LEBANON: LAF COMMANDER TELLS CODEL ACKERMAN HE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 001753

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ELA
ALSO FOR IO A/S HOOK, PDAS WARLICK
P FOR DRUSSELL AND RRANGASWAMY
USUN FOR KHALILZAD/WOLFF/GERMAIN/SCHEDLBAUER
NSC FOR ABRAMS/RAMCHAND/YERGER/MCDERMOTT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/14/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV MASS MCAP LE IS IR
SUBJECT: LEBANON: LAF COMMANDER TELLS CODEL ACKERMAN HE
EXECUTES GOVERNMENT POLICY

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

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


1. (C) In a December 13 meeting with Codel Ackerman, Lebanese
Armed Forces (LAF) Commander Jean Kahwagi stressed that the
LAF's primary goal was to fight terrorists, and highlighted
the U.S. assistance that the army needs in order to succeed.
He underscored the importance of U.S. military assistance in
the LAF's quest to defeat Fatah al-Islam and other terrorist
groups based in the Palestinian refugee camps. Asked about
Israel being considered Lebanon's enemy, he insisted it is
the government's role, not his, to define who Lebanon's
enemies are, and considered it his job to execute the orders
of the government. He claimed he had seen no intelligence
suggesting Hizballah was rearming, and asked for the U.S. and
Israel to share any information they had on Hizballah weapons
movement. He said UNIFIL was doing good work in helping the
people of the south and guaranteeing security in southern
Lebanon. End summary.

CONTINUED U.S. SUPPORT FOR THE LAF
--------------


2. (C) Codel Ackerman, accompanied by Ambassador and Emboffs,
met with LAF Commander General Jean Kahwagi December 13 at
Yarze. Codel members were Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-NY, chairman
of the HFAC subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia,
and subcommittee members Rep. Jeff Flake, R-AZ; Rep. Joe
Wilson, R-SC; Rep. Brian Higgins, D-NY; and Rep. Ron Klein,
R-FL; as well as subcommittee staffers David Adams, Greg
McCarthy, and Howard Diamond. Congressman Ackerman began the
meeting by stressing to General Kahwagi that his bipartisan
delegation had come to pass the message that support for
Lebanon will remain consistent in the new administration. He
complimented Kahwagi on his army's good use of American
equipment and training, and said the U.S. was committed to
continuing its support to the LAF.

LAF PRIORITY IS FIGHTING TERRORISM
--------------


3. (C) Kahwagi noted that although Israel is officially
defined as Lebanon's primary enemy, Islamic terrorists are
currently his top priority. He said the terrorists in the
Palestinian camps are influenced by al-Qaeda, killing for the
sake of killing with an aim to re-establishing the Caliphate
from 1600 years ago. He pointed out that these terrorists
had killed sixteen of his men in a two-month period, and
injured 100.


4. (C) Despite the grave danger the terrorists represent,
Kahwagi said the LAF had made progress in defeating them. He
deemed the LAF assault on Fatah al-Islam terrorists in the
Nahr al-Barid camp in 2007 crucial in building credibility
for the LAF and convincing Palestinian camp security
committee officials to cooperate with the Lebanese, which had
led to the detention of a large number of extremists. Based
on these experiences, Kahwagi said he had determined what the
LAF would require in order to eliminate the terrorists, and
wanted to be clear that his requests for U.S. assistance,
both training and equipment, were based on necessity. He
said he recognized that the U.S. would not provide equipment
that might threaten Israel if it fell into the hands of
Hizballah, but claimed that in any event Hizballah's weapons
are much better than anything the LAF has. (Note: The LAF
has an excellent end-use monitoring record regarding
U.S.-origin equipment. End Note.)

"ISRAEL IS THE ENEMY
BECAUSE THE GOVERNMENT SAYS IT IS THE ENEMY"
--------------


5. (C) Noting that Israel had invaded Lebanon in 2006 not to
target the LAF, but to target Hizballah, Rep. Ackerman asked
Kahwagi what threat Israel posed that made it Lebanon's
enemy. Kahwagi sidestepped the political argument, saying it

BEIRUT 00001753 002 OF 002


was not his responsibility to determine who Lebanon's enemies
are. "I work for the government," he exclaimed. "The
government says Israel is the enemy, not Hizballah. I am the
hand of the government. I do what they ask me to do. If
tomorrow they say Israel is not the enemy, fine." The
General came back to this point several times over the course
of the meeting, refusing to express an opinion on whether an
Israeli withdrawal from Sheba'a Farms would delegitimize
Hizballah's role as the "resistance" when asked.
Nonetheless, he worried that the LAF would be "crushed" if
confronted with an Israeli invasion.

NO PROOF OF HIZBALLAH'S REARMAMENT
UNIFIL PRESENCE POSITIVE
--------------


6. (C) Rep. Wilson expressed concern about Hizballah's
rearming since the 2006 war, particularly its procurement of
rockets from Iran. Kahwagi explained Hizballah's deep
integration into the Shia population of the south, and the
difficulty in detecting Hizballah's movements as a result.
He noted that he was the LAF brigade commander, stationed in
the city of Nabatieh during the 2006 war, and could track
none of Hizballah's operations. "The people are Hizballah,"
he said. "They keep their weapons with them. During the
2006 war, they defended their villages. But you can't see
them. They are ordinary people." He stressed that neither
the LAF nor UNIFIL had seen any evidence of Hizballah's
rearming, and he suggested that the U.S. and Israel present
whatever proof they might have that it is taking place.


7. (C) Kahwagi believed the presence of UNIFIL troops in the
south was having a positive effect, and called LAF
coordination with them excellent. He noted there had been no
significant hostile actions across the Israeli border since
the end of the war in 2006, and said UNIFIL was helping the
local population and guaranteeing its security. When asked
by Rep. Klein whether UNIFIL should be doing more to prevent
Hizballah's smuggling of arms in its area of responsibility,
Kahwagi said that this would require searches of private
homes; it would be impossible in a democratic country for any
force to enter people's homes searching for weaponry without
specific cause. As for the LAF, Kahwagi returned to his
soldier's mantra: "As long as the government says they are a
legitimate resistance, I cannot treat them as criminals.
They will say I am an agent of Israel. The government gives
the orders, and I execute."

"IRAN IS YOUR PROBLEM, NOT MINE"
--------------


8. (C) The congressmen asked General Kahwagi his thoughts on
Iranian influence in Lebanon. Kahwagi denied that Iran was
influencing Lebanon as such, but acknowledged its importance.
"Whether you like them or not, they are big, near, and Shia.
Half the Muslims in Lebanon are Shia." He remarked that
both the Iranian government and private sector had helped
rebuild the infrastructure bombed by the Israelis during the
2006 war, and said he did not currently see Iran as a threat.
When asked what approach the United States should take to
the Iranian regime and how it would affect Lebanon, Kahwagi
stated that the U.S. should talk to the Iranians. "You
cannot ignore such an influential country. You know what you
have to do. You are the ones with a problem with them. Your
continued disagreement will affect us, but I can't solve
this."

SISON