SPAIN OPPOSES LISTING OF HIZBALLAH

C O N F I D E N T I A L MADRID 000643

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/17/2015
TAGS: PTER PREL LE SP
SUBJECT: SPAIN OPPOSES LISTING OF HIZBALLAH

REF: A. A) STATE 26062


B. B) MADRID 490

Classified By: Political Officer Ricardo Zuniga; reason 1.4 (B).


1. (C) Charge relayed ref A points to National Security
Advisor Carles Casajuana on 2/14, emphasizing the importance
the USG placed on pressuring Hizballah to end its terrorist
activities. Poloff followed up later in the day with MFA Sub
Director General for the Near East (DAS equivalent) Alberto
Moreno to urge Spanish support for the designation of
Hizballah as a terrorist organization. Moreno said that
Spain opposes the designation of Hizballah because listing
would imply a complete break in EU contacts with one of
Lebanon's most important political organizations.


2. (C) Moreno reiterated points raised in an earlier
discussion of the Israeli demarche regarding Hizballah (ref
B). He said that, on balance, designation of Hizballah would
do "more harm than good" since it would eliminate any
possibility of the EU influencing the organization in a more
positive direction, or at least tracking its activities.
Moreno agreed that Hizballah could not easily be divided into
distinct political and military wings, though he noted that
such an "artificial" division would be useful from a
diplomatic standpoint since it would allow the EU to both
condemn Hizballah terrorism and maintain open channels to
what is an increasingly influential political and social
organization. Moreno said he expected Hizballah to expand
its influence during the spring parliamentary elections,
making designation an even less appealing proposition in
Spain's view.


3. (C) In ref B discussion, Moreno said the GOS would require
clear evidence of recent Hizballah involvement in terrorism
before it would consider changing its position. He said the
Israeli demarche had lacked such specifics and that he hoped
the USG would be able to provide precise details to support
the argument that the benefits of listing Hizballah
outweighed the negatives.

//COMMENT//


4. (C) It will not be easy to obtain Spanish support for
Hizballah's designation, particularly in light of Spain's
emphasis on "dialogue" with all parties in the Middle East
and their sense that they can parlay such contacts into
positive influence. However, the intelligence information
discussed in ref A could significantly weaken GOS opposition
to Hizballah's designation, especially if there is evidence
that Hizballah is recruiting terrorists in Europe or
otherwise using EU countries as a logistical base for
terrorist activities. We have several opportunities for
engaging the GOS on this issue, including during the visit of
DHS Director for International Affairs Cris Arcos to
represent the USG in the commemoration of the March 11 Madrid
train bombings and/or during the possible visits to
Washington by the Spanish Minister of Interior and the
Minister of Justice for discussions on bilateral
counter-terrorism cooperation. The desire of Spanish
security officials to deepen counter-terrorism cooperation
with the USG, for example by supporting the designation of
Hizballah, could outweigh the MFA's reluctance to cut off
contact with Hizballah.
MANZANARES