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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIRUT 002671 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
NOFORN 
 
NSC FOR ABRAMS/ZAROTE/DORAN/SINGH/HARDING 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/16/2016 
TAGS: EAID EFIN PTER PREL SY ISLE
SUBJECT: LEBANON: NAYLA MOAWAD VOWS TO STAND FIRM 
 
Classified By: Jeffrey D. Feltman, Ambassador.  Reason 1.4(d). 
 
SUMMARY 
-------- 
 
¶1.  (C/NF)  During an 8/16 meeting with the Ambassador and 
poloff in the Baabda apartment where she is staying, Zgharta 
MP and Minister for Social Affairs Nayla Moawad said that, 
though she is threatened by the recent speeches by Hassan 
Nasrallah and Bashar al-Asad accusing the March 14 movement 
of supporting Israel, she would not let that hamper her vocal 
stance against Hizballah's arms.  She is also intent on 
playing an activist role in government construction of the 
country, but is concerned that the GOL development 
bureaucracy is opaque and rife with corruption and 
incompetence.  Fearful that Iran and Hizballah are rushing to 
fill the vacuum, Moawad urged that the Ambassador get PM 
Siniora to focus urgently on organizing the government 
reconstruction effort.  She also worried that Syria is 
funnelling money and possibly arms to other opponents of the 
March 14 movement, including her bitter personal rival in the 
northern town of Zgharta, Suleiman Frangieh.  Urging again 
that Emile Lahoud should be removed as president, she added 
that the USG needs to "be firm" with Lahoud and should 
consider looking into some of his possible financial 
improprieties, such as his son's alleged involvement in the 
Oil-for-Food scandals.  End Summary. 
 
THE COCK'S CROW 
--------------- 
 
¶2.  (C/NF)  Uncowed and highly energized, 'Sitt Nayla' -- who 
has moved to her sister's apartment, one floor down from her 
own, supposedly for security reasons -- said that the 
Israelis had made a mess of things by waiting so long to 
start the land invasion of southern Lebanon, and now the IDF 
seems eager to leave Lebanon as soon as possible "without 
doing anything" to stop Hizballah's filtering back into the 
area.  (Comment.  This is a common refrain we are hearing 
from the March 14 crowd. End Comment.)  Their poor 
performance has emboldened the opponents of the March 14 
movement inside and outside Lebanon, primary among them the 
Hizballah-Syria-Iran triumverate.  In the wake of Hassan 
Nasrallah's smug 8/14 speech and Bashar al-Asad's bullying 
8/15 speech, the latter accusing the March 14ers of being in 
league with Israel, Moawad said that while she is concerned 
about her safety, she considers Nasrallah's speech -- and to 
a lesser extent Bashar's -- as merely a "cock's crow" 
following the "victory" over Israel.  She is used to such 
things, reminding the Ambassador that she was referred to as 
the "Golda Meir of Tripoli" during a Syrian-engineered 
campaign against her in 2002 in northern Lebanon. 
 
NEED TO BEAT THE IRANIANS IN REBUILDING 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C)  Moawad added that Nasrallah is playing an "obvious 
political game" to stem annoyance with Hizballah's war, 
particularly by offering a $10,000 handout to every family 
that lost a home destroyed in the conflict.  Acknowledging 
that Nasrallah has done an end run around any GOL-led 
rebuilding campaign, Moawad bemoaned the lack of a clear 
vision for reconstruction within the Siniora government -- 
"Fuad does not have a very professional outfit."  She singled 
out Siniora reconstruction advisor Nabil Jisr and head of the 
Higher Relief Council Yehya Raad as especially incapable. 
Siniora needs to come up with an overall plan to present to 
the nation soon, worried Moawad, otherwise the Iranians and 
Hizballah will take control.  She asked that the Ambassador 
give Fuad a "morale boost." (Note. The PM told the Ambassador 
later that he is appointing a new, well-regarded coordinator 
of reconstruction efforts and will address the nation on the 
evening of 8/16.  End Note.) 
 
