LEBANON: ITALY READY TO HELP WITH TROOPS, BRIDGE

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 ROME 002335 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/17/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER MOPS EAID PHUM IS LE IT SUBJECT: LEBANON: ITALY READY TO HELP WITH TROOPS, BRIDGE REPAIRS, OIL SPILL ROME 00002335 001.2 OF 003 Classified By: Ambassador Ronald P. Spogli for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) Summary -------------- ¶1. (S) Italy is prepared to deploy up to 1,000 troops quickly to UNIFIL and up to 3,000 overall. The Foreign Minister told NEA A/S Welch the cabinet unanimously approved Italy's participation in UNIFIL during its August 18 meeting. Italy is persuaded, based on its own high-level consultations with Paris, that France is committed to the force and that it wants to command it. The GOI will take on repair of an Italian-built high-elevation bridge on the Beirut-Damascus highway, and is dispatching a task force next week to work on environmental issues such as the large coastal oil spill. End Summary. Force Generation: When Mandate Set, Italy Will Go Quickly -------------- -------------- ¶2. (S) A/S Welch, accompanied by Ambassador and Pol M/C, met August 18 with Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema and MFA Middle East director Riccardo Sessa. D'Alema had visited Beirut and Cairo earlier in the week. Both Welch and D'Alema expressed some puzzlement over reports that France might be stepping back from its initial commitment to a substantial UNIFIL troop contribution. D'Alema said the issue likely lay with President Chirac. PM Prodi could call, and he could call his French counterpart, but perhaps the best way to clarify the issue might be for President Bush to call Chirac. ¶3. (S) D'Alema said the French had initially spoken of sending up to 5,000 men, and if they wanted the command, they should be prepared to contribute more than others. Italy was ready with 3,000, and could go in quickly with up to 1,000 troops. Welch said this was a critical moment. If we lose momentum on force generation, we could lose momentum on the resolution implementation. France claims the command, but Italy could take it on as well. Italy Says France Still Fully Committed on UNIFIL -------------- -------------- ¶4. (S) (After the meeting, D'Alema called French Foreign Minister Douste-Blazy. Based on that exchange, Sessa told Welch the GOI was persuaded the French remained committed to the force, will participate, and want to command it. The French evidently believe the UN assessment of 3,500 for an early deployment is too high and 300 or so would suffice. Welch said 3,500 might be not be necessary, but more than 300 certainly will be. Sessa thought the important thing was that the French were committed; the rest was details to be worked out in New York.) ¶5. (S) Welch noted the importance of Syrian border monitoring. There were nine crossing points to monitor, and the Germans might play a role on this. The risk of resupply to Hizballah was significant. We want Israel to lift the air embargo, so the airport can open, but much depends on the Syrian border. There had been a lot of Israeli casualties from anti-tank missiles smuggled in from Syria. ¶6. (S) On the political side, there was a pretty good consensus emerging. Lebanese PM Siniora had done a good job of holding the government together during the crisis. We are looking at ways to help, and may go back to our Congress for funding. D'Alema agreed and noted Iran was prepared to funnel a lot of money to Hizballah. It was necessary to coordinate efforts to help the Lebanese government, e.g. with the August 31 international conference on relief that Sweden proposed to host. Italy Will Take on Repair of Key Bridge -------------- ¶7. (S) Welch asked if Italy would be funding repair of the high-elevation, Italian-built bridge on the Beirut-Damascus highway. D'Alema confirmed it would, and Sessa indicated he would be going to the region soon with a team that would include a representative of the company that built the bridge, in order to assess repair needs. D'Alema said Italy would also help with environmental cleanup. A six-person ROME 00002335 002.2 OF 003 team would be in Beirut Monday August 21 to address the oil spill pollution issue. Italy had also dispatched a naval vessel to Lebanon with 500 tons of relief supplies. ¶8. (S) Sessa said Italy would welcome US or other contributions on the bridge and environmental cleanup issues. The A/S responded by suggesting that Italy address the bridge repairs; the US might direct its own funds to repair of the Tripoli-Tyre coastal highway. He left open the possibility of collaboration on environmental cleanup. Can't Afford to Lose Momentum -------------- ¶9. (S) D'Alema excused himself to return to Italy's parliament, where he was testifying on Lebanon before joint defense/foreign affairs committees of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies. Addressing Sessa, Welch said the most urgent issue of the moment was for Italy to get its 1,000 troops to Lebanon in the coming days. Sessa said Italy was ready, an amphibious force was now at the southern port of Brindisi. But a clear mandate and framework to proceed was required. He agreed that we could not afford to lose momentum, and it would be seen as a failure if forces were not dispatched by the end of the coming week. ¶10. (S) Welch said the issue went beyond Israel and Lebanon. This was the first UN resolution approving a peackeeping operation like this for a long time. We want to go from crisis management this summer to peace-making next fall. We want to get back to the Israel-Palestinians agenda. We can't do that if we're fighting fires on Israel's northern border. Challenges: Syria, Hizballah -------------- ¶11. (S) Sessa expressed concern that Lebanese government consensus was a facade, there were real differences among ministers, and skepticism, reflecting political differences in Lebanese society. Relations with Syria were still a huge problem. Nobody was talking about the Palestinian refugees, but they were still there. And there is ambiguity about what to do with Hizballah -- they had registered significant political gains in the Arab world. ¶12. (S) Welch said, yes, but those gains could well dissipate. People were enthusiastic now because Hizballah had been seen to stand up against Israel. But they are Islamic extremists. The elites don't like them. They operate outside the authority of governments. Many in Lebanon don't like them. Nasrallah knows this, hence his quick shift to focus on aid. We need to get the Saudis and other Gulf states to spend some money in southern Lebanon, whatever their distaste for the Shia. Preventing Dirty Games -------------- ¶13. (S) Sessa said engaging Syria and Iran was also needed, to ensure they don't play dirty games. Yes, said Welch, but what is the message? First, it should be that they need to allow the Lebanese government to function, including deployment of the army up to the Syrian border. Second, they themselves should observe the terms of the resolution. The Arabs, notably Saudi Arabia and Egypt, need to press Syria as well. If they want to bring Damascus back into the Arab fold, fine, but they need to do it and show the effort bears positive results. Welch noted the UNSGY was thinking of travel to the region, including to Syria. Sessa thought this was a good idea. He said it was counter-productive to publicly pressure Syria; the usual result was the opposite of what you wanted. Our focus should be on strengthening the Lebanese government. Comment -------------- ¶14. (S) D'Alema went out of his way to make time for Welch during a break in a hectic morning of cabinet and parliamentary sessions on the Lebanon mission. He told the A/S the cabinet had unanimously approved his briefing on ROME 00002335 003.2 OF 003 Italy's proposed participation. Like us, he was obviously puzzled by reports that the French might be getting cold feet on a large UNIFIL contingent. Spurred by this meeting to call his French colleague, D'Alema came away persuaded that France remained fully committed. What we found interesting in this episode is that Italy, while ready to defer to France on UNIFIL command, also appeared ready to step forward even if France were not. End Comment. ¶15. (U) A/S Welch has cleared this cable. SPOGLI