US embassy cable - 05BOGOTA7840

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BOGOTA 007840 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR, PREL, PGOV, CO 
SUBJECT: AFGHAN VISIT TO COLOMBIA OFFERS NEW CN INSIGHT 
 
THIS MESSAGE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  PLEASE PROTECT 
ACCORDINGLY. 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: A six-person delegation from the Afghan 
government visited Colombia to discuss counternarcotics 
policy and the joint USG-GOC program.  The group met with 
GOC officials and visited an air base to observe Colombia's 
aerial eradication efforts.  The NAS Acting Director 
organized briefings on rural police protection, interdiction 
efforts, and a visit to a Colombian training facility.  The 
delegation expressed an interest in continuing the dialogue 
with Colombian officials.  End Summary. 
 
2. (U) At the invitation of the Government of Colombia, a 
delegation of officials from various agencies of the 
Government of Afghanistan visited Colombia July 14-17, 2005. 
The delegation, which was headed by Minister of 
Counternarcotics Habibullah Qaderi, also included 
representatives from the Afghan Ministry of Defense and 
officials from the Afghan Embassy in Washington.  Embassy 
Kabul NAS Officer escorted the delegation to events in 
Washington and on the visit to Colombia. 
 
3. (U) The delegation's objective was to receive briefings 
from GOC officials responsible for counternarcotics policy 
and to observe various elements of the joint USG-GOC 
counternarcotics program.  Following a delayed arrival on 
July 14, the group met on July 15 with officials of the GOC 
Ministry of Defense, Colombian National Police, the Office 
of the President, and other law enforcement, judicial 
branch, and economic development agencies. 
 
4. (SBU) On July 16, Embassy officers escorted the 
delegation on a tour of NAS-managed aerial eradication, 
aviation, and police training activities and facilities. 
The group first traveled to the Colombian Army Aviation Base 
at Tolemaida to receive a briefing on aerial eradication 
planning, operations, verification, and monitoring. 
Minister Qaderi noted that poppy cultivations in Afghanistan 
were located in relatively small, hilly regions of his 
country.  Embassy officer pointed out that most poppy 
cultivations in Colombia were at altitudes above 5000 feet, 
often in extreme terrain conditions, that the typical poppy 
cultivation was between one-quarter and one-half hectares, 
and that aerial eradication was an efficient and effective 
means of eradicating these cultivations. 
 
5. (SBU) The NAS Eradication Program Manager provided a 
detailed briefing of mission planning procedures.  NAS 
officials pointed out how various types of overhead imagery 
provide the basis for mission planning.  The geo-coordinates 
of individual spray targets programmed into a GPS-guided 
navigation system not only provide accurate guidance to 
target, but record precise coordinates of areas actually 
sprayed. 
 
6. (SBU) The Minister and other members of the delegation 
expressed their interest in the level of detail involved in 
planning and execution, including chemical handling 
procedures and post-spray verification.  There was a full 
discussion of manual eradication, including costs, physical 
risk and effectiveness.  On several occasions Minister 
Qaderi noted that the Colombian narcotics industry was 
dominated by narcoterrorists, whereas in Afghanistan poppy 
was grown by impoverished peasants who would readily forego 
poppy cultivation if there were sufficient positive 
incentives.  The Minister discounted the likelihood that 
organized criminal elements would become deeply involved in 
narcotics trafficking in Afghanistan and repeated his 
conviction that the problem could be managed by a 
combination of moral suasion and investment in "alternative 
livelihood" development programs. 
 
7. (SBU) During the visit to Tolemaida, Embassy officers 
described the NAS's Plan Colombia Helicopter Program.  This 
program trains pilots, non-pilot crewmembers, and 
technicians to operate and maintain a fleet of nearly 80 
helicopters to provide mobility and logistical support for 
Colombian Army units.  Embassy officers underscored that the 
combination of a host nation's political will and the 
resources and experience of the US Government could design 
highly effective solutions to a range of problems. 
 
8. (U) In the afternoon the delegation traveled to nearby 
Espinal to tour the CNP training facility at the Pijaos 
Ranch.  CNP Antinarcotics Police Deputy Commander Colonel 
Yamilk Moreno led a tour of the training facilities, 
including the CNP's designated marksman, combat medic, and 
demolition schools.  The delegation observed CNP training of 
CNP cadre to the CNP Rural Mobile Police (Carabineros), who 
provide security in Colombia's vast rural expanses.  The CNP 
Antinarcotics Police Airmobile Special Forces (Junglas), who 
conduct the CNP's interdiction operations against drug 
processing and storage facilities, and high-value 
counternarcotics and counterterrorism targets, provided a 
demonstration of an airmobile assault exercise.  US Army 
Special Forces trainers were briefed the delegation on the 
various courses offered at the training center and on their 
role in coordinating active training, course design, and 
curriculum development. 
 
9. (U) The visit to the CNP training facility elicited an 
extremely positive reaction from the visiting delegation, 
especially negotiating the level of training being conducted 
are essentially unimproved, rustic facility.  The CNP 
training cadre, who live on-site in semi-enclosed huts, 
explained that the philosophy of the training center was to 
prepare students for the actual conditions they would 
encounter in the field: all students live in tents during 
their training courses, which range from 7-16 weeks in 
duration. 
 
10. (U) The Afghan delegation expressed interest in 
continuing the exchange initiated during the day's 
orientation tour.  They were particularly interested in the 
CNP's Carabineros program, which they regarded as 
potentially adaptable to Afghanistan.  We have been advised 
that GOC and GOA officials have followed up and that the CNP 
Antinarcotics Police Deputy Commander may soon visit 
Afghanistan. 
 
WOOD