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Viewing cable 08KABUL2909, A MORE HANDS-ON APPROACH TO PARLIAMENT RELATIONS

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08KABUL2909 2008-11-01 11:44 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Kabul
VZCZCXRO0954
PP RUEHPW
DE RUEHBUL #2909/01 3061144
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 011144Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6044
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 002909 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/FO, SCA/A, S/CRS 
NSC FOR JWOOD 
OSD FOR MCGRAW 
CG CJTF-82, POLAD, JICCENT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV AF
SUBJECT: A MORE HANDS-ON APPROACH TO PARLIAMENT RELATIONS 
 
REF: A. KABUL 2837 
     B. KABUL 2714 
 
1. (SBU) SUMMARY.  After some confusion at the Ministry for 
Parliamentary Affairs following the transfer of former chief 
Farooq Wardak to the Ministry of Education and the reluctance 
of a named successor to accept the job, the office's deputy 
has taken charge indefinitely, with hopes of dedicating more 
attention to President's Karzai's often tenuous relationship 
with the National Assembly.  Karim Baz assumed acting 
responsibilities for parliamentary affairs last week, and 
brings with him a management style wholly different than 
Wardak's.  Baz is more of a technocrat, with little of the 
personal connections and flash Wardak employed, but more 
potential to dedicate himself to the details of legislative 
lobbying than his predecessor.  Baz has said he aims to 
improve relations with the Lower House's leadership and speed 
through an ambitious agenda of legislation that has sat 
dormant for more than a year. 
 
Wardak Moves On, and So Does the New Nominee 
---------- 
 
2.    (SBU) Karzai transferred Farooq Wardak to the Education 
ministry two weeks ago as part of a long-anticipated Cabinet 
shuffle (ref A).  Wardak had worn many hats for Karzai's 
administration, often giving short shrift to his 
responsibilities for managing the president's legislative 
agenda.  Typical of his style, Wardak utilized a last-minute 
slew of arm twisting and likely pay offs to win votes for the 
president's Cabinet nominees.  But on routine legislative 
issues, he was often absent, pre-occupied with negotiations 
with Pakistan, managing Cabinet meetings, or other duties 
Karzai had assigned him.  The result was an administration 
frustrated by its inability to move legislation and caught by 
surprise when Karzai's vetoes were overridden in September 
(ref B).  Wardak's relationship with Lower House Speaker 
Yunus Qanooni (Kabul, Tajik), in particular, was often 
strained. 
 
3.    (SBU) As part of the Cabinet shuffle, Karzai came under 
pressure to find a place for former Kandahar Governor 
Assadullah Khalid.  Khalid and his supporters, including 
influential MP Abdul Rassoul Sayyaf (Kabul, Pashtun), had 
hoped for a major Cabinet assignment, but Karzai was 
unimpressed by Khalid's stewardship of his home province and 
offered him what many now see as an offer the president knew 
he would refuse.  After a week of ambiguity, Khalid's true 
feelings about the new job offer became clear as he left the 
country rather than accept the helm at Parliamentary Affairs. 
 Karzai then named Wardak's deputy Dr. Karim Baz as acting 
minister.  Although rumors of a second round of Cabinet moves 
abound, few versions include replacing Baz.  Baz himself 
guesses he will be in the job for the remainder of the 
president's term. 
 
A Technocrat With a Medical Background 
---------- 
 
4.    (SBU) Baz, an orthopedic surgeon by training, brings 
with him just six months' experience as Wardak's deputy, plus 
18 more months as the president's liaison to provincial 
councils with IDLG.  However, initial evidence shows he is 
ready to dedicate far more attention to the details of the 
job than Wardak.  Baz said he is preparing a list of more 
than 20 bills of top priority for the government and intends 
to work with Qanooni to develop an agenda to move through the 
bills one by one.  Baz kicked off this initiative last week, 
bringing the ministers of justice and mines to Parliament to 
help get a water usage bill on the Lower House's agenda. 
Qanooni, more willing to listen to the less-politicized Baz 
than he was with Karzai's right-hand man Wardak, agreed, and 
MPs worked their way through the bill within three sessions. 
The last bill addressed while Wardak was at the helm took 
nearly five weeks to pass.  Baz told PolOff he hopes to pass 
two more bills before the current legislative session ends in 
December and work through the remainder of his priority list 
during the next session.  For our part, we will meet again 
soon with Baz to seek his help on our legislative agenda, 
particularly a number of long-stalled economic and commercial 
reform bills. 
 
5.    (SBU) Despite his meticulous approach to advancing 
legislation, it remains to be seen whether Baz has the 
charisma to win over the dominant personalities in a 
Parliament often less concerned with legislating and more 
pre-occupied with political theater.  Wardak had a clear 
 
KABUL 00002909  002 OF 002 
 
 
advantage in this regard, and often exploited his personal 
connections and ability to make deals on the president's 
behalf in order to win support.  Baz has few of his own 
resources and not nearly the standing with Karzai to bring to 
this aspect of the job.  Instead, he will have to rely on 
less-flashy tactics of moving bills through committees and on 
to votes by the whole house.  If he is successful, he will 
help this young Parliament mature into a better-functioning 
body.  If he's not, Karzai's reputation and agenda in 
Parliament will continue to suffer until a more dynamic 
personality comes along to line up votes and move legislation 
through the chaotic legislature. 
WOOD