Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BEIRUT1496
2006-05-11 14:57:00
SECRET
Embassy Beirut
Cable title:
MGLE01: BAABDA PALACE WHISPERS
how-toVZCZCXRO1535 PP RUEHAG RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHMOS DE RUEHLB #1496/01 1311457 ZNY SSSSS ZZH P 111457Z MAY 06 FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3497 INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE RUEHROV/AMEMBASSY VATICAN 0564 RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 001496
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/WERNER/SINGH
LONDON FOR TSOU
PARIS FOR ZEYA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 25X1-HUMAN
TAGS: PINR PTER KISL KPAL LE SY EG
SUBJECT: MGLE01: BAABDA PALACE WHISPERS
REF: 05 BEIRUT 3642
BEIRUT 00001496 001.2 OF 002
Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey D. Feltman for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d
).
SUMMARY
-------
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 001496
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/WERNER/SINGH
LONDON FOR TSOU
PARIS FOR ZEYA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 25X1-HUMAN
TAGS: PINR PTER KISL KPAL LE SY EG
SUBJECT: MGLE01: BAABDA PALACE WHISPERS
REF: 05 BEIRUT 3642
BEIRUT 00001496 001.2 OF 002
Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey D. Feltman for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d
).
SUMMARY
--------------
1. (S) Seeing Egypt as a natural ally in its resistance to
U.S. promotion of democracy in the region, President Lahoud
plans to travel to Sharm El-Sheikh this month to "sit in the
lap" of President Mubarak, as one of Lahoud's aides candidly
put it. In the meantime, various allies of the Syrian regime
in Lebanon appear to have been "reactivated," and are
connecting with Lahoud's Presidential Palace as well as with
the SARG. End summary.
LAHOUD TO SHARM EL-SHEIKH
--------------
2. (S) Over coffee at a discreet location far from the
Presidential Palace in Baabda, Ghassan Ezzeddine, a military
aide to President Lahoud, told DATT and emboff that Lahoud
will travel to Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt May 19-22. The
ostensible purpose of the trip is a meeting with Egyptian
President Mubarak, according to Ezzaddine.
OUT BY THE POOL... AND IN MUBARAK'S LAP?
--------------
3. (S) Ezzeddine said that Lahoud has concluded that his
current "Syrian-Iranian cover" is not sufficient to allow him
to enjoy the full length of his extended (thanks to the SARG)
term in office. He therefore intends to reach out to the
Egyptians and also the Saudis, seeing them as waging a
rear-guard battle against U.S. efforts to promote democratic
change in the region, even while they maintain good relations
with Washington. This, in Lahoud's view, makes the Egyptians
and Saudis his natural allies. He hopes to gain political
cover from them by "sitting in their lap," said Ezzeddine.
4. (S) It will not be all work and no play in Sharm
El-Sheikh, according to Ezzeddine. In fact, it looks as if
it will not even be mostly work. Lahoud, who has put
Ezzeddine in charge of making arrangements, had been careful
to instruct him to find a hotel with an Olympic-size swimming
pool. Ezzeddine said he did not expect the workdays in Sharm
to be very rigorous, and was planning to bring his swimming
trunks.
MICHEL SAMAHA AT WORK
--------------
5. (S) Separately, Mazen Hayek, a Lebanese businessman and
close friend of Lahoud's press secretary, Rafiq Shalala, has
relayed some other accounts of goings-on in the Palace.
According to Shalala, Michel Samaha -- former Information
Minister and onetime eager would-be intermediary between the
USG and the SARG -- has lately been pressing Lahoud to
receive the likes of Palestinian rejectionists Ismail Haniya,
Osama Hamdan, and Khaled Mishaal at the Palace. Samaha was
acting on behalf of the SARG. Hayek's comment: "This is how
our 'brothers' still manage to interfere in Leb internal
affairs and continue to play a 'beyond frontiers' role on the
Palestinian scene...."
6. (S) Without mentioning Hayek's/Shalala's account, we
asked Ezzeddine about Samaha's visibility in the Palace these
days. Ezzaddine did not have any details, but grimaced and
described Samaha as an opportunistic, social-climbing, and
somewhat unsavory character.
WHILE OTHER SYRIAN ALLIES ARE "REACTIVATED"
--------------
7. (S) Ezzeddine said that there were obvious signs of the
SARG's allies in Lebanon being "reactivated," Samaha not the
least of them. Another prominent example was that of Abou
Kifaa', younger brother of Hassan Moussawi, the Biqa'a
Valley-based founder of the "Islamic Amal," which broke off
from Amal following Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon. Abou
Kifaa' is so well connected with the SARG that he can secure
a meeting with President Asad whenever he wants, Ezzeddine
claimed.
BEIRUT 00001496 002.2 OF 002
... IN LEBANON AND ELSEWHERE
--------------
8. (S) One another Palace-related note, Hayek, who is based
in Dubai, told us that Ralph Lahoud (son of President
Lahoud),together with the brother of Mustafa Hamdan (the
former Presidential Guard commander now jailed on suspicion
of involvement in the assassination of former Prime Minister
Hariri),has visited Dubai recently to "liaise" with former
Palace military aide Wassef Serhan.
