LEBANON: CENTCOM COMMANDER VISITS WITH LEBANESE

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 BEIRUT 001335

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/GAVITO/HARDING

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/15/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PARM SY IS LE
SUBJECT: LEBANON: CENTCOM COMMANDER VISITS WITH LEBANESE
DEFENSE LEADERSHIP

Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey D. Feltman for Reasons: Section 1.4
(b) and (d).

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


1. (S) Admiral William J. Fallon, Commander United States
Central Command met with Lebanese Armed Forces Commander
Lieutenant General Michel Sleiman and Deputy Prime Minister
and Minister of Defense Elias Murr on 8/29 in Beirut, Lebanon
at the Ministry of Defense. During these introductory
meetings, Admiral Fallon and Gen Sleiman discussed recent
fighting against terrorists in the Nahr Al Bared
refugee camp. Admiral Fallon and Minister Murr discussed
strategic leadership decisions, the role of Syria and Iran in
Lebanon, as well as the role of USG military assistance for
the Lebanese Armed Forces. Outcomes from the meetings
include a suggestion by Admiral Fallon that U.S.
shoulder-fired
penetrating weapons and armored bulldozers might be helpful
in the Nahr Al Bared fight, an After Action Review should
take place after combat operations end, and that Lebanon
seeks to establish a strategic partnership with the United
States.

MILITARY HONORS, TACTICAL UPDATE AND
MILITARY ASSISTANCE WITH THE LAF COMMANDER
--------------


2. (S) Upon arrival at the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF)
Headquarters, Admiral Fallon and Ambassador Feltman were
greeted by the LAF Commander LTG Michel Sleiman. Full
military honors were rendered in the LAF's Military Square.
This square has not been used in over 50 years for foreign
military dignitaries and was opened in honor of Admiral
Fallon's visit. Post cannot help but surmise that Sleiman
was trying to garner as much press as possible to bolster his
bid to be the next Lebanese President. (In an aside to the
Ambassador, an upbeat Deputy PM and Defense Minister Murr
commented that, had he thought two years ago about a
Lebanese-U.S. military ceremony at MOD, he would have
immediately dismissed the idea as "beyond belief.")


3. (S) Sleiman and Admiral Fallon spoke at length about the
tactical situation in Nahr Al Bared with Sleiman inviting the
Admiral over to his desk to review his tactical maps.
Admiral Fallon commented that times are changing now
vis-a-vis ammunition and equipment support for the LAF and
that the
relationship seems to be heading back to the level it was at
in the early 1980s. Admiral Fallon remarked that he had
never seen such a quick, positive change in assistance for
any country in his area of responsibility.


4. (S) Admiral Fallon and Gen Sleiman also discussed the
fusion of military assistance with tactical employment on the
ground. Gen Sleiman specifically reiterated an urgent request
for SMAW-D Bunker Busters to finish the fight against Fatah
Al Islam in Nahr Al Bared. Admiral Fallon told
Gen Sleiman that he would move immediately to make these
weapons available, as well as assist him with armored
bulldozers. Sleiman was also generous in his praise of US
military assistance to the LAF and handed the Ambassador an
official letter of appreciation.

WELCOME BACK TO LEBANON
THANK YOU FOR ASSISTANCE
--------------


5. (S) Admiral Fallon received an extremely warm welcome from
MinDef Murr. Quietly holding a somewhat private discussion
about their time in Lebanon as pilots in the 1980s, the
MinDef and Admiral Fallon immediately passed to frank and
open discussions. Murr thanked Admiral Fallon for his
friendship,
the "huge" assistance that the USG has provided to the LAF,
as well as the good relations between his officers and US
military officers stationed in Lebanon. Murr noted that USG
military assistance to Lebanon had faced political difficulty
in the last fifteen years, but that he was glad to see that
the partnership has changed in all aspects of the
relationship. Based on this personal relationship,

BEIRUT 00001335 002 OF 004


Murr told Admiral Fallon that he hoped to see the security
assistance relationship develop into an even more important
strategic partnership.

DECISION TO ATTACK
NAHR AL BARED WAS DIFFICULT
--------------


6. (S) Minister Murr was not bashful about taking credit for
ordering the attack on Nahr Al Bared. Indeed, he told
Admiral Fallon that he had taken this decision without the
consent of the Cabinet. Murr stated that he was in a
lose-lose situation at the time and had to attack. He felt
that if he had done nothing, the Army would have
disintegrated after Fatah Al Islam murdered 30 soldiers. On
the other hand, he felt that if he attacked, he might lose
soldiers to political defection due to their religious
affiliation. Murr assessed that he had a 70 percent chance
of winning in Nahr Al Bared, so he took it, making the
decision to invade the camp without the political consent of
the Cabinet. Murr characterizes this decision as an action
of self-defense in order to save the Army.


7. (S) Murr recounted the many warnings given to him before
the battle in Nahr Al Bared that Al Qaeda would threaten his
children. With bravado, Murr explained that he was proud to
face this danger as it was a win-win situation for Lebanon.
Murr said that he has not been surprised by the level of
foreign terrorism in Lebanon, especially Al Qaeda, because he
got his "first smell of Al Qaeda in Lebanon"
when he was the Minister of Interior in 2000. Murr seems
pleased that the terrorists are concentrated in the refugee
camps because he can kill capture them all in one place.

