LEBANON FOLLOW UP TO THE CAIRO SPEECH: CONSULTATIVE PROCESS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 BEIRUT 000833

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TAGS: EAID ECON OEXC OSCI PREL SCUL SENV SOCI TNGD TSPL
LE
REFS: A) STATE 71325
B) BEIRUT 627
C) BEIRUT 621

SUBJECT: LEBANON FOLLOW UP TO THE CAIRO SPEECH: CONSULTATIVE PROCESS
FOR MUSLIM ENGAGEMENT

SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) U.S. Embassy Beirut contacted Lebanese stakeholders -
including youth, civil society partners, and political interlocutors
- to solicit feedback about specific recommendations and suggestions
to achieve priorities outlined by President Obama during his June 4
speech in Cairo, (ref A). Comments about the speech were generally
positive, and the Lebanese are anxious to see action follow the
words. The feedback received suggested that many Lebanese are eager
for more intercultural exchange but would also like to see the West
have a more robust appreciation for Arab culture. There is a belief
among the Lebanese that radicalism is driven by poverty and
hopelessness and that support for programs focused on economic and
business development in the region, coupled with education programs,
can combat extremism. Many Lebanese youth are interested in
increased economic opportunities and were especially intrigued by
the President's focus on "green alternatives," but currently lack
the resources to initiate projects. To illustrate how current
programs can also support the Cairo Initiatives, we detail several
of the existing USAID, Public Diplomacy, MEPI, and Office of Defense
Cooperation programs that Embassy Beirut actively promotes and
supports. There are two significant challenges to achieving success
with the Cairo Initiatives in Lebanon: (a) the need for additional
funding and human resources and (b) a Lebanese sensitivity to the
"Muslim engagement" term in this confessionally-diverse country with
a significant Christian population. End summary.

POST OUTREACH
--------------


2. (U) In response to ref A, Post solicited feedback from civil
society interlocutors, journalists, educators, and political
contacts in response to initiatives outlined in President Obama's
June 4 Cairo speech. (Note: Initial reactions to the speech are
included in refs B and C. End note.) As part of Embassy Beirut's
ongoing efforts to engage Lebanese audiences on the speech, to date
we have conducted the following activities:

-- Roundtable: The Ambassador held a roundtable discussion at her
residence with eight influential, multi-confessional Lebanese
opinion-makers representing a diverse range of political, civil
society and NGO leaders. These individuals provided feedback on the
President's speech (ref B) and insightful thoughts on future
directions programming should take to support the articulated
initiatives.

-- Reaching out to youth: the Public Affairs Section (PAS) promoted
the speech using several IIP multimedia resources including live
webcast and SMS services, as well as English and Arabic websites,
both before and after the President's speech. The Public Affairs
and Political sections used Embassy Beirut's Facebook networking
site extensively to spread the President's message and provoke
discussion among Lebanese youth.

-- MEPI alumni: POL contacted MEPI alumni (a significant number of
whom are women) by e-mail and Facebook to gauge their impressions of
the speech and elicit suggestions for programs which we will
consider in the context of
on-going projects or possible future programming.


3. (U) The Embassy Country Team has reviewed current and future
programming for areas of synergy to support the President's outlined
initiatives. We will continue to expand this list as we meet with
stakeholders, community members and other social advocates who
desire positive change within Lebanon.

AREA FOR ENGAGEMENT:
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
--------------


4. (U) Numerous contacts expressed the idea that the West should
make more of an effort to understand Arabs, instead of always
explaining western positions and ideas. One moderate journalist
said that he was "very encouraged" by the speech. He liked that it

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promoted "intercultural dialogue through encouraging many Americans
to study abroad in Arab countries" because he believed that it would
help the United States make better policy decisions if it understood
the "Arab mentality."
A project coordinator for a local youth-oriented NGO liked the
President's idea that "education and innovation will be the currency
in the 21st century" and suggested that if the U.S. is serious about
helping the Middle East develop, it needs to invest in social
issues, health, education, and technology, as well as women's
rights.


