Cablegate: Scenesetter for Codel Hastings' January 8 Visit

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FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6299

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SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR CODEL HASTINGS' JANUARY 8 VISIT
TO LEBANON

1. (SBU) Summary: U.S. Embassy Beirut welcomes your January 8
visit as the first high-level delegation to Lebanon of 2010.
As Lebanon emerges from a six-month struggle to form a new
national unity government, your meetings with President
Michel Sleiman, Prime Minister Saad Hariri, and Foreign
Minister Ali El Chami will reinforce the message that the
U.S. is committed to supporting Lebanon's state institutions
and the new government. Our support to the Lebanese Armed
Forces and the Internal Security Forces (with a committed
total over $1 billion), as well as our other robust
assistance programs, aim to strengthen state institutions,
promote economic growth, support education, and build civil
society. Your visit to Lebanon will show continued U.S.
support for Lebanon's sovereignty and stability, in addition
to highlighting the state's obligation to exert control over
all of its territory. Your visit will also highlight the
U.S. desire to gain a better understanding of the Lebanese
perspective and role in securing a comprehensive and lasting
peace in the region. President Sleiman and PM Hariri, in
particular, will seek assurances that the U.S. remains
committed to supporting Lebanon and that Middle East peace
negotiations will take into account their concerns about
Palestinian refugees resident in Lebanon. End Summary.

NEW UNITY GOVERNMENT BASED ON CONSENSUS
---------------------------------------

2. (SBU) The new prime minister, Saad Hariri, was able to
form a cabinet in December after nearly six months of
negotiations only after he granted the opposition key
concessions. Although the contentious cabinet negotiations
weakened March 14 and strengthened those allied with Syria
and Iran, most Lebanese leaders appear to be seeking a period
of calm after years of tumult following former Prime Minister
Rafik Hariri's assassination and the withdrawal of Syrian
forces from Lebanon. Your interlocutors will be keenly
interested in U.S. engagements in the Arab world, with an
emphasis on the U.S. relationship with Syria and our role in
restarting Middle East peace negotiations. They will likely
emphasize Lebanese opposition to settling Palestinian
refugees in Lebanon under any such deal.

KEY U.S. OBJECTIVES:
INSTITUTION-BUILDING, REGIONAL STABILITY
----------------------------------------

3. (SBU) Strengthening Lebanese state institutions has been
and continues to be the primary U.S. objective in Lebanon.
The U.S. has committed over $1 billion in security assistance
to the military and police since 2005 in order to help them
extend their control over all Lebanese territory, including
those areas dominated by Hizballah. President Obama
underscored this vision by emphasizing the importance of
controlling arms smuggling into Lebanon during President
Sleiman's recent visit to Washington. On the civilian side,
USAID manages robust programs targeting the judicial,
educational, and agricultural sectors. The embassy also
promotes civil society development and supports various
initiatives targeting institutional reform through the Middle
East Partnership Initiative and other USG programs. Your
visit is an opportunity to reaffirm U.S. support for
political and economic reform in Lebanon and our ongoing
support for the various Lebanon-related UN Security Council
Resolutions (UNSCR), such as UNSCRs 1559 and 1701, that call
for extending the state's control over all its territory.

SLEIMAN SEEKS THE MIDDLE
------------------------

4. (SBU) President Sleiman, the former army commander elected
as a consensus candidate in 2008, has committed himself to
representing all Lebanese and to striving for unity among
Lebanon's sectarian groups. Although the Christian
president's powers are limited by the constitution, Sleiman
has emphasized that his absolute priority is maintaining
stability in Lebanon by balancing internal and external
political forces. Sleiman has also sought to return Lebanon
to its place among the international community, and he was a
prime force in pushing Lebanon's candidacy for a
non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council, which it will
assume this year. During his December 14-15 visit to
Washington, Sleiman publicly emphasized the need for
continued U.S. assistance to Lebanon, complained of Israeli
violations of Lebanese sovereignty, and called on the U.S. to
ensure that any peace agreement between Israel and the
Palestinians address Lebanese concerns on Palestinian
refugees.

HARIRI DONS THE PM'S MANTLE
---------------------------

5. (SBU) Prime Minister Saad Hariri, leader of Lebanon's
Sunnis and heir to his assassinated father's political and
business legacy, assumed his new role after a grueling
negotiation with his political opponents. As the head of the
primarily Sunni Future Movement, Hariri was a key leader of
the March 14 coalition and an opponent of Syrian influence in
Lebanon. After forming a unity government in December, he
visited Damascus to establish a relationship with Syria's
President Bashar al-Asad as part of a regional detente
between Syria and Hariri's primary backer, Saudi Arabia.
Hariri will seek assurances of continued U.S. support for his
country, and you will have the opportunity to urge him to
strengthen and reform Lebanese state institutions which have
been weakened by years of neglect, occupation, and internal
strife. Despite our extensive security assistance --
including the provision of high-tech items such as the Raven
UAV -- Hariri will likely outline his desire for a "Marshall
Plan" for the LAF.

EL CHAMI EMPHASIZES SOVEREIGNTY
-------------------------------

6. (SBU) Foreign Minister Ali El Chami, newly arrived at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs from an academic position, is a
close ally of Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri. Drawing on
his academic background, El Chami has been vocal in
protesting Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty and in
opposing UN Security Council Resolution 1559, which calls for
the disarming of all militias. In El Chami's view,
Hizballah's weapons are a domestic issue to be resolved
within the National Dialogue forum, and the arms of
Palestinian militias cannot be addressed until the
Palestinian question is resolved. El Chami will likely
mention Lebanon's new role as a non-permanent member of the
UN Security Council, and this meeting is an opportunity to
impress upon him U.S. interest in cooperating with Lebanon
within the Council.

CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES AND IRAQI REFUGEES IN LEBANON
--------------------------------------------- ---------

7. (SBU) Catholic Relief Services (CRS), funded in part by
grants from USAID as well as the State Department's Bureau of
Democracy, Labor, and Human Rights and Bureau of Population,
Refugees, and Migration, has been active in providing
outreach and services to Iraqi refugees. In addition to
providing outreach and counseling services to Iraqi refugees,
CRS has conducted needs assessments and demographic surveys
of the community, including Christian, Sunni, and Shia
families. CRS also recently obtained a new grant to
encourage youth engagement in the upcoming 2010 municipal
elections. The Embassy, which hosts visiting refugee officer
teams from the Department of Homeland Security, plays a key
role in U.S. efforts to resettle Iraqi refugees. During
FY09, the embassy hosted teams that processed a total of
1,082 cases containing 2,067 individual applicants. Of those
cases, 967 (2,030 individuals) were approved for resettlement
in the U.S.
SISON

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