LEBANON: WITH DAS HALE, VETERAN SUNNI FIGURE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 001288

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ELA, S/P
IO FOR ACTING A/S HOOK AND PDAS WARLICK
USUN FOR KHALILZAD/WOLFF/SCHLEDBAUER
NSC FOR ABRAMS/YERGER/MCDERMOTT/RAMCHAND
DOD/OSD A/S LONG

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/30/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PINR EAID UNSC MARR IR SY IS
LE
SUBJECT: LEBANON: WITH DAS HALE, VETERAN SUNNI FIGURE
STRESSES NEED FOR MORE ASSISTANCE TO THE ARMY

Classified By: Ambassador Michele J. Sison for Reasons 1.4
(b) and (d)

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


1. (C) In his August 30 meeting with visiting NEA DAS David
Hale, Minister of Culture and respected leader of the Sunni
community Tammam Salaam stressed the need for progress in the
Israeli/Palestinian peace process to defuse extremism in the
region. Praising Hizballah's quick admission of culpability
in the August 28 attack on a Lebanese Army helicopter, Salaam
opined that a "security by consensus" understanding was
emerging between Hizballah and the government. Salaam
stressed the need for more powerful USG assistance to the
Lebanese Armed Forces, warned about continuing sectarian
tension and rising extremism, as demonstrated in Tripoli, and
expressed moderate praise for Lebanon's top three leaders,
President Sleiman, PM Siniora, and Speaker Berri. End
summary.

ISRAEL AND PEACE NEGOTIATIONS
--------------


2. (C) NEA DAS David Hale, accompanied by PolOff and ConOff,
met with Minister of Culture Tammam Salaam on August 30.
Salaam, a respected figure from a well-known Sunni family,
said progress on peace negotiations between Israelis and
Palestinians would be the main way to defuse extremism in the
region, including in Lebanon. He later added that the
inability of the USG to stop this extremism, along with other
issues like Georgia, gives the impression that the USG is not
in control. He lamented that so far there has only been lots
of talk and little action on the peace process. On the issue
of Sheba'a Farms, Salaam asked what Israel wanted in return
for a withdrawal from the area. He added that Israel's
refusal to withdraw from Sheba'a and its continued
overflights over Lebanon fueled speculation that Israel
secretly wants to give Hizballah justification to keep its
arms.


3. (C) DAS Hale said that there was no question from his
meetings that Israel continues to view Hizballah as a major
threat to its security. He assured Salaam that concrete
steps on peace were taking place between Israelis and
Palestinians, but that they were being done behind closed
doors. He also reaffirmed Secretary Rice's earlier comments
on working with Israel to try to come to a resolution on
Sheba'a.

HELICOPTER ATTACK
--------------


4. (C) Regarding the August 28 attack on a Lebanese Armed
Forces (LAF) helicopter, Salaam described Hizballah's
admission of involvement as "not arrogant" and he praised the
group's overall reaction after the incident. When DAS Hale
questioned whether the latest incident meant that Hizballah
now reserved the right to deny LAF aircraft freedom of
operation in parts of Lebanon, Salaam said that what was
evolving between Hizballah and the government was a "security
by consensus" understanding.

USG ASSISTANCE TO LAF
--------------


5. (C) Salaam said there was a perception in Lebanon that the
USG was providing too little help to the LAF; and that the
equipment it was receiving was not powerful enough. Salaam
thought USG fears that more powerful weapons for the LAF
might fall into the hands of Hizballah prevented a more
robust security assistance package. DAS Hale assured Salaam
that the USG's assistance to the LAF was increasing and that
the USG was committed to a long and enduring relationship
with the LAF.

LEBANESE FRAGILITY
--------------

BEIRUT 00001288 002 OF 002




6. (C) Salaam said although Lebanon was on the verge of
sectarian war in May ("another Iraq"),it was able to pull
back because of the Doha agreement. However, he said that
there was still residue from the May fighting, especially on
the confessional level. He spoke of weekly sporadic
confessional violence in Beirut as evidence that the current
sectarian sentiment is tense. Salaam looked forward to two
upcoming events to help possibly quell the tension: the
National Dialogue and the ratification of the electoral law.

SITUATION IN TRIPOLI
--------------


7. (C) In discussing the recent clashes and bombings in the
northern city of Tripoli, a Sunni stronghold, Salaam
described the situation as one of lawlessness and an outcome
of the fighting in Beirut in May. While the Future Movement
of MP Saad Hariri is the dominant political force in the
area, Salaam attributed the violence to small Salafists
groups who were targeting the government and the Alawite
minority, a Shia linked sect. Salaam said that the
government needed to invest heavily in social services in
Tripoli, an area that has historically been neglected by the
government, in order to help quell the rising tide of
extremism in the area.

LEBANESE LEADERSHIP
--------------


8. (C) Salaam took time to give his assessment of the three
main Lebanese government leaders: President Sleiman, Prime
Minister Siniora, and Speaker Berri. Salaam said he liked
the President, but suggested that he was too cautious and did
not weigh in heavily enough as he should. He said that
Sleiman has conducted his presidency in a fashion similar to
his previous position as Lebanese Armed Forces Commander:
when faced with hard challenges Sleiman retreats too much
instead of pushing back. Regarding Prime Minister Siniora,
Salaam lauded him as a very dedicated and honest man. Salaam
described Speaker Berri has having invested heavily in the
government in the past fifteen years. He cautioned that
Berri's interests were not necessarily aligned with those of
his fellow Shia and ally, Hizballah, and that he would have
nothing to gain from the dismantling of this country.


9. (U) DAS Hale has cleared this cable.

SISON