THE NEW LEBANESE ARMY AND
ITS NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH THE US
--------------


8. (S) Minister Murr, normally soft-spoken, was very vocal in
his admiration of the "New Lebanese Army." Murr said that
the LAF is a new Army that is only two years old, the time
when the Syrian Army left Lebanon. This new Army has had the
benefit of US Army training that has paid off greatly. In
fact, just prior to Nahr Al Bared, a US training team was
able to work with Lebanese Special
Operations Forces. These forces put that training directly
to use in the fight against Fatah Al Islam in the Nahr Al
Bared refugee camp. Indeed, Minister Murr thinks his Ranger
Regiment will be the best trained Ranger Regiment in the
Middle East at the conclusion of Nahr Al Bared.


9. (S) Assessing the future, Murr does not see any
possibility that the LAF would have any conflict with its
neighbors in the next ten years. Murr stated that his war
will be against terrorism. The LAF have already paid a heavy
price in blood, but this fight will continue. Even so, Murr
is happy with the level of training programmed for the LAF
extolling, "This is a new beginning for us. We are paying
with our lives, but we feel we are backed by the most
powerful Army in the world and that we are not alone."
Admiral Fallon replied, "That is a good feeling for you to
have. You are not alone."

POLITICAL STABILITY AND UNIFIL
WILL THE ARMY STAND, OR CRACK?
--------------


10. (S) Murr discussed an 8/28 meeting with MG Graziano, the
UNIFIL Commander in south Lebanon. Graziano is concerned
about LAF actions if no President is elected or if two
governments are declared. Murr related that he told Graziano
that Lebanon would respect the international resolutions no
matter what happens in the country. In this manner, the LAF
will ensure that there are no problems either in south
Lebanon or northern Israel no matter what happens between
Syria and Israel or the United States and Iran.


11. (S) Stressing the need for cooperation between the LAF
and UNIFIL, Murr emphasized that cooperation is needed to
avoid Blue Line problems. To this end, Murr has ordered the
UNIFIL Commander and the LAF Commander to begin training and
patrolling together in south Lebanon. The purpose of this

BEIRUT 00001335 003 OF 004


training is to show the Israeli Defense Forces and Hezbollah
that UNIFIL is not only a peacekeeping force, but a force for
the protection of Lebanon.

COURTING SYRIA AND IRAN
HEZBOLLAH ARMED FOR OFFENSE AND DEFENSE
--------------


12. (S) Murr explained to Admiral Fallon that current Cabinet
decrees allow Hezbollah to operate outside of the UNIFIL
mandate area without any repercussions. Clearly unhappy with
this, Murr stated that Hezbollah is "10 times more prepared
than a year ago" when they seized Israeli captives and
precipitated a war with Israel.


13. (S) Murr offered an interesting assessment of Hezbollah's
courtship that we had not heard before.
Specifically, Syria sees Hezbollah as a defensive bulwark
against Israel. As such, the majority of military supplies
and preparations that Syria supplies to Hezbollah are
defensive in nature, designed to help repel an Israeli
attack. Meanwhile, the Iranians see Hezbollah as an
offensive weapon and are training and equipping Hezbollah for
offensive operations against Israel using Katusha rockets,
long range rockets, etc. Thus, Hezbollah profits from both
sides to develop a comprehensive military
strategy and disposition vis--vis Israel while enjoying the
safety of the mountain valleys of the Beka'a region.

REGION REACTIONS TO US
ACTION AGAINST IRAN
--------------


14. (S) While Murr feels that Syria is primarily in a
defensive mode at this time, he feels they would
immediately be forced into action against Israel if there is
any US action against Iran. Murr expects that Syria would
begin this aggression without much hesitancy on the part of
Bashar Al-Asad. According to Murr, Bashar has had an
inferiority complex since his was a child. "What can you
expect, he was promoted from civilian to five star general in
one day?" Murr says that Bashar believes that all Arab
leaders must start at least one war before they can be
accepted as real Arab leaders. These are the
calculations of a period gone by, but they are still the
calculations of Bashar.


15. (S) Murr says that he has indications and warnings that
"something" will happen in the not so distant future. The
non-specific nature of the comment leads us to believe that
Murr may just be hedging his bets as are many politicians in
Lebanon right now. Even so, Murr was adamant that if
the US strikes Iran, Hezbollah and Syria will react.

PREVIOUS QUESTIONS BY SECRETARY GATES
VINDICATED BY ACTION ON THE GROUND
--------------


16. (S) As with most of our Lebanese hosts, they like to
remind guests of their travels to Washington. Minister Murr
told Admiral Fallon about Secretary Gates' questionsabout the
LAF when he visited in April 2007. Murr said that Secretary
Gates was justified in having his doubts about the LAF and
what they would, or would not, do if called in to service.
Murr thinks the LAF has answered some of these
questions for Secretary Gates and for Secretary Rice.
Indeed, Murr feels that the LAF's efforts have the hallmarks
of acts that benefit the entire world. Murr stressed that
one can train and plan, "but the real test is what you do on
the ground."

LOOKING FORWARD
AN AFTER ACTION REVIEW
--------------


17. (S) Minister Murr stressed the need to assess how the LAF
has done in Nahr Al Bared. The Minister feels that perhaps
there are some things the LAF could have done better and
these issues need to be discussed. Minister Murr also
believes that there are possibly some lessons that the US
Forces could learn from this fight in order to be more
successful in Iraq. Minister Murr reaffirmed his strong

BEIRUT 00001335 004 OF 004


commitment for a lessons learned exercise (i.e. After Action
Review) after the completion of combat
operations in Nahr Al Bared. Admiral Fallon echoed the
Minister's belief in the need for solid assessments and
pledged to support the LAF in this process.


18. (S) Admiral Fallon has reviewed this cable.
FELTMAN