GUIDANCE: UNSC CONSULTATION ON LEBANON (UNSCR

UNCLAS STATE 045217

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
USUN FOR SCHEDLBAUER
HAGUE FOR MANNING

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL UNSC LE SY IS
SUBJECT: GUIDANCE: UNSC CONSULTATION ON LEBANON (UNSCR
1559),MAY 7


1. (U) This is an action message. Please see paragraph 3.


2. (U) Mission may draw on the building blocks in paragraph 3
for the May 7 Security Council consultations on the ninth
semi-annual report of the Secretary General on the
implementation of UNSC resolution 1559 (2004).


3. (SBU) Begin Building Blocks:

-- We welcome the Secretary General,s ninth and most recent
report on Security Council Resolution 1559. Our discussion
comes on the heels of an important anniversary ) four years
ago, on April 26, the last of Syria,s occupying forces were
forced from Lebanon thanks to the Cedar Revolution. It is
also one year to the day since a Hizballah-engineered strike
erupted into violence and resulted in Hizballah,s takeover
of West Beirut*an ugly show of force that only underscores
the need to fully implement Resolutions 1559 and 1701. These
two anniversaries tell us much about the desire and
dedication of the Lebanese people to live in a free,
sovereign, and independent state, as well as the dangers
posed to these aspirations by the presence of armed militias
in that country.

-- Today, Lebanon and Syria should be commended for taking
significant steps toward the establishment of normal
relations. When the Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon arrives at
post, the completion of the exchange of ambassadors will be a
notable achievement.

-- Activating the joint border commission will be another
step forward. We hope that Syria names its delegates to this
commission in the near future, so that meaningful efforts to
demarcate their porous joint border can begin. Demarcation
of the border is a crucial component of broader efforts to
stem cross-border smuggling and to close off, what the
Secretary General calls, the &continuing potential for
breaches of the arms embargo.8 These breaches facilitate
Hizballah,s rearmament and the armament of Palestinian
militias such as the PFLP-GC, which, as noted in the
Secretary General,s report, is alleged to have fired rockets
at Israel from Lebanon during the Gaza conflict.

-- With progress on key areas nearing fruition, it would be
tempting to think that the end of the utility of Resolution
1559 is close. This, however, would be a grave mistake.

-- While the Secretary General,s report suggests a thaw in
diplomatic tensions, as well as an improvement in the
Lebanese political and security situation, it also notes &no
tangible progress towards the disbanding and disarming of
Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias as called for by the Taif
agreement and resolution 1559.8 In the words of the
Secretary General, &Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias
continue to pose a threat to the stability of the country and
challenge the need for the Government of Lebanon and the
Lebanese Armed Forces to exercise the monopoly on the use of
force throughout Lebanon.8

-- Indeed, the admitted actions of Hizballah in
Egypt*supporting militants there even as Hizballah leaders
exhorted the Egyptian military to defy its political
leadership*demonstrate it to be a threat not only to
Lebanon, but also to the region at large. We join with the
Secretary General in condemning Hizballah,s &unwarranted
interference in the domestic affairs of a sovereign Member
State.8

-- We believe strongly that the people of Lebanon must be
able to choose their own representatives in open and fair
elections without the specter of violence, without the
intimidation of arms, and free from outside influence. As
Secretary Clinton noted recently in Beirut, the Lebanese
&have a right to (their) own future.8

-- The United Nations Security Council has made it clear in
this resolution, as well as in Resolutions 1680 and 1701,
that the only legitimate armed forces in Lebanon are those of
the Lebanese government.

-- The United States continues working to support Lebanon,s
state institutions, including by providing the Lebanese Armed
Forces with the training and equipment they need to protect
Lebanon and its citizens and implement the resolutions of
this Council.

-- We join with the Secretary General in calling upon
Hizballah to disarm and to transform itself into a solely
political party and further call on all other militant groups
in Lebanon to likewise disarm. And let me be clear: we see
no distinction between the so-called political wings and the
military apparatuses of these groups. Nor will we engage
with them until they completely disarm, whatever their
involvement in the Lebanese government.

-- We similarly call for the State-sponsors of these armed
groups to cease their support. We are particular disturbed
by the presence of PFLP-GC and Fatah al-Intifada militias
along the Lebanese-Syrian border and note, as did the
Secretary General, that these groups illegally exercise de
facto control over sections of the border.

-- We note that, even as we begin increased engagement in the
region, the United States will not sacrifice Lebanon,s
freedom, sovereignty, or independence at the altar of
improved U.S. relations with one of Lebanon,s neighbors.

-- Simply put, the United States will never sanction any deal
at the expense of a free, sovereign, and independent Lebanese
state. The United States will never make any deal that sells
out Lebanon and the Lebanese people. This includes the
functioning of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which is a
critical and non-negotiable part of the process to end
impunity for political assassinations in Lebanon.

-- Likewise, the United States will continue to call for the
full implementation of Resolutions 1559 and 1680 until all
directives contained in both resolutions are met and the
political independence and sovereignty of Lebanon are
guaranteed.

End Building Blocks.
CLINTON