5. (U) Current programs that U.S. Embassy Beirut actively promotes
and supports related to human development include:

-- USAID: Economic Support Fund assistance strengthens basic and
higher education in Lebanon by providing assistance to 283 public
schools. The program improves learning environments through
infrastructure repairs, providing equipment such as science
laboratory materials, classroom equipment and computer laboratories,
as well as extracurricular activities to enhance the students'
skills and learning experience. USAID is also focused on decreasing
student drop-out rates (particularly girls). Over the past three
years, USAID has also supported two American educational high school
institutions, the American Community School and the International
College. Furthermore, USAID supports three American accredited
universities, which provide students with the opportunity to receive
an American-style education in Lebanon. Under the newly-adopted
five-year USAID strategy for Lebanon, a competitive scholarship
program for economically disadvantaged students will facilitate
raising the overall quality of education.

-- Public Affairs: Mission officers actively participate in a
variety of outreach programs, including at the four American Corners
which are used as programming bases. In all programs, the Public
Diplomacy Section (PD) strives to have the variety of Lebanese
religious confessions and regions represented. Core U.S. values,
including the importance of education, diversity, gender equality,
and peaceful resolution of differences, are emphasized in youth
programs as well as individual interactions with university
students. Key PD-managed programs include the J. William Fulbright
program and the Near East/South Asia undergraduate scholarship
programs. Other programs, such as the Access English
Microscholarship and Youth Exchange and Study (YES) programs, both
of which are specifically for disadvantaged high school-aged youth,
further the goals of developing a sense of self-worth in the
students and allowing them to obtain language and social skills to
mitigate strife. These goals are also reached through an active
sports diplomacy program which brings youth together with coaches
trained to teach teamwork as well as resolve cultural conflict
situations. The popular International Visitors Leadership Program
(IVLP) meets the needs of Lebanese professionals at several stages
during their careers. These programs provide skill-based training
while reinforcing U.S. values.

The PAO meets regularly with university presidents individually and
in groups to discuss how their institutions of higher learning
leverage their individual areas of expertise to form consortia to
benefit Lebanon more widely, e.g. forming "centers of excellence."
Realizing the need for women throughout Lebanon to learn English,
the Section designed "Teaching Women English" (TWE). This program,
funded with 2007 supplemental funding, has proven to be a great
success. With additional funding, TWE could extend its reach and
have a significant impact in underserved communities.

-- MEPI: The Women Political Leaders program enabled approximately
10 Lebanese women from different political factions to participate
in an election observation program in the U.S. in anticipation of
the June 7 Lebanese parliamentary elections. Meanwhile, the Student
Leaders Program sends university students to the U.S. for leadership
training. For the first time, the FY2009 program will include
several Palestinian participants who reside in some of Lebanon's
Palestinian refugee camps.

AREA FOR ENGAGEMENT:
ENTREPRENEURSHIP

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6. (U) MEPI alumni expressed concern that the lack of economic
opportunity in the region contributes to radical political activity.
One MEPI alumnus commented that poverty is the "fuel" of Islamic
radicalism and believes that the U.S. can address this aspect of
radicalism by encouraging economic growth in the Muslim world.


7. (SBU) Current USG programs in Lebanon geared towards economic
empowerment include:

-- USAID: Microfinance: Through a mixture of loans and grants,
current and future USAID programs provide technical assistance for
business plans and remove barriers by increasing women's access to
finance.

USAID will continue expanding these programs to support economic
growth in Lebanon by increasing incomes and jobs primarily in the
agribusiness tourism sectors located in peri-urban and rural areas.
Increased income and employment opportunities for youth in these
expanding sectors can be significantly enhanced through
complementary technical training, including career counseling and
guidance, and on-the-job training and placement programs in assisted
enterprises. Job creation through other sectors such as solid waste
treatment plants and forestry activities under environmental
programming are targeted in the newly-adopted USAID strategy.

