U.S. Department of State

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44    

ACTION SS-25

INFO OCT-01  ADP-00  SSO-00  NSCE-00  /026 W

                       ---------------------     009641

O R 201310Z JUL 73

FM AMEMBASSY KABUL

TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4282

INFO AMEMBASSY ANKARA

AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD

AMEMBASSY LONDON

AMEMBASSY PARIS

AMEMBASSY TEHRAN

AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI

S E C R E T KABUL 5325

EXDIS

FROM AMBASSADOR

E.O. 11652: GDS

TAGS: PFOR, PINT, AF

SUBJ: MEETING WITH DAUD'S BROTHER NAIM

SUMMARY: I MET JULY 20 WITH PRINCE NAIM, BROTHER AND ALTER

EGO OF DAUD. HE RECEIVED ME WARMLY, EXPRESSED STRONG PLEA

FOR CONTINUED US ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL SUPPORT OF AFGHANISTAN,

EXPRESSED CONFIDENCE THAT NEW REGIME FIRMLY IN SADDLE,REITERATED

COMMITMENT OF AFGHANISTAN TO NON-ALIGNED PRINCIPLES OF PREVIOUS

GOVERNMENT AND AMICABLE RESOLUTION OF PASHTUNISTAN ISSUE.

HE ALSO STRONGLY DENIED SOVIET FOREKNOWLEDGE OF COUP. END

SUMMARY.

1. I MET WITH PRINCE NAIM, 62-YEAR OLD BROTHER PRESIDENT DAUD,

REGARDED AS HIS VIRTUAL ALTER EGO (FORMER FOREIGN MINISTER AND

AMBASSADOR TO WASHINGTON),MORNING JULY 20 AT NAIM'S HOME AND

AT HIS REQUEST. APPEARING IN EXCELLENT HEALTH AND SPIRITS,

HE SPOKE WITH OBVIOUS AUTHORITY, AND

EXPRESSED GREAT PLEASURE IN SEEING ME AND RECALLED OUR PREVIOUS

MEETINGS, PARTICULARLY LAST ONE OF ABOUT YEAR AGO. HE WELCOMED

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OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH ME AND SAID HE WOULD BE AT OUR DISPOSAL

ANYTIME, ADDING THAT MFA'S DR WAHED KARIM (WHO REPORTING TO

HIM DAILY) SHOULD BE CHANNEL FOR ARRANGING FUTURE CONTACTS. HE

SAID HE HAD NO OFFICIAL FUNCTION IN NEW GOVERNMENT AND EXPECTED

TO HAVE NONE IN VIEW EYE AND EAR PROBLEMS.

2. HE SAID HE AWARE OF MY QUESTIONS ABOUT NEW GOVERNMENT'S ORGANI-

ZATION AND COMMITMENTS, AND ASSURED ME THAT "OF COURSE" NEW

REGIME WOULD HONOR ALL LEGAL OBLIGATIONS OF THE PREVIOUS

GOVERNMENT.

3. HE THEN LAUNCHED INTO BRIEF HISTORICAL DISCUSSION LEADING

UP TO CURRENT SITUATION, WHICH TIED INTO OUR LAST MEETING OF

YEAR AGO. HE REMINDED ME THAT IN OUR LAST CONVERSATION HE HAD

TOLD ME THAT KING WAS IRRESPONSIBLE, THAT PARLIAMENT WAS A JOKE,

THAT KING WAS NOT WORKING HARD AND WAS LEADING COUNTRY INTO

BANKRUPTCY. HE RECALLED HOW HE HAD THEN URGED ME TO PERSUADE

KING MOVE MORE RAPIDLY. WE KNOW YOU DID THAT, HE SAID, BUT

YOU WERE UNABLE TO DO MORE THAN TO GET HIM TO RESPOND TO

EMERGENCY SITUATION BROUGHT ON BY TWO-YEAR DROUGHT. HE SAID

CONSTITUTION OF 1964 CREATED ABSOLUTE RULE OF KING. HE DID

NOT DELEGATE POWER; HE RAN COUNTRY BUT YET HE DIDN'T RUN IT.

THE MINISTRIES WERE DYSFUNCTIONAL AND "PLAYTHINGS" OF CAPRICIOUS

KING. HE SAID KING RELIED FOR ENVERYTHING, NOT ON HIS ACHIEVEMENTS

OR POPULAR FEELINGS, BUT ON MILITARY SUPPORT. THIS NOT POSSIBLE

IN LONG RUN. POPULARITY, HE CONCLUDED, ESPECIALLY IN POOR

COUNTRY LIKE AFGHANISTAN, CAN COME ONLY FROM VERY HARD WORK.