¶4.  (C)  Moawad said that the GOL should concentrate on 
rebuilding the South, where they will have more success 
penetrating, and should leave Beirut's southern suburbs to 
Hizballah.  Fairly brimming with ideas for rebuilding -- 
including low interest loans for housing and microcredit 
schemes for small businesses -- Moawad said she has been 
 
BEIRUT 00002671  002 OF 003 
 
 
trying to sit down with Siniora and others to discuss the 
effort, with no success.  (Comment.  Moawad's ministry, which 
theoretically oversees housing as part of its portfolio, is 
known to be in the pocket of Speaker Nabih Berri. End 
Comment.)  "It's urgent we show the government is here, and 
beat the Iranians," urged Moawad,  "Yalla! Let's go back to 
action."  She also suggested the GOL hire a professional 
advertising firm -- "like Saatchi and Saatchi" -- to get the 
message out to the people about all that the government, as 
opposed to Hizballah, is doing to rebuild Lebanon. 
 
SYRIAN ALLIES RECEIVING SUPPORT 
------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C)  Moawad worries that if the March 14 movement does 
not get on track, that the internal political balance will 
tip back in Syria's favor.  She suspects that Defense 
Minister Murr, always a fencesitter, is "playing a dirty 
game"  by stalling on LAF deployment and is in fact moving 
closer to his ex-father-in-law, President Lahoud.  She 
believes that her political rival in the murky world of 
northern Maronite politics, Suleiman Frangieh, is in bed with 
Hizballah and being armed by Syria.  (Note.  On the way to 
the meeting, we drove past a minibus coming from the North 
sporting pictures of Nasrallah and Frangieh.  End Note)  She 
added that Frangieh is also receiving money from the 
half-Lebanese, half-Saudi millionaire Prince Walid bin Talal. 
 She believes that others in the pro-Syrian March 8 camp -- 
such as Wiam Wahhab, Talal Arslan, and Michel Aoun -- are all 
receiving money, and perhaps more, from the Syrians and 
Iranians.  "There is a flow of Iranian money," warned Moawad, 
"The other side is acting, they are one-headed, and they have 
the money they want." 
 
¶6.  (C)  While the March 8 camp is being buoyed by Syria, 
claimed Moawad, the March 14ers are deflated both emotionally 
and financially.  Claiming that Marwan Hamadeh and Walid 
Joumblatt are "both depressed," Moawad feels "like the only 
one on the ground."  Asking that the Ambassador keep this 
information quiet, Moawad said that she has been forced to 
sell off the last of her father's property, as well as that 
of her assassinated husband, former President Rene Moawad. 
 
GO AFTER LAHOUD 
--------------- 
 
¶7.  (C/NF)  Moawad sees the removal of President Lahoud, a 
Syrian proxy and the most constitutionally-powerful Lebanese, 
as the solution to what ails Lebanon.  She urged that the USG 
"be firm" with Lahoud, and also consider investigating some 
of his shady financial involvements.  She mentioned 
particularly the Bank al-Medina scandal in which she believes 
Lahoud is deeply involved.  (Comment. The extensive 
corruption involved in the Bank al-Medina scandal has never 
quite come to the surface in Lebanon, perhaps because it 
threatens to bring down so many powerful Lebanese.  End 
Comment)  Moawad suggested the USG might be interested in it 
from a money laundering or terrorist financing angle, or 
could ask Interpol to look further into it.  The Ambassador 
remarked that the Lebanese Prosecutor-General, Said Mirza, 
may have many documents related to Bank al-Medina which he 
would have to provide.  Moawad also noted the oft-cited 
rumors that Lahoud's son Emile Emile was involved in the 
Oil-for-Food scandals, and she wondered whether the many 
documents related to OFF might be mined for incriminating 
evidence against the Lahouds. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶8.  (C/NF)  We had expected Moawad to be dejected and 
frightened by the belligerent speeches of Nasrallah and Asad. 
 Yet it was clear from the meeting that 'Sitt Nayla' has a 
lot of fight left in her.  Conspiracy theories abound in 
Lebanon, so it is difficult to sift through what is truth and 
what is rumor in all that she had to say about Syrian and 
Iranian support for opponents of the March 14 movement.  But 
what is more important now is that the Siniora government 
appear organized and responsive to its citizenry, and not 
allow Hizballah and Iran to fill the role of primary 
 
BEIRUT 00002671  003 OF 003 
 
 
benefactor in the South.  Moawad's central point about 
needing to rally the GOL reconstruction effort is key to 
building up a strong, centralized Lebanese state.  We will 
continue to ask Siniora and his ministers about his needs for 
getting this effort on track, and will have meetings on 8/17 
with Sami Haddad, Minister of Economy and Trade, and Mohammad 
Safadi, Minister for Public Works and Transport.  PM 
Siniora's pick for a new reconstruction coordinator, Ghassan 
Tahar, has an excellent reputation, and we hope he begins 
work immediately. 
FELTMAN