-- MEPI: MEPI funds several projects to develop small businesses.
For example, MEPI funded the Women's Cooperative Association of
Rashaya-Wadi El-Taym, giving it a bus to allow an impoverished
women's cooperative to sell its produce in different geographical
areas and increase its income. Also, the Rene Moawad Foundation
(RMF) project builds the capacity of small-scale breeders living in
the Akkar region to improve the quantity and quality of dairy
production, which will lead to rising incomes.

-- USAID Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI): USAID/OTI funds
numerous projects to support vocational training for youth from
marginalized and impoverished areas. In a recent program for youth
in the Akkar area, one of the country's least developed regions, OTI
funded a youth-led program through a local NGO to provide four
months of hands-on training in filming and directing, theater makeup
and hairdressing for 50 youth from five marginalized villages. The
participants will apply what they learn by producing short-films
about issues facing youth in the region. The training will increase
work opportunities for youth to work such as hairdressing and
makeup, services commonly used for weddings and social events.

In Northern Beqaa, training has been provided through a grant to
teach sewing and related marketing skills through a local NGO. The
products made during the practical portion of the training are sold
through exhibitions and youth are equipped with skills needed to
start their own home enterprises.

OTI continues to expand programming to provide economic
opportunities for those at-risk throughout the country.


AREA FOR ENGAGEMENT:
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
--------------


8. (U) Several MEPI alumni respondents were excited by the
President's "green" message, noting that he stressed the importance
of empowering Arabs to seek "green alternatives" for industry and
agriculture to revive the economy. One MEPI alumnus working for an
environmentally-focused NGO welcomed the comments and hoped that the
U.S. launch of a fund to support technological development will
trigger a greener focus among Arab leaders.


9. (U) Current and planned programs include:

-- USAID: Forests covered 35% of Lebanon in 1965; they now cover
only 13% of the country due to forest fires and lack of proper urban
planning. Loss of forest cover contributes to increasing carbon

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emissions, floods, soil erosion, and landslides. USAID will work
with government, communities, and civil society to identify methods
to protect and regenerate forests based on their watershed,
income-generation, and carbon sequestration values, along with
cultural values. Development of tree nurseries will be designed to
also increase income for local communities, particularly unemployed
youth. Further incentives for forest conservation include the
sustainable harvesting and sale of high value forest products such
as pine nuts. Where possible, activities will be associated with
sites for eco-tourism, will work to physically link forest patches
to remaining natural forests, and will engage and train youth in
conservation.

USAID also funds programs which address solid waste pollution of the
Litani River by constructing low-tech waste water treatment plants.
USAID will continue to directly fund and leverage resources to
build, rehabilitate or expand facilities meant to store, distribute
and treat water for domestic and industrial usages under the new
five year strategy. Programs include developing citizens' awareness
of management of water resources; promoting user participation and
decentralization in water resource management, and enhancing
coordination mechanisms for managing water resources such as
aquifers or river basins.

-- MEPI: MEPI funds the Benefaction-Spikes Association project to
repair the water supply network in Nabha village of Baalbeck, Bekaa,
as well as the Association for Forests, Development and Conservation
(AFDC) project to start a campaign in Lebanon inspired by the
"Smokey Bear campaign", which is considered as the longest running
public service campaign in the USA.
-- USAID/OTI: OTI provided a grant to a local NGO to work with a
core group of 35 youth who were trained in advocacy and political
activism on environmental issues. Those youth then went out and
engaged 500 people in small-scale environmental campaigns in Beirut,
Aley, and the south of Lebanon. As a result, the youth were able
to initiate renovation of a public park in a southern village, raise
awareness of the dangers of plastic bag use in collaboration with
local business and use street performances to deliver messages about
preserving the environment. OTI continues to seek out opportunities
to work with NGOs in the communities on "green" projects.
-- ODC: The Office of Defense Cooperation is successfully using
CENTCOM Humanitarian Assistance funds, construct fire stations in
remote areas, renovate schools, and increase the capacity of Badaro
Central Hospital by constructing an emergency and X-ray room and
renovating the operating room.


