LEBANON: CONGRESSMAN ISSA VISITS BEIRUT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIRUT 000944

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/MARCHESE/HARDING
H FOR JENNIFER BUTTE-DAHL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/25/2017
TAGS: IS LE PGOV PREL PTER SY
SUBJECT: LEBANON: CONGRESSMAN ISSA VISITS BEIRUT

REF: BEIRUT 933

Classified By: DCM William Grant, Reason: Section 1.4 (b).

SUMMARY
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1. (C) Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) visited Beirut June
24-25, where he held meetings with PM Siniora (reftel),Free
Patriotic Movement General Michel Aoun, Parliament Speaker
Nabil Berri, Future Movement leader Saad Hariri, and March 14
MP Samir Franjieh. The visit occurred in the wake of Arab
League Secretary General Amr Moussa's unsuccessful efforts to
jumpstart a national dialogue between the majority and
opposition parties, as well as the attack on UNIFIL in Khiam.
Issa stressed the US, continuing strong support for Lebanon
and expressed his hope that Lebanon would find a solution to
the current government impasse that would lead to democratic
presidential elections this fall. In all the meetings, we
noted among Issa's interlocutors a slight shift in blame for
the current impasse from domestic political opponents to
outside actors, including Syria, Iran, and al-Qaeda,
depending on the interlocutor's political affiliation. Issa
also met with United Nations Relief and Works Agency for
Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Director
Richard Cook. End summary.


AOUN SEES SECOND GOVERNMENT AS PREFERABLE TO NO ACTION
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2. (C) In their June 25 meeting, General Aoun reiterated to
Congressman Issa that only a national unity government could
end Lebanon's disequilibrium; formation of a second
government, even if internationally viewed as a coup, would
be preferable to no action at all or to the current crippled
government structure. Aoun expressed confidence that the
second government would achieve international recognition and
ultimately succeed. The General refused to support any other
"consensus" presidential candidate; he sees himself as
Lebanon's next president. It is time to remove the
international support propping up March 14, Aoun told us;
only the US and Europe recognize the current government as
legitimate.


3. (C) The Arab League initiative failed because Secretary
General Amr Moussa was too biased toward March 14, Aoun
claimed. Syria's behavior depends upon Lebanese politicians'
actions, he continued, and Lebanon needs to calm the
situation to remove Syria's pretext for interference and to
regain the loyalties of the Lebanese who are acting on behalf
of Syria. In a national unity government, Aoun's Free
Patriotic Movement would expect to gain control of at least
one of the following key ministries: Finance, to break free
of the embedded corruption of the Hariri group's 15 year
rule; Interior or Defense, to boost morale and motivate all
Lebanese to protect their nation's security; or Foreign
Affairs. Finally, Aoun commented that he was certain that
Hizballah was not responsible for the June 24 attack on the
Spanish UNIFIL troops in Khiam; the General told us he has
been expecting such an attack from foreign terrorists since
before the expanded UNIFIL force arrived last year.


BERRI INSISTS ON CONSENSUS PRESIDENT; BLAMES AL-QAEDA FOR
LEBANON'S PROBLEMS
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4. (C) Parliament Speaker Nabil Berri blamed March 14's
insistence on guarantees from the opposition that it would
not resign from a national unity government and that it would
participate in the parliamentary vote for president for
Moussa's failed initiative. Opting not to attend a session
is part of democracy, he argued. He reiterated his
well-known position that the Siniora government is
illegitimate because it lacks Shia representation since the
November 2006 resignation of six opposition ministers. In
Berri's view, a consensus on the presidency was the solution
to Lebanon's political stalemate, and he again vowed to
convene parliament "at 10:30 am on September 25" to hold a
vote. He claimed to have no objections to either a national
unity government, offering to give up one of Amal's cabinet
positions if Aoun continued to insist on five seats, or to a
new electoral law. Although he argued that, by law,

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President Lahoud should sign the June 24 cabinet decree to
allow the August 5 by-elections to go forward, he said he had
no opinion on this and had told Hizballah not take a position
either.


5. (C) Noting that several of the terrorists killed in recent
clashes with the LAF in Tripoli were from Saudi Arabia and
Chechnya, Berri blamed Al-Qaeda for the violence in Lebanon,
claiming its target was Shia Muslims. Berri said he feared
the "wind was now coming from Iraq" and (even if Syria was
involved) a unified GOL was necessary to resist these outside
pressures. Issa urged Berri to reconvene parliament in
September and not to boycott the presidential elections.

