LEBANON: GERMAN ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT LEBANESE

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 BEIRUT 000107

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/MARCHESE/HARDING

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/19/2017
TAGS: MOPS PTER LE GM SY
SUBJECT: LEBANON: GERMAN ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT LEBANESE
BORDER CONTROLS

Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman. Reason: Sections 1.4 (b) a
nd (d).

SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C) The German Embassy DCM has provided us with an
overview of German support for enhancing Lebanese government
control over points of entry by air, sea, and land. She
described activities launched after the adoption of UNSCR
1701 in August 2006, and which include customs assistance at
Beirut international airport, coastal patrol programs, and a
pilot land border project in north Lebanon. Beirut's
international airport, she said, now meets international
standards. The Lebanese Navy is capable and well-trained but
drastically lacking in equipment; the Germans will be
providing two high-speed coastal patrol ships. The
Syria-Lebanon land border, however, remains largely out of
control, with easy access for smugglers of all items ranging
from consumer goods to weapons for Hizballah. The Germans
are leading a low profile but substantial pilot project in
the north and seek cooperation from other western donors.
Embassy ODC Chief met with the head of the German team that
is promoting border control assistance in the north. German
plans for the north are reported in detail in paras 10-13
below. End Summary.


2. (C) On January 19 DCM called on German Embassy DCM Irene
Plank to review German activities and perspectives on
Lebanon's ability to control its borders. Plank has been
deeply involved in German projects that were initiated after
the adoption of UNSCR 1701 on August 11, 2006, which calls
upon the Government of Lebanon to secure its borders to
prevent the entry of unauthorized arms. She summarized that
Lebanese border control is plagued by a lack of coordination
among the four agencies whose responsibilities bear on border
security: Customs, the Surete Generale, the Lebanese Armed
Forces (LAF),and the Internal Security Forces (ISF).


3. (C) When German Foreign Minister Steinmeier visited
Beirut on September 7, he brought with him a team of five
border police experts and five customs experts. She
described them as an "A team" of German border experts, who
stayed in Lebanon until December 10. A follow-on team of
lesser renown, led by a member of the original team, is now
in Lebanon for the indefinite future. The ten experts who
came down with FM Steinmeier completed an initial study in
October. DCM Plank has provided us with the text of this
64-page document. In her words, the situation they
encountered was a disaster. The team found no institutional
cooperation among the four border security agencies.
Customs, they commended, was the least fragmented along
sectarian lines of all the services. The ISF and the Surete
Generale did not communicate with each other at all.
Equipment shortages were severe. The German experts found
that the LAF, in its land border duties, had only eight
helicopters available for patrol, and of these, only five
were operational. The LAF had no effective communications
between its surveillance helicopters and border posts. As a
result, the helicopters had to land at nearby bases, and
convey by bicycle messenger to other posts any information
that they detected on border violations.

BEIRUT AIRPORT
--------------


4. (C) The German team of experts focused first on Beirut
(Rafiq Hariri) International Airport. In addition to various
training, the Germans are now providing document scanners
which will give the Lebanese the highest ratio in the world
of scanners to passenger traffic. The scanners will be able
to detect whether documents are valid or false, and it will
be connected to a data base that can verify information on a
given person. A German specialist will arrive next week to
do training on the scanners, and some Lebanese officials have
already been trained in Germany. On the basis of a German
recommendation, there is a now a security operations room at
the airport under the command of a General Shoukri. Plank
described the airport as now meeting international standards,
and she doubted that any serious smuggling of weapons was
being carried out through the airport.

NAVY AND COASTAL PATROL

BEIRUT 00000107 002 OF 004


--------------


5. (C) Plank described the Lebanese Navy as well trained,
well organized, but a disaster on equipment. Lebanese
coastal patrol boats, she said, cannot even leave their ports
during the winter because the Mediterranean swells would
swamp these short-length vessels. In response, the Germans
will be sending two 35-meter used coastal boats, the Bremen
II and the Bremen IX. They will have a top speed, she
thought, of about 27 knots. The Lebanese crews for these
boats will be trained in Germany, with the boats operational
in May. She said that the United Arab Emirates have given
the Lebanese ten small fast boats for coastal patrol.


6. (S) Plank noted that during the summer 2006 war, Israeli
attacks had destroyed Lebanon's coastal radar system.
Germany is taking on reconstruction of this network,
furnishing equipment of U.S. technology with Siemens
software. She said the radar system will meet international
standards, and be able to communicate information to a
central operations room. The new radar system should be up
and running by late June. Plank commented that Lebanon's
mountainous terrain presents special challenges for coastal
radar.


7. (C) Plank believed that Lebanon's coast is not under
effective border control, and that lots of smuggling could be
going on. But she also thought that the volume of smuggling
may have decreased markedly because of the psychological
deterrent of large German naval ships that are part of the
UNIFIL presence.

SYRIA-LEBANON LAND BORDER
--------------


8. (C) Here, Plank said, are the biggest problems.
Lebanese customs did not even have the necessary cars, nor an
efficient communications network. Germany, she said, is
providing Customs with 40 cars, scanners, and communications
equipment.


