VZCZCXRO5344
OO RUEHAG RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK
DE RUEHLB #2703/01 2321519
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
O 201519Z AUG 06 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5153
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO PRIORITY 0130

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIRUT 002703 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/SINGH/HARDING 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/20/2026 
TAGS: PREL KCRM PTER EFIN LE SY IS
SUBJECT: BRAINSTORMING WITH MARWAN AND NAYLA: HAVE KOFI 
BRING NICOLAS MICHEL WITH HIM 
 
Classified By: Jeffrey Feltman, Ambassador, per 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1.  (S/NF)  Meeting together with the Ambassador on 8/20, 
Marwan Hamadeh and Nayla Mouawad urged that Kofi Annan bring 
UN/OLA chief Nicolas Michel with him when the UNSYG travels 
to Beirut next week.  Having Michel in town to finalize the 
draft on the Hariri tribunal will put the right spin on 
Annan's visit, they argued, and keep Syria off balance. 
Pointing to a petition by the March 14 majority for a special 
parliamentary session, they said that such a session could be 
used to approve the Hariri tribunal, examine Bank al-Medina 
files, and find other ways to seize the initiative from 
Hizballah and the pro-Syrians.  While admitting that the GOL 
must do better on reconstruction, they said that Hizballah's 
big advantage is its ability to hand out cash, which the GOL 
cannot and should not do.  They hoped that the USG would 
press the Gulf Arabs, however, to pass some cash to March 14 
politicians to use on local patronage to compete with 
Hizballah.  No one, they said, will remember who built a 
bridge, but people will remember who gave them cash.  After 
Mouawad left, Hamadeh also said that the Lebanese police was 
interrogating a Syrian businessman who seemed to have been 
tasked with discrediting UNIIIC Commissioner Serge Brammertz. 
 End summary. 
 
PLEASE, GET THE ARABS 
TO GIVE US CASH FOR HAND-OUTS 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (S/NF)  On 8/20, the Ambassador met with Minister of 
Telecommunications Marwan Hamadeh and Minister of Social 
Affairs Nayla Mouawad.  While the purpose of the meeting was 
for the Ambassador to press them to help on UNSCR 
1701-related issues (a subject on which the two ministers 
agreed), the meeting quickly became a brainstorming session 
about how the March 14 movement can retake the political 
initiative away from Hizballah and Hassan Nasrallah.  Given 
Lebanon's traditional patronage politics, Hamadeh and Mouawad 
were most concerned about getting money in the hands of March 
14 political leaders to spend on relief and reconstruction -- 
not at the expense of GOL and international donor efforts, 
they said, but as something additional that people will 
remember.  Hamadeh noted that he and Druse leader Walid 
Jumblatt would travel to Saudi Arabia this week, and he hoped 
the U.S. would put in a good word with the Saudis to "give 
Walid three or four million dollars" to keep the Druse on the 
side of March 14. 
 
CALLING FOR AN EXTRAORDINARY 
PARLIAMENTARY SESSION 
---------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C/NF)  The Ambassador commented that it seemed strange, 
when two-thirds of Lebanon did not share Hizballah's vision 
for the country, that the March 14 forces could not retake 
the initiative even without cash.  Claiming to be trying, 
Mouawad and Hamadeh showed the Ambassador a parliamentary 
petition being circulated among the 71 March 14 
parliamentarians, asking President Emile Lahoud to request 
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to open an extraordinary 
session of parliament.  It is a "scandal" that Lebanon went 
through a war and the parliament maintained its summer recess 
(until the third week of September), Mouawad noted.  They 
predicted that Berri would have no choice but to open the 
extraordinary session, and the March 14 MPs will use the 
extraordinary session "to make the pro-Syrians 
uncomfortable," Hamadeh said. 
 
