LEBANON: GENERAL PETRAEUS REVIEWS LAF COMMANDER'S

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIRUT 001736

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ELA, PM/FO
P FOR DRUSSELL, RRANGASWAMY
USUN FOR KHALILZAD/WOLFF/SCHEDLEBAUER
NSC FOR ABRAMS/YERGER/MCDERMOTT/RAMCHAND
OSD FOR EDELMAN/LONG/STRAUB/DALTON
JOINT STAFF FOR RANK/NICHOLSON
CENTCOM FOR ALLARDICE/MACLEAN/PADDOCK
DIA FOR LARSON/CRONIN/KRAUSE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/01/2018
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL UNSC MARR MCAP MOPS IR LE
SUBJECT: LEBANON: GENERAL PETRAEUS REVIEWS LAF COMMANDER'S
TALKS WITH SYRIA

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

Summary
--------------


1. (C) On December 2, Commander, U.S. Central Command General
David Petraeus met with Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) Commander
Jean Kahwagi to discuss bilateral and regional military
cooperation issues. General Petraeus pledged continued
support for the LAF and said Lebanon was one of the priority
countries identified by CENTCOM for military assistance
programs. He provided General Kahwagi with a briefing on
recent developments in Iraq and asked Kahwagi to urge his
interlocutors in Damascus to stem the flow of foreign
fighters from Syria into Iraq. General Kahwagi said that his
discussions in Damascus on November 29 had focused on border
control, efforts to stop smuggling, and counter-terrorism
intelligence sharing and training cooperation. He termed his
discussions "productive." Kahwagi reiterated that he had
traveled to Syria at the request of the Cabinet and Prime
Minister. Though there has been some criticism of Kahwagi's
trip from March 14 political leaders, both PM Siniora and
Kahwagi confirmed to General Petraeus that a full account of
the discussions has been relayed back to the GOL. Kahwagi
also confirmed that Defense Minister Elias Murr plans to
travel to Damascus before the end of the year. Finally,
Kahwagi confirmed that the LAF had not observed any unusual
Hizballah maneuvers south of the Litani recently, despite
Israeli reports to the contrary. End Summary.

"The U.S. Will Do All It Can To Help"
--------------


2. (C) General Petraeus began by congratulating General
Kahwagi on his appointment as LAF Commander and pledged that
the U.S. would continue to do all it could to help Lebanon.
General Petraeus added that plans had been approved to place
additional U.S. military personnel at U.S. Embassy Beirut to
help support the growing military assistance programs.


3. (C) Turning to specific items on the military assistance
agenda, General Petraeus commented that:

-- One Caravan (fixed wing, close air support aircraft)
should be delivered before the Spring 2009 parliamentary
elections;
-- Discussions were ongoing for the acquisition and upgrade
of 67 M60 tanks from Jordan (with 10 delivered prior to
Spring elections),although funding would have to come from a
third country;
-- Hughes 500 helicopters were being explored as an
alternative to the Jordanian COBRAS, which the LAF had
recently decided against acquiring;
-- Plans were underway to increase the number of Joint
Combined Training Exercises (JCET) from six per year up to
eight;
-- Discussions on special forces capabilities would continue
during the December 8 visit of the SOCCENT commander; and
-- Efforts were underway to provide the LAF with RAVEN
unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).


4. (C) General Petraeus noted that Lebanon receives $2.5
million in International Military Education and Training
(IMET) funds -- second only to Jordan in the CENTCOM area of
responsibility. In addition, $1.5 million in Foreign
Military Financing (FMF) has been provided for training.
General Petraeus invited General Kahwagi to visit Tampa next
time he is in the U.S. and promised to talk with JCS Chief
Admiral Mullen and see when it was possible for him to invite
Kahwagi to visit the U.S.

Foreign Fighters Still a Problem in Syria
--------------


5. (S) After briefing General Kahwagi on the decreasing

BEIRUT 00001736 002 OF 003


levels of violence in Iraq, General Petraeus emphasized that
the U.S. remained deeply concerned about the transit of
foreign fighters into Damascus and through Syria into Iraq.
"President Assad himself knows about this problem and USG
officials have spoken to him about it," said General
Petraeus. He used the case of Badran Turki al Hishan (aka
Abu Ghadiyah) as a key example of USG concerns. General
Petraeus added that the Syrian Military Intelligence knew
exactly how these terrorists were operating in Syria. "All
of this makes it difficult to have a dialogue with them," he
said.