10. (U) Despite Post's efforts, our current programs could and
should be expanded. Lebanon lacks even a rudimentary recycling
program, and, in fact, rock quarrying has devastated the
environment. To further the President's agenda to promote
alternative energy sources, especially in a region so dependent on a
fossil-fuel economy, Post suggests monitoring the development of the
American University Beirut (AUB) Institute for Energy and Natural
Resources. This institute was recently created with five million
dollars in seed money from an AUB trustee. As UAB further develops
the institute's potential, it may become an excellent funding
vehicle for promoting "Green" Cairo Initiatives.

AREA FOR ENGAGEMENT:
INTERFAITH DIALOGUE
--------------


11. (SBU) Post observed that a number of Facebook and
e-mail responses from MEPI alumni offered opinions on the Quranic
references in the speech. Their comments reveal a deep divide
between Muslims and Christians in their perceptions, suggesting that
creating true interfaith partnership is important but extremely
challenging. For example, a number of Lebanese Muslims expressed
their belief that the President was finally acknowledging them, and
it was clear that many Muslims feel marginalized by the West.
However, one Lebanese Christian warned us to "keep an eagle eye on
the expansion of Muslims in the world" saying that it's not
"innocent" and noting that there are mosques in Rome but not
churches in Saudi Arabia.


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12. (SBU) Members of the MEPI-funded Lebanese Shadow Government
commented that the political issues that have built up the mistrust
between the U.S. and the Muslim world are not solely related to
Muslims. Rather, they appear in communities where Islam is perhaps
the dominant faith and/or identity but is not exclusive.
Consequently, they believe that Obama's speech ignored other
communities -- not only religious ones, but also cultural and
political. Post often seeks participants for IVLP programs on
interfaith dialogue, but few Lebanese have participated over the
years.


13. USAID/OTI: Funding has been provided for numerous activities
which promote peace-building, conflict resolution activities with a
focus on youth. A recent project supported the rehabilitation of a
large public stairway linking two rival communities (the Alawite
area of Jabal Mohsen and the predominately Sunni area of Bab el
Tabbeneh). Both of these marginalized neighborhoods in Northern
Tripoli harbored deep rooted hostilities and mistrust due to
recurrent fighting over the years. With the grant from OTI through
a local NGO, the stairway was rehabilitated to encourage greater
interaction between both communities along with the creation of a
playground and small library for children in an area adjacent to the
stairway. Students of both communities painted murals along the
renovated stairway and participated in workshops to further
strengthen communication and facilitate reconciliation. The
stairway was opened in mid-July 2009 and citizens from both
communities are now interacting and finding ways to further improve
their neighborhoods jointly.

USAID is expanding funding through OTI to work with nascent Civil
Society and NGO organizations. We are actively expanding outreach
dialogue and seeking ideas for additional programming in this area.

COMMENT
--------------


14. (SBU) In Lebanon, current USG programs address several of the
target areas outlined in President Obama's June 4 Cairo speech.
However, challenges to "Muslim engagement" in Lebanon include the
need for additional program funding and human resources. In
addition, several of our interlocutors, particularly youth, found
the Cairo Initiatives necessary, but argued for implementation in
all Arab areas, including in Lebanon's Christian communities.


15. (SBU) Embassy Beirut will continue to pursue assistance
programming targeted at focus areas in the Cairo speech with vigor.
Such programs significantly improve the image and credibility of the
United States by creating new opportunities for the Lebanese, who
are often disappointed by their weak state institutions. We will
also continue to provide S/P with periodic updates, as requested.