HARIRI TRIBUNAL:  GET KOFI 
TO BRING NICOLAS MICHEL WITH HIM 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (S/NF)  The Ambassador noted the USG interest in moving 
ahead quickly on establishing the "special tribunal with 
international character" to try suspects in the Rafiq Hariri 
murder case or those related to the Hariri murder.  Hamadeh 
and Mouawad agreed.  Our impression, the Ambassador said, was 
that action now rests with the Lebanese to respond to the 
UN/OLA draft agreement on the tribunal.  After conferring 
with Minister of Justice Charles Rizk by phone, Hamadeh 
responded that the Lebanese are ready to receive Nicolas 
Michel (from UN/OLA) to work out the final details, at which 
 
BEIRUT 00002703  002 OF 003 
 
 
point the cabinet majority and parliamentary majority (in the 
anticipated extraordinary session) can approve the tribunal. 
The Ambassador asked whether the March 14 majority was ready 
to confront a cabinet walk-out by the Hizballah ministers 
over the tribunal question.  After all, the Ambassador noted, 
the Hizballahis seem to be using "sovereignty" as the excuse 
for foot-dragging over UNSCR 1701 implementation, and they 
can claim that the tribunal, too, is an infringement on 
Lebanon's supposedly sacred sovereignty.  Mouawad and Hamadeh 
both agreed that the cabinet majority would force the issue. 
 
¶5.  (S/NF)  Hamadeh said that it was important to get Nicolas 
Michel to Beirut "immediately," to put the resurgent Syrians 
off-balance "and make them think twice about killing any of 
us."  Thinking outloud, Hamadeh then said, "Have Kofi (Annan) 
bring him with him."  His idea coming together as he spoke, 
Hamadeh said that the problem with the UNSYG's visit a week 
hence revolves around the visuals.  Annan will obliged to 
meet President Emile Lahoud.  Annan will go to Damascus. 
Annan will smile and say happy things to the cameras.  "He 
won't be as tough as he should."  But if Annan brings Michel 
with him "and leaves him in Beirut to put the final touches 
on the tribunal agreement while Kofi goes to see Bashar" will 
leave an entirely different impression.  "Brilliant!"  Nayla 
shouted, slapping Marwan's hand; "tu a raison!"  Hamadeh and 
Mouawad also argued that it is important that Annan try to 
project as sober message as possible about Iran and Syria's 
role in arms smuggling, with the public message starting even 
before the UNSYG departs for the region. 
 
BANK AL-MEDINA AND OIL-FOR-FOOD: 
WAYS TO BRING DOWN LAHOUD? 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (S/NF)  Mouawad and Hamadeh raised the familiar subject 
of ridding the country of Emile Lahoud.  They had no original 
ideas but suggested (as each has independently) that the 
notorious Bank al-Medina files be opened up and the 
Oil-for-Food scandal be mined for dirt on Lahoud.  Mouawad 
tried to put the USG in the lead on the Bank al-Medina files, 
saying that we should use the excuse of money-laundering and 
terrorist financing to ask the GOL for the files.  The 
Ambassador said that the USG had no good reason to ask now 
for Bank al-Medina files, and this seemed to be another 
example of the Lebanese trying to shift responsibility to 
foreigners.  And once the Lebanese succeed in shifting 
responsibility for something unpleasant to foreigners, they 
then don't want to listen to what the foreigners say. 
Hamadeh agreed and said that the March 14 majority should 
consider whether the extraordinary parliamentary session they 
hoped to hold could have committee hearings on Bank 
al-Medina.  Some March 14 politicians, however, may be caught 
up in the widespread scandal themselves, he cautioned. 
 
¶7.  (S/NF)  As for Oil-for-Food, Mouawad and Hamadeh thought 
that this was a promising area to examine.  But Hamadeh 
claimed that trying to go through Oil-for-Food reports 
looking for connections to Emile Lahoud is a full-time job. 
The Ambassador commented that surely Saad Hariri could pay a 
full-time researcher.  Hamadeh responded that "it would be 
better if you did it, quietly.  You have all sorts of reasons 
to be able to look at the UN files.  We don't.  You have 
people who know how to use those files, because they've been 
working with them already." 
 
