US embassy cable - 03ABUDHABI3940

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 003940 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ARP, SA/PAB, SA/AR, S/CT 
KABUL FOR AMBASSADOR TAYLOR 
NSC FOR ZKHALILZAD, JDWORKEN, HMANN, RHANSON, 
DOD FOR U/S DOV ZAKHEIM 
STATE PLEASE PASS TDA FOR CKRESS AND DSTEIN 
STATE PLEASE PASS TREASURY FOR U/S TAYLOR, LMCDONALD 
STATE PLEASE PASS OPIC FOR RCONNELLY AND DZAHNHEISER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL 08/27/13 
TAGS: EAID, MARR, MASS, PREL, PGOV, OHIP, AF, TC 
SUBJECT:  UAE aid to Afghanistan totals more than USD 
150 million and rising 
 
Refs: Abu Dhabi 2303 and previous 
 
Classified by Richard A. Albright, Charge d'Affaires, 
a.i., for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (U) Summary and comment:  As the World Bank 
considers approaching the UAEG to co-host an Afghan 
donors conference on the margins of the IMF/World Bank 
annual meetings in Dubai in September, Post was 
reminded recently by one of our MFA contacts that the 
UAE has provided millions of dollars in financial aid 
and assistance-in-kind to the Afghan Interim 
Authority.  UAE humanitarian and military programs in 
Afghanistan are ongoing, and we expect the final price 
tag to far exceed the $150 million already spent. 
Post offers the following retrospective of the UAE's 
donations to Afghanistan during the last two years as 
reference.  End summary and comment. 
 
 
Official Pledges -- $36 million 
------------------------------- 
 
2.  (SBU) The UAEG pledged $30 million in economic 
assistance to Afghanistan and a further $6 million in 
humanitarian aid -- over and above the millions of 
dollars in humanitarian assistance previously 
delivered -- at the January 2002 Tokyo Conference. 
 
3.  (C) UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs 
Hamdan Bin Zayid Al-Nahyan (HbZ) told the Ambassador 
last year that, during his 2002 visit to Abu Dhabi, 
Afghan President Karzai had requested that some of the 
USD $30 million be given in direct cash assistance. 
The UAEG agreed to channel $10 million of its Tokyo 
pledge in cash to the Afghan Finance Ministry, while 
the remaining $20 million will be reserved for 
infrastructure assistance. 
 
Assistance-in-Kind -- $50 million 
--------------------------------- 
 
4.  (SBU) UAE officials informed us in October 2002 
that they intended to provide a substantial 
assistance-in-kind package to the Afghan National 
Army.  The items -- the total value of which is in the 
neighborhood of $50 million -- were delivered in 
November 2002 and included heavy vehicles, clothing, 
communications gear, computers and electronic 
appliances.  They were drawn from a list provided by 
CENTCOM and sent by the Ambassador to Chief of Staff 
Muhammad Bin Zayid during the previous summer. 
 
Special Operations Task Force -- $10 million 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
5.  (S) In February 2003, the UAEG proposed a SOC 
deployment to Afghanistan, and an advance team arrived 
at Baghram Air Base on August 8.  By September 6, the 
UAE will have transported all of its initial 35 SOC 
elements (personnel and equipment) to Baghram via 
airlift.  A total of 14 C-130 loads and four IL-76 
loads are accomplishing this task.  The equipment 
consists primarily of vehicles, generators, storage 
units, supplies, weapons, and ammunition. 
 
6.  (S) After a training period of about two weeks, 
UAE troops will begin operational patrols as a fully 
participating member of CJSOTF-A.  The SOC Task Force 
has committed to this deployment for one year, with 
the option to extend.  UAE troops will rotate out 
every 90-120 days.  An FMS case worth $2 million was 
written to enable the U.S. to provide combat support 
and base operating support services on an as-needed, 
reimbursable basis and we estimate that the initial 
outlay of funds for the UAEG's SOC deployment easily 
will reach $10 million. 
 
Humanitarian Assistance -- $50 Million And Counting... 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
7.  (U) The UAE's humanitarian assistance to the 
Afghan people -- estimated to be more than $50 million 
-- began after the commencement of Operation Enduring 
Freedom and is ongoing and substantial.  Both the 
quasi-governmental UAE Red Crescent Authority (RCA) 
and Dubai Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Rashid Al- 
Maktoum's Charitable Foundation established refugee 
camps and provided medicine, food, clothing and 
equipment to homeless Afghans. 
 
8.  (U) The RCA was the first Arab NGO on the ground 
in Kabul following the fall of the Taliban.  The 
organization has an office in the UAE Embassy in Kabul 
and has donated medical equipment to hospitals in 
Kabul.  A skeleton staff remains in Kabul to run 
operations there while the RCA-funded and managed camp 
in Cheman (along the Pak-Afghan border) continues to 
cater to the needs of thousands of displaced Afghans. 
The RCA has built a school, mosque and medical clinic 
inside the camp in Chemen.  An air bridge was 
established between Abu Dhabi and Mashad, Iran in 2002 
to supply Afghans stranded on the Afghan-Iranian 
border. 
 
9.  (C) The RCA Secretary-General told us that the 
RCA, in conjunction with UNHCR, has established a fund 
for refugee women and children, sponsored and funded 
in large part by UAE First Lady Fatima Bint Mubarak. 
 
Personal Support To Karzai -- ...Millions More 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
10.  (C) The UAEG also continues to provide 
substantial personal financial support to Karzai. 
During both of his visits to Abu Dhabi (one in 
February 2002, the other in September 2002) Karzai 
reportedly walked away with cash from President Zayid, 
rumored to be in the neighborhood of several million 
dollars.  HbZ also told the Ambassador that the UAE 
had sent armored cars for Karzai following the attempt 
on his life as well as 100 vehicles for the Afghan 
Foreign Ministry's Protocol Department. 
 
Albright