LEBANON: SECTION 1206 PROPOSAL FINAL COORDINATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIRUT 000102 SIPDIS SIPDIS NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/MARCHESE/HARDING E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/19/2017 TAGS: MASS PARM PGOV PREL PTER SY LE IS SUBJECT: LEBANON: SECTION 1206 PROPOSAL FINAL COORDINATION REF: SECSTATE 03112 Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey D. Feltman. Reason: Section 1.4 (b). ¶1. (C) Embassy Beirut has completed a coordinated review of its Fiscal Year 2007 Section 1206 funding request for military assistance to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). All elements of the Embassy support this funding request. ¶2. (C) The Section 1206 request for Lebanon reflects a carefully developed security assistance strategy that will address critical LAF equipment and training requirements. This security assistance strategy paid particular attention to the expansion of LAF's missions as called for in the provisions of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1701, which specifically directed the LAF to expand both its area of operations to include the entire country and fulfill its constitutional responsibility to protect its democratically-elected government. A comprehensive review of our submission confirms that all elements of the funding proposal, particularly those identified in this first tranche of USD 30.4 million, are time critical and designed to meet Lebanon's present and newly emerging threats. ¶3. (C) The original Section 1206 request for Lebanon of USD 100.0 million reflected the work of a sequence of four CENTCOM assessments conducted from December 2005 to September ¶2006. These in-depth assessments analyzed and determined the equipment and training needs of all LAF components. The currently proposed package of USD 30.4 million is a "cut-out" of the highest priority items from the original request and has been reviewed and approved by security assistance teams both at Embassy Beirut and in Washington. Many of the presently funded items represent equipment and training deemed "urgent" by the LAF Commander in view of his rapidly increasing responsibilities to protect and defend the government and its institutions. ¶4. (C) The current request also takes into consideration security assistance contributions that will be made by third-countries in the coming year, as reported by LAF senior commanders and in informal international security assistance coordination meetings that are held monthly in Beirut. ¶5. (C) Finally, extensive vetting of this request proposal was conducted in the Embassy by both the country team and its Stabilization and Reconstruction Committee. Accordingly, this proposal has Embassy Beirut's complete support and fully conforms to mission-wide USG objectives in Lebanon. FELTMAN