INDEPENDENT NEWS

Cablegate: Prt/Qalat: Initial Afghan National Auxiliary Police Class

Published: Tue 31 Oct 2006 07:59 AM
VZCZCXRO4905
RR RUEHIK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBUL #5284/01 3040759
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 310759Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3838
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3188
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 3322
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 005284
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR SA/FO, SA/A, S/CR, EUR/RPM
NSC FOR HARRIMAN
CENTCOM FOR CG CFC-A, CG CJTF-76
SENSITIVE, SIPDIS
REL TO NATO/ISAF/AUS/NZ
E.O. 12958 N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER AF
SUBJECT: PRT/QALAT: Initial Afghan National Auxiliary Police Class
Graduates
KABUL 00005284 001.2 OF 002
1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The first class of Afghan National Auxiliary
Police (ANAP) graduated in Zabul province October 8 and have
deployed along Highway 1. The course was taught both in the
classroom and in the field, and substantial skills improvement was
seen throughout the ten days of training. Factors, properly
handled, that will contribute to the program's success include
prompt salary payment, proper screening, sufficient support from the
Ministry of Interior, recruiting from the local population and
ensuring that the ANAP program does not drain the current ranks of
other Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). End summary.
-------------------------
A Successful First Course
-------------------------
2. (U) The inaugural class of auxiliary police in Afghanistan
graduated October 8 in Zabul province. The class consisted of 42
men who completed a ten-day course taught by two INL police advisors
and several DynCorp mentors with the assistance of PRT security
forces personnel. They were given DynCorp-made temporary ID cards.
DynCorp distributed some boots, Kevlar vests, holsters and
flashlights to the graduates. The class has deployed to checkpoints
along Highway 1. The 42 ANAP patrolmen are expected to complete one
week of additional training each quarter over the next year.
3. (U) Classroom training took place at the Afghan National Police
compound and practical training took place on the PRT compound. The
syllabus included training in human rights, the Afghan constitution,
ethics, traffic control points, squad movement and weapons. This
initial group of graduates represents the first step forward in a
very important process.
---------------------------------
Prompt Vetting And Payment A Must
---------------------------------
4. (U) The primary reason most of these men volunteered for this
program was the promise of a regular salary. Word will spread as to
whether these men are paid on schedule, and that message will be key
to further recruitment in the program, both in Zabul and surrounding
provinces.
5. (SBU) The screening process is being handled by the Ministry of
Interior (MOI) and is initiated by written attestations of a
recruit's good character by village elders and clerics. Recruits'
names are to be checked by MOI in Kabul and approved for training.
Effective screening will be crucial to preventing Taliban
infiltration of the ANAP and secure training facilities.
------------------------------------------
Ministry of Interior Support Vital
------------------------------------------
6. (U) Course trainers, in consultation with INL and CSTC-A, are
teaching from a draft curriculum. CSTC-A is providing uniforms and
equipment and has sufficient supplies on hand for 4,000 auxiliary
patrolmen. The ministry should also be prepared to modify the
training curriculum as needed and dedicate trainers to sustain the
program. MOI identification cards were not provided to the
inaugural class and this may inhibit their ability to get paid under
the new electronic funds transfer system. Comment: The Embassy's
INL office is exploring a possible modification of its current
DynCorp police ID card contract that would allow issuance of cards
to auxiliary police. End Comment
7. (U) The next class of approximately 98 recruits is already
undergoing training. MOI trainers are expected to begin shouldering
more of the training burden for this class.
--------------------------------------------- ----
Involve The Community And Don't Deplete The Ranks
--------------------------------------------- ----
8. (SBU) The people of Zabul continue to reaffirm their need for
auxiliary police - but what they really want is for the police in
their village and district to consist of locals, not outsiders. In
KABUL 00005284 002.2 OF 002
the first class, the mentors estimated that eighty percent of the
students came from Kandahar. The biographical data from the second
class indicates that again, the majority of the potential police
come from Kandahar, with only sixteen from Zabul province. Though
it is vital to train auxiliary police in Zabul, bringing in
outsiders makes acceptance by the local population an issue.
9. (U) The promise of training and reliable pay might be attracting
regular ANSF officers that are leaving their current positions to
join the auxiliary police. In the first class, there was at least
one trainee that quit his job with the Afghan Highway Police to join
the class because he believed it would be more beneficial. The
point of this program is to augment the existing police structures,
not poach from them. However, the allure of training and pay will
likely continue to draw volunteers from the ranks of the untrained
and lower paid existing ANSF. Comment: MOI Screening is intended to
deter previously trained police officers from jumping from another
service into the auxiliary police. End Comment
10. (SBU) Comment: Combined Security Transition Command-
Afghanistan (CSTC-A) is working hard to insure that ANAP patrolmen
are paid promptly and reliably. CSTC-A is working in concert with
the international community, Ministry of Interior and Government of
Afghanistan to ensure that this new force is paid properly and
promptly. Recently President Karzai signed the extended Tashkiel
which will facilitate payment of these policemen from LOTFA. The
Ministry of Interior is responsible for MOI recruiting auxiliary
police. Reporting from UNAMA supports PRT view that the ANAP so far
recruited are drawn heavily from non-locals and have little
geographic or tribal balance. The Ambassador has asked UNAMA to
help build solutions to these complicated problems. CSTC-A is
radiating parallel instructions. The Ambassador has and will
continue to emphasize to Minister Zarar the importance of recruiting
auxiliary police who are representative of the local communities to
which they will be deployed. We all expected these complicated
problems to arise. They have. We will continue to push for
solutions. End Comment
NEUMANN
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