Visit to Syria Was Sanctioned by GOL,
Political Factions and Even the Patriarch
--------------


6. (C) General Kahwagi related his November 29 discussions in
Damascus with Syrian Chief of the General Staff Lt. General
Ali bin Muhammad Habib Mahmud, Syrian Defense Minister Lt.
General Ali Hassan Turkmani, and President Assad. Kahwagi's
visit drew criticism from some March 14 political leaders in
Lebanon. "I work for the Government of Lebanon and I was
instructed to go," said Kahwagi. Kahwagi told us that he had
had the approval of Minister of Defense Murr, "various
political factions" in Lebanon, and even the Maronite
Patriarch for the trip. He noted that Parliamentary majority
leader Saad Hariri had been made aware of his intent to
travel to Damascus. Finally, he confirmed that Minister of
Defense Elias Murr would travel to Damascus for bilateral
discussions by the end of the year. Note: Prime Minister
Siniora has publicly defended General Kahwagi, saying Kahwagi
had acted at the request of both the Council of Ministers and
President Sleiman. Siniora went further by saying the agenda
of topics had been cleared before departure and that a full
report on the discussions had been provided to the Government
of Lebanon by General Kahwagi. End Note.

"Syrians Also Concerned About Religious Extremists"
-------------- --------------


7. (C) General Kahwagi explained that his discussions in
Syria had focused on border control issues, efforts to combat
smuggling and counter-terrorism cooperation. "There are only
four formal border crossings in the north, but 39 off-road,
informal crossing points. The Syrians have deployed their
troops along the northern border to exert more control over
these informal crossing points."


8. (C) General Kahwagi believes that Syrian concern about
extremists has prompted this increased focus on border
security. Speaking specifically about Fatah Al-Islam's Abd
al-Ghani (Jahwar),the Syrians believed that he twice
illegally entered Syria from Lebanon, assembled explosives
and then returned to Lebanon to stage two of the recent
attacks in the city of Tripoli. General Kahwagi said that
President Assad had expressed personal concern about this
type of activity and the links to groups such as Fatah
al-Islam.

Foreign Fighters
--------------


9. (C) General Petraeus asked General Kahwagi to stress to
his Syrian interlocutors their behavior was unhelpful and a
crackdown on foreign fighters to Iraq could make a difference
in the U.S.-Syrian relationship. "We know for a fact that
Syrian Military Intelligence Director Asif Shawkaf is aware
of this issue, as is President Assad," he said. General
Kahwagi noted he was merely reporting the contents of his
discussions, without providing opinions on the veracity of
the Syrian claims. Kahwagi added that he thought he thought
Assad knew that those extremists also constituted a threat to
his regime.

"We Are Pursuing Terrorists Here in Lebanon"
--------------

BEIRUT 00001736 003 OF 003




10. (C) General Kahwagi assured General Petraeus that
terrorists were being pursued in Lebanon. The LAF has been
extremely close to capturing the Fatah al-Islam figure
Jahwar, arriving at his safe house three hours after the
suspect fled and finding a wig and women's clothes to show
that he was adopting a disguise. Kahwagi also said that
there was confirmed information that Usamah Amin Shehabi and
Abd al Rahman Muhammad were hiding in the Ain el Hilweh
Palestinian refugee camp. "We will get them, though."

No Hizballah Activity South of the Litani River
-------------- --


11. (C) In response to a query from the Ambassador, Kahwagi
reported that there had been no unusual Hizballah maneuvers
south of the Litani on Lebanese Independence Day. Despite
Israeli claims to the contrary, he said neither the LAF nor
UNIFIL observed any unusual activity. In response to the
Ambassador's query on the reported Iranian offer of military
assistance to the LAF, Kahwagi said he had no further
information.


Meeting Participants
--------------


12. (SBU) Participants in the meeting were:

General Jean Kahwagi
LAF Commander
COL Edmond Homsey
LAF Foreign Liaison Officer

Michele Sison
U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon
General David Petraeus
Commander, U.S. Central Command
Colonel Michael Iverson
USA, USCENTCOM CG Executive Officer
Major Ronald Clark,
USMC, USCENTCOM CG Aide de Camp
Michael Gfoeller, DOS
USCENTCOM Political Advisor
Colonel Michael Bell
USA, USCENTCOM CAG
Sadi Othman
USCENTCOM CG Senior Advisor
LTC David Leinberger
Chief, Office of Defense Cooperation
LTC Robert Paddock
USCENTCOM Lebanon Desk Officer
Jacqueline Ward
Special Assistant to the Ambassador


13. (SBU) This message has been cleared by General Petraeus.

SISON