MARCH 14 HAS A DIFFERENT VIEW
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6. (C) In contrast to Aoun and Berri, MP Samir Franjieh and
other March 14 supporters blamed Syria and Iran for Lebanon's
political instability. Franjieh said Hizballah has become
stronger as part of Iran's efforts to trigger violence in
Gaza, Lebanon, and Iraq to strengthen Tehran's position in
its dialogue with the US, while Syria is using tactics like
the UNIFIL attack as scare tactics to force European
countries like France and Italy to engage with Damascus.
Lebanon faces an existential question, he said, "Beirut or
Gaza?" Franjieh stressed the need to better monitor the
Syrian border and the need for continuing US military
assistance to help the LAF control Lebanon's security
situation. Franjieh dismissed prospects for a national unity
government, claiming that Hizballah had never had any
intention of forming one. The question was how to reach the
moderate Shia. While March 14 agrees on the need to find a
consensus president who would respect the constitution, no
names were mentioned at the meeting.


HARIRI DECRIES SYRIAN INTERFERENCE; REPEATS DEMANDS FOR MORE
US MILITARY EQUIPMENT
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5. (C) Future Movement leader Saad Hariri echoed the warnings
of his March 14 colleagues that Lebanon was headed, like
Gaza, for two governments, arguing that if the international
community didn't act now, it would require two or three times
more effort to bring stability to Lebanon in the future. The
June 24 attack on UNIFIL was, in his eyes, a clear message
from Damascus. He blamed Syrian complicity for the situation
in Gaza, asking, "How obvious does it have to be?"
Unfortunately, he said, there are people who still want to
engage with Damascus. The Syrian economy is "booming," he
claimed, while Lebanon, which should have been experiencing
the full benefits of the summer tourism season by now, was
instead battling groups like Fatah al-Islam.


6. (C) Hariri decried what he perceived as the international
community's lack of interest in standing up to the Assad
regime, arguing that the view seemed to be, "the devil you
know is better than the devil you don't," a policy, he said,
that is "killing the region." Issa noted US efforts to
isolate Syrian internationally, stressing our opposition to
the Syrian regime's behavior in Lebanon and our determination
that Lebanon would not become the next Gaza. Hariri,
continuing his sobering assessment, said if not Gaza, then
Iraq. The Eido assassination has caused tensions in Lebanon
to reach a boiling point, he said, and he didn't know how
much longer he could restrain Sunni anger. Look at Tripoli,
he said, we are battling extremists everywhere, and the army
can't handle much more -- at least not without more
sophisticated weaponry. Hariri pleaded for the US to help
"give the army teeth" by providing Cobras or convincing the
Belgians to provide Leopards. Issa took the message on board
and agreed to discuss it with Congress.


GOL WILLING TO ASSIST PALESTINIAN REFUGEES, BUT REQUIRES
INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE
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7. (C) United Nations Relief and Works Agency for
Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Director
Richard Cook told Congressman Issa there were two messages
that should be taken back to Washington. First, the Lebanese
government is "very keen" to be seen in assisting the

BEIRUT 00000944 003 OF 003


Palestinian refugees who have been displaced by the fighting
with Fatah al-Islam (FAI) in Nahr al-Barid camp, but the GOL
really needs international financial assistance to make this
support possible. UNRWA has been in constant contact with PM
Siniora since the conflict began May 20, and cooperation in
arranging UNRWA emergency relief for the Palestinian refugees
has been positive. Second, the conflict in Nahr al-Barid
should not be seen through the prism of a conflict between
the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the Palestinians. Cook
said many of FAI fighters were foreigners, not Palestinians,
and that the U.S. Congress should not cut off UNRWA aid to
the Palestinian refugee camps in a "misguided" attempt to
stop Islamic militants who might indirectly benefit from such
assistance. Cook concluded that Nahr al-Barid will have to
be rebuilt. There are no other alternatives. The GOL has
stressed the camp must stay in its present location, and it
will not allow any additional Palestinian refugee camps to be
established in Lebanon. Also, most of Palestinian refugees
have indicated to UNRWA that Nahr al-Barid is their home and
they want to return.


7. (U) Congressman Issa has not reviewed this cable.
FELTMAN