4. SPEAKING OF THE ROYAL FAMILY, NAIM SAID HUMAN COSTS OF GOVERNMENT

TAKEOVER HAVE BEEN PAINFUL, BUT THANK GOD NO ONE SUFFERED

SERIOUS HARM. IN TERMS OF PERSONAL INTER-FAMILY FEELINGS,

COUNTRY COMES FIRST.

5. AFGHAN REPUBLIC, HE CONTINUED, HAS MANDATE TO CREATE

POLICY FOR BENEFIT OF PEOPLE, WHICH WILL NOT BE EASY TASK.

THERE IS GENERAL ACCEPTANCE OF NEW REGIME AMONG POPULATE BUT

NO ACCEPTANCE FOR EXTREMISM OF EITHER LEFT OR RIGHT.  THE

LEFT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE FOR PEOPLE OF AFGHANISTAN. THE RIGHT IS

TOO BACKWARD AND NOT REALLY INTERESTED IN SOLVING PROBLEMS.

THE NEW REGIME WILL TAKE MEASURES TO PREVENT EXTREMISM, BUT

THE REAL PROBLEM IS TO ERADICATE THAT WHICH FEEDS LEFTISM--POVERTY,

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IGNORANCE AND NEED. IN THIS CONNECTION, HE ADDED, WE NEEED

AMERICAN

UNDERSTANDING AND HELP DESPERATELY. NOW IS THE LAST CHANCE, HE

ADMONISHED, FOR US TO COME TO OUR SIDE AND GIVE SIGNIFICANT

ECONOMIC HELP, NOT SO THAT WE CAN ACHIEVE GREAT WEALTH BUT SOME

DECENT LEVEL OF PROSPERITY. HE SAID I KNEW FROM INVALUABLE

EXPERIENCE HERE HOW ECONOMIC AID CAN HELP WHEN WELL APPLIED. HE

REMINDED ME THAT IT BETTER IN ANY COUNTRY TO APPLY ECONOMIC HELP

SOONER THAN TO HAVE TO HELP LATER WITH MASSIVE MILITARY

ASSISTANCE. WE MUST SHOW RESULTS TO OUR PEOPLE AND WE ASK FOR

SOMETHING FROM U.S. THAT WILL MAKE DECISIVE DIFFERENCE FOR COMMON

PEOPLE OF COUNTRY.

6. I RESPONDED FIRST BY EXPRESSING SATISFACTION THAT HE WANTED USG

TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH AFGHANISTAN, ADDING THAT ONE MINIMAL

REQUIREMENT IS TO KNOW WITH WHOM WE MUST DEAL. THINKING HE MAY

HAVE BEEN UNAWARE OF GENERA LEVEL OUR CURRENT ASSISTANCE, I GAVE

HIM FIGURES OF OUR FY1973 AID PROGRAM, CITING ESPECIALLY OUR

RECENT MASSIVE FERTILIZER PROGRAM WHICH WAS ALREADY HAVING

SIGNIFICANT EFFECT IN AGRICULTURAL SPHERE. IN RESPONSE TO A

SPECIFIC QUESTION HE SAID GOVERNMENT ALSO EMPHATICALLY ALSO

WANTED CONTINUATION US MAP TRAINING PROGRAM.

7. I TOLD HIM THAT IN ADDITION TO USG ALMOST ALL FOREIGN DONORS

WERE DISCOURAGED THAT ALL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLANS FOR AFGHANI-

STAN WERE FOREIGN PLANS AND STRESSED NEED THEREFORE FOR SOLID

AFGHAN-INITIATED PLANNING WHICH WOULD SET PRIORITIES FOR

COUNTRY AND WHICH OF COURSE MUST BE PART OF BASIC AFGHAN GOVERNMENT

POLICY DECISIONS. I TOLD HIM THAT NOW IS THE RIGHT TIME FOR NEW

PLANNING MECHANCSM.

8. NAIM INDICATED APPRECIATION FOR MY VIEW AND SAID WHEN DAUD

WAS PREVIOUSLY PM, HE WAS ALSO IN CHARGE OF PLANNING. HE INDICATED

THAT DAUD WOULD CONTINUE TO PLAY THAT ROLE. HE URGED ME THEREFORE

TO SEE PRESIDENT DAUD AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

9. WITH REGARD TO NAIM'S REMARKS ON

PREVIOUS REGIME'S

RELIANCE ON MILITARY, I ASKED HIM IF THERE NOT SOME EVIDENCE THAT

NEW REGIME WOULD ALSO HAVE TO RELY ON ARMY. HE REPLIED OF COURSE

THAT WAS TRUE IN SHORT RUN. HE SAID DAUD'S MILITARY SUPPORTERS

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ACTED WITH GREAT EFFICIENCY AND SHOULD BE GIVEN DUE CREDIT,

ACKNOWLEDGING, HOWEVER, THE NEED TO ESTABLISH STRONG CIVILIAN

GOVERNMENT.