9. (S) More specifically, the Germans are setting up a
pilot border control project at the north Lebanon crossing
points of El Arida and El Aboudiye, though full funding may
be uncertain now (see below). Prime Minister Siniora had
given the Germans a green light in November 2006 to proceed
with this project, which will include an operations room.
Subsequently, Druse leader Walid Jumblatt asked the Germans
to do a similar project in his Chouf region, commenting that
he would provide security for the Germans as they set up the
project. The Germans demurred for the time being. Plank
noted that the Danes and Canadians are cooperating wth them
in support for enhanced border security in the north.


10. (C) Also on January 19, Embassy Poloff and Office of
Defense Cooperation (ODC) Chief met separately with the head
of the German team providing border assistance, Colonel
Detlev Karioth. Koriath reported that he had met with and
briefed PM Siniora last week on the pilot project in the
north. Koriath said the PM gave his verbal approval and
promised the Germans a written approval sometime next week.
However, Karioth said, he has not yet discussed this project
with the Ministry of Defense or the LAF.


11. (C) Koriath estimated that the project will take 90
days to complete and cost around USD 5 million. He had
briefed the concept in late October 2006 to the international
donors, security coordination group which meets regularly in
Beirut. Since then, the Danes have offered one million euros
toward the project for capacity building and training.
Koriath asked if the United States would consider supporting
the project. He suggested that assistance would not have to
be directed at the pilot program specifically but rather
could be in the form of diversions, at the request of the
U.S., from equipment packages already going to the LAF. He
stated rather frankly that, in fact, it was probably best
that U.S. financial support be as subtle as possible, given
the nature of the project objectives and regional sentiments.
We were noncommittal on whether U.S. funding is possible,
but expressed our support and enthusiasm for the concept.


12. (C) In spite of Koriath,s assertion that the project
could begin within 60 days if given GOL approval and the

BEIRUT 00000107 003 OF 004


necessary financial commitments are in place, some of his
comments suggest that this timeline is optimistic. Koriath
did not yet have lists of needed equipment or expected
cross-agency coordination issues. He spoke of the need for
vehicles and communication equipment, but he had not yet
begun discussions with the Ministry of Defense or the LAF,
and thus had no input from the Lebanese military. He asked
that we provide him copies of our assessments to assist in
his planning process.


13. COMMENT: Our assessment is that the Germans have an
excellent concept, that if planned and resourced well, could
provide a great opportunity to learn lessons on procedures,
equipment, and agency coordination that would be of great
benefit to the larger border control effort. We could assist
considerably by providing funding and access to our
assessments. However, the security assistance system does
not always work quickly. Even assuming that the necessary
funding, planning and identification of needs could occur
soon, the timeline for bringing the right equipment together,
particularly technical equipment, could slow this down
considerably. It is still, however, a worthwhile effort.
END COMMENT.


14. (C) German Embassy DCM Plank described to DCM her
thoughts on economic aspects of border security between
Lebanon and Syria. She noted how border area residents on
both sides cross the border frequently for reasons that span
family visits to school enrollment to shopping and trade.
Given the economic basis for border movement that is to some
degree uncontrollable, more should be done in the realm of
economic development for the border regions, many of which
are quite poor.


15. (S) Plank considered the border conrol challenge as a
two-sided issue, in which the Syrians must be enlisted to
cooperate. There had previously been a Syrian-Lebanese
border commission, which might be worth resurrecting. The
Germans had raised this with Prime Minister Siniora, who
understood well the nature of the issues. PM Siniora, Plank
said, then asked the Germans to approach the Syrians on his
behalf. The Germans, she said, do not yet have a political
green light to have their Embassy in Damascus approach the
Syrians, but Berlin is aware of the proposal. She thoguht
that this issue might arise in the Quartet. She summarized
that with the airport under control and the coast well on its
way to coming under control, the Syria-Lebanon land border
remains the outstanding -- and daunting -- challenge.


16. (C) DCM asked Plank whether the Germans considered
providing sensors and high powered cameras to ensure constant
surveillance of the Syria-Lebanon land border. She admitted
that this technology could be a good idea, but for now, lack
of infrastructure and training on the part of the Lebanese
precludes this option. The LAF would need extensive training
in use and maintenance. Without this training, the sensors
and camera network would be "a ruin wihin three months."


17. (S) DCM also also asked Plank if the Germans had
received information from Israel about renewed smuggling of
weapons to Hizballah over the land border from Syria. She
said that the Israelis have conveyed this concern, but have
not provided the kind of details that the Germans say they
need if the assertions are to be credible. She also
recounted a conversation she had the previous evening with a
prominent "third way" Shia. He reported that Hizballah
officials are exaggerating the amount of weaponry that
Hizballah is now receiving, and they in fact would like far
more than what they are getting.

CONCLUSION
--------------


18. (C) Plank invited help from other countries, including
continued consultations through the western
embassies'informal security coordination mechanism in Beirut.
She said that Germany is providing assistance that they
think the Lebanese can absorb, which means mostly training,
at least for now. Her figure for total equipment assistance
to Lebanese Customs to date was euros 5.3 million, plus the
40 cars and the coastal radar that will cost about USD 1.5
million. Plank said the Germans are deliberately maintaining
a low public profile in their programs, in order to avoid

BEIRUT 00000107 004 OF 004


Lebanese internal political controversy.


FELTMAN