9. (S) Note: Serhan, like Ezzeddine, was a Lebanese
military officer assigned to President Lahoud's staff at the
Palace. (Ezzeddine despised him.) He resigned from military
service in November 2005 after his personal finances
attracted the attention of the UN International Independent
Investigative Commission, as well as of the news media
(reftel). Not long afterward, Serhan -- who was close to
Hamdan -- moved to Dubai to go into business with prosperous
expatriate Lebanese relatives. End note.
FELTMAN
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/WERNER/SINGH
LONDON FOR TSOU
PARIS FOR ZEYA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 25X1-HUMAN
TAGS: PINR PTER KISL KPAL LE SY EG
SUBJECT: MGLE01: BAABDA PALACE WHISPERS
REF: 05 BEIRUT 3642
BEIRUT 00001496 001.2 OF 002
Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey D. Feltman for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d
).
SUMMARY
--------------
1. (S) Seeing Egypt as a natural ally in its resistance to
U.S. promotion of democracy in the region, President Lahoud
plans to travel to Sharm El-Sheikh this month to "sit in the
lap" of President Mubarak, as one of Lahoud's aides candidly
put it. In the meantime, various allies of the Syrian regime
in Lebanon appear to have been "reactivated," and are
connecting with Lahoud's Presidential Palace as well as with
the SARG. End summary.
LAHOUD TO SHARM EL-SHEIKH
--------------
2. (S) Over coffee at a discreet location far from the
Presidential Palace in Baabda, Ghassan Ezzeddine, a military
aide to President Lahoud, told DATT and emboff that Lahoud
will travel to Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt May 19-22. The
ostensible purpose of the trip is a meeting with Egyptian
President Mubarak, according to Ezzaddine.
OUT BY THE POOL... AND IN MUBARAK'S LAP?
--------------
3. (S) Ezzeddine said that Lahoud has concluded that his
current "Syrian-Iranian cover" is not sufficient to allow him
to enjoy the full length of his extended (thanks to the SARG)
term in office. He therefore intends to reach out to the
Egyptians and also the Saudis, seeing them as waging a
rear-guard battle against U.S. efforts to promote democratic
change in the region, even while they maintain good relations
with Washington. This, in Lahoud's view, makes the Egyptians
and Saudis his natural allies. He hopes to gain political
cover from them by "sitting in their lap," said Ezzeddine.
4. (S) It will not be all work and no play in Sharm
El-Sheikh, according to Ezzeddine. In fact, it looks as if
it will not even be mostly work. Lahoud, who has put
Ezzeddine in charge of making arrangements, had been careful
to instruct him to find a hotel with an Olympic-size swimming
pool. Ezzeddine said he did not expect the workdays in Sharm
to be very rigorous, and was planning to bring his swimming
trunks.
MICHEL SAMAHA AT WORK
--------------
5. (S) Separately, Mazen Hayek, a Lebanese businessman and
close friend of Lahoud's press secretary, Rafiq Shalala, has
relayed some other accounts of goings-on in the Palace.
According to Shalala, Michel Samaha -- former Information
Minister and onetime eager would-be intermediary between the
USG and the SARG -- has lately been pressing Lahoud to
receive the likes of Palestinian rejectionists Ismail Haniya,
Osama Hamdan, and Khaled Mishaal at the Palace. Samaha was
acting on behalf of the SARG. Hayek's comment: "This is how
our 'brothers' still manage to interfere in Leb internal
affairs and continue to play a 'beyond frontiers' role on the
Palestinian scene...."
6. (S) Without mentioning Hayek's/Shalala's account, we
asked Ezzeddine about Samaha's visibility in the Palace these
days. Ezzaddine did not have any details, but grimaced and
described Samaha as an opportunistic, social-climbing, and
somewhat unsavory character.
WHILE OTHER SYRIAN ALLIES ARE "REACTIVATED"
--------------
7. (S) Ezzeddine said that there were obvious signs of the
SARG's allies in Lebanon being "reactivated," Samaha not the
least of them. Another prominent example was that of Abou
Kifaa', younger brother of Hassan Moussawi, the Biqa'a
Valley-based founder of the "Islamic Amal," which broke off
from Amal following Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon. Abou
Kifaa' is so well connected with the SARG that he can secure
a meeting with President Asad whenever he wants, Ezzeddine
claimed.
BEIRUT 00001496 002.2 OF 002
... IN LEBANON AND ELSEWHERE
--------------
8. (S) One another Palace-related note, Hayek, who is based
in Dubai, told us that Ralph Lahoud (son of President
Lahoud),together with the brother of Mustafa Hamdan (the
former Presidential Guard commander now jailed on suspicion
of involvement in the assassination of former Prime Minister
Hariri),has visited Dubai recently to "liaise" with former
Palace military aide Wassef Serhan.
9. (S) Note: Serhan, like Ezzeddine, was a Lebanese
military officer assigned to President Lahoud's staff at the
Palace. (Ezzeddine despised him.) He resigned from military
service in November 2005 after his personal finances
attracted the attention of the UN International Independent
Investigative Commission, as well as of the news media
(reftel). Not long afterward, Serhan -- who was close to
Hamdan -- moved to Dubai to go into business with prosperous
expatriate Lebanese relatives. End note.
FELTMAN