10. AT THIS POINT I ASKED NAIM, IN CONTEXT OF AFGHAN

HISTORY, HOW HE THOUGHT KING, WHOM HE HAS KNOWN FOR MANY

YEARS, WOULD ULTIMATELY REACT TO RECENT EVENTS.HE REPLIED

THAT RECENT EVENTS PROVED THAT HE HAS LITTLE POPULAR SUPPORT,

SINCE NO ONE STOOD UP AND FOUGHT FOR HIM. WHAT HE DOES IS HIS

OWN BUSINESS BUT WE WILL TOLERATE ABSOLUTELY NO FOREIGN INTER-

FERENCE. I TOLD HIM OF SPECULATION THAT SOVIETS KNEW ABOUT

COUP IN ADVANCE AND MIGHT EVEN HAVE ENCOURAGED MOVE. NAIM

REPLIED, "LET ME SPEAK COMPLETELY FRANKLY AND AS ONE GENTLEMAN

TO ANOTHER GENTLEMAN THAT THE RUSSIANS KNEW NOTHING MORE ABOUT

THIS IN ADVANCE THAN THE KING."

11. I REFERRED TO NUMEROUS QUESTIONS WE HAVE HEARD FROM ABROAD

ABOUT DAUD SINGLING OUT PAKISTAN IN HIS SPEECH AS ONLY FOREIGN

POLICY PROBLEM OF AFGHANISTAN. I SAID THAT WHILE I HAD EXPECTED

MENTION OF PASHTUNISTAN, I HEARD NOTHING AOBUT SETTLING PROBLEM

PEACEFULLY. NAIM MINIMIZED THIS ELEMENT DAUD'S SPEECH, EXPLAINING

THAT EVERYING HAPPENED QUICKLY AT TIME IT WAS DRAFTED AND THAT

PERHAPS SOMETHING INADVERTENTLY LEFT OUT. HE ADDED AFGHANS

AND PAKISTANIS MUST NOT HAVE STIFF ATTITUDE TOWARDS EACH OTHER

AND MUST MAKE "SERIOUS EFFORT" TO ACHIEVE PEACEFUL SOLUTION TO

EXTENT POSSIBLE.

12. NAIM CONCLUDED MEETING WITH PLEA FOR US NOT TO ABANDON

AFGHANISTAN. HE RECALLED WHILE HE AMBASSADOR IN WASHINGTON

DURING DULLES ERA, HE HAD DIFFICULTY IN CONVINCING AMERICANS

AFGHANS WERE NOT "GOING OVER TO OTHER SIDE". BUT, HE SAID,

AFGHANISTAN HAD SHOWN BY DEEDS ITS TRUE POSITION. HE NOTED THAT

WORLD SITUATION HAD CHANGED SINCE THEN AND THAT NEUTRALITY

IS NO LONGER CONSIDERED IMMORAL BY EITHER SIDE. WE REMAIN

NEUTRAL, CLEAR AND SIMPLE, AND NOTHING MORE THAN THAT.

13. I MENTIONED TO NAIM THAT AFGHANS, WHO HAD BEEN A BIT FEARFUL

ABOUT PREVIOUS REGIME, WERE CONCERNED (AS WE WERE) THAT THERE

WOULD BE LESS PERSONAL CONTACT BETWEEN AFGHANS AND FOREIGNERS UNDER

NEW REGIME. HE REPLIED THERE WILL INEVITABLY BE LESS CONTACT

INITIALLY, SINCE OUR FIRST PRIORITY IS TO GET NEW GOVERNMENT

FIRMLY ESTABLISHED AND THAT LEADERSHIP WOULD NOT WANT

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ANTAGONISTS TO SABOTAGE THIS EFFORT. HOWEVER, PRACTIVE WILL APPLY

ABSOLUTELY EQUALLY TO ALL FOREIGN RESPRESENTATIVES WITHOUG

DISCRIMINATION. NAIM ALSO APOLOGIZED FOR ANY INCONVENIENCES

RECENT EVENTS HAD CAUSED, BUT SAID HE BELIEVED NORMALCY

WOULD RETURN VERY QUICKLY.

NEUMANN

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