LEBANON: NEW DEPUTY PM SAYS AOUN INTERESTED IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 001170 SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ELA ALSO FOR IO ACTING A/S HOOK AND PDAS WARLICK USUN FOR KHALILZAD/WOLFF/SCHEDLBAUER NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/YERGER/MCDERMOTT E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/07/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PINR UNSC LE SUBJECT: LEBANON: NEW DEPUTY PM SAYS AOUN INTERESTED IN RELATIONS WITH SUNNIS Classified By: Charge d'Affaires a.i. William Grant for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) Newly-appointed Deputy Prime Minister Issam Abou Jamra expressed to CDA on August 9 his pride both in being named Deputy Prime Minister and in how well his long-time friend Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement is doing. Abou Jamra pointed to FPM's friendly alliance with Amal and Hizballah and its expectation that it will gain more seats in the 2009 parliamentary elections as indicators of Aoun's strength. He remarked that FPM/Aoun is open to developing relations with the Sunni community but complained that PM Fouad Siniora has affronted him by refusing so far to house the Deputy PM at the Grand Serail, the seat of government. Abou Jamra has no portfolio, unlike his predecessor. As DPM he has no more authority than any other minister, even when the prime minister is absent. ¶2. (C) Abou Jamra relayed that Hizballah, as effectively the sole of Shia representative, is very confident right now but a resolution of Sheba'a Farms would encourage Hizballah to disarm. End summary. AOUN SITTING PRETTY FOR THE ELECTIONS -------------- ¶3. (C) In an August 7 courtesy call by Charge Grant, accompanied by PolOff, Deputy Prime Minister Issam Abou Jamra reflected on his fifty-year friendship with Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader Michel Aoun, dating back to their attending military school together, having army careers and then going into and returning from exile in France together. ¶4. (C) Charge asked about how Aoun perceives himself since he failed to achieve his goal of the presidency. Remarking that Aoun heads a sizable party and is allied with Amal and Hizballah, Abou Jamra assessed that Aoun was doing well for himself and would be even better-positioned after gaining more seats in the spring 2009 parliamentary elections. He said it is possible that FPM will lose one or two seats in certain districts, but will more than make up for it in other places. HIZBALLAH ALSO SITTING PRETTY -------------- ¶5. (C) Discussing the FPM's opposition partner, Abou Jamra said "Hizballah trusts FPM and is easy to deal with." He added that Hizballah is very confident right now, advising that the U.S. "not fight Hizballah now." He said that if the U.S. wants to work with Shia, it must be with Hizballah, adding, "No Shia can stop Hizballah. If they claim they can, they are playing with you." ¶6. (C) Abou Jamra insisted that resolving Sheba'a Farms would eliminate Hizballah's reason for arms. He suggested a committee be responsible for mnaging disputes between Israel and Lebanon, afte Sheba'a is resolved and an armistice between Lebanon and Israel concluded. This way, he said, Hizballah would then entrust the committee to defend Lebanon, willingly disarm, and become a wholly political party. This assumes there is peace between Israel and Syria, he caveated, and Israel halts its aggression towards Lebanon. SINIORA NOT AMENABLE TO FPM'S PLAN TO COURT SUNNIS -------------- ¶7. (C) Confident that FPM has a good relationship with Shia, Abou Jamra said FPM is now interested in pursuing a relationship with Sunnis. He cautioned that this relationship depended on PM Fouad Siniora and that his relationship with Siniora had not gotten off to a good start. Abou Jamra complained that Siniora had neither offered him an office nor staff at the Grand Serail. (Comment: LES Senior BEIRUT 00001170 002 OF 002 Political Advisor heard that Siniora did not make the offer in part because the deputy position does not carry any weight, but also because Siniora does not want a "bug" from Aoun's camp at the Serail. The Deputy PM is an honorific position with no special authority over other ministers even when the PM is absent. End comment.) PALESTINIAN PROBLEM NEEDS A SOLUTION -------------- ¶9. (C) Assuming the predictable Aoun rhetoric, Abou Jamra lamented that the Palestinian presence negatively affects the Lebanese and must be resolved, which meant to him that they needed to leave Lebanon. He relayed that during the cabinet statement negotiations, someone from March 14 was pushing for language on disarming Palestinians that the GOL "has to negotiate with Palestinian forces." Abou Jamra noted that the March 8/Aoun contingent succeeded in changing the language to eliminate the concept of negotiation. The final wording was that the state, "in conjunction with representatives of the Palestinian forces and the concerned Arab parties, will work on reached solutions." BIO NOTE -------------- ¶10. (C) Abou Jamra appears to be in his late 60's. He is engaging and personable and speaks good English. He is a widower whose wife died during their time in France in the late 1990s. He has four adult sons, three of whom live outside of Lebanon. GRANT