilitate the travel of the ANA from Herat to
Badghis. End Note and Comment.)

--Construction of a potable water system for Qal I Now

--Construction of a vehicle bridge across the river in
Qal I Now that separates the town from the airstrip
and the road to Herat

--Construction of a provincial hospital

--Construction of 17 pedestrian bridges across rivers
in the province

14. In general, there is less foreign assistance in
Badghis than in many other provinces. USAID has been
active since 2002 and has been principally focused on
construction of schools. World Vision, DACAAR
(French) and Brac (Bangladeshi) also work in the
province and have concentrated mostly on potable water
and irrigation.

15. Comment. Badghis remoteness, relative
tranquility, and absence of significant Taleban
activity have resulted in little attention from Kabul.
The presence of the PRT in Qal I Now is helping to
extend the reach of the central government, but most
of the province remains forgotten. End comment.

NEUMANN

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