TELECOM SERVICES RESTORED, 
THANKS TO CENTRAL AUTHORITIES 
----------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (S/NF)  As for other ideas to put the pro-Syrians in 
Lebanon off-balance, they both pressed on providing, quickly, 
equipment and ammunition for both the Lebanese Armed Forces 
and the Internal Security Forces (national police).  The 
Ambassador added that it was important for the GOL to get its 
own act together on reconstruction priorities and 
coordination, which they agreed has been handled poorly. 
Hamadeh noted that, as of that morning, phone service had 
been restored to all parts of the south except Jezzine, all 
because of his ministry's work.  This, he said, will be 
publicized widely. 
 
AND THE NEED FOR CASH ARISES AGAIN 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (S/NF)  But speaking of reconstuction opened the subject 
 
BEIRUT 00002703  003 OF 003 
 
 
of money again, with both of them arguing that the Lebanese 
will remember who handed out cash, not who built bridges. 
"We are whores in that way," Marwan sad, shaking his head. 
Since the U.S. and European governments cannot dispense with 
accountability, perhaps the Gulf Arabs could be asked to 
help, they said, turning the conversation back to where it 
began.  After all, Hamadeh said, the Gulf Arabs are both 
furious and frightened by the speeched of Bashar al-Asad and 
Hassan Nasrallah.  "We can worry about reform and accounting 
later," Marwan said; "we are fighting a war for our 
existence, and the enemy's best weapon is cash.  We have to 
move both cash and projects, but cash now can more more 
quickly." 
 
SARG (ALLEGEDLY) SENDS AGENT 
TO DISCREDIT BRAMMERTZ EFFORTS 
------------------------------ 
 
¶10.  (S/NF)  Raising a different subject after Mouawad left 
to meet with UN envoys Terje Roed-Larsen and Vijay Nambiar, 
Hamadeh said that the ISF had two days earlier arrested a 
Syrian who admitted being sent to Beirut by the SARG.  While 
the details were still emerging from the ongoing ISF 
investigation, XXXXXXXXXXXX cited former Syrian VP Abdulhalim 
Khaddam's name in asking to see Hamadeh to hand over some 
important documents.  Suspicious, Hamadeh got a message to 
Khaddam, who said that XXXXXXXXXXXX is XXXXXXXXXXXX representative in Damascus but also connected to Syrian military intelligence. 
When XXXXXXXXXXXX arrived for the appointment with Hamadeh,
he was arrested and subsequently admitted ("under vigorous 
interrogation," Hamadeh said) to carrying false documents 
related to the Hariri assassination. 
 
¶11.  (S/NF)  Hamadeh said that he assumed XXXXXXXXXXXX was trying to lure UNIIIC Commissioner Brammertz on a wild goose chase 
in the hopes of embarrassing Brammertz in the same way that 
the witness Zuhair Saddiq had discredited part of Detlev 
Mehlis' work.  One of the more interesting tidbits out of the 
XXXXXXXXXXXX investigation, Hamadeh said, was the revelation that 
an XXXXXXXXXXXX store adjacent to XXXXXXXXXXXX is owned by the same family.  Hamadeh guessed that the electronics store is probably a front for a Syrian intelligence unit of some kind. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶12.  (S/NF)  Mouawad and Hamadeh are two of the more zealous 
and vocal members of the March 14 majority, and neither are 
prone to flinching.  They are also used to playing in 
traditional Lebanese politics, which explains why concerns 
with cash loom so large in their minds.  Frankly, it seems to 
us to be a reasonable investment (assuming someone comes 
forward), if a couple of million dollars helps Walid Jumblatt 
maintain the Druse on the March 14 side rather than see them 
start to shift toward the pro-Syrian Druse leader Talal 
Arslan.  But what we liked best from this meeting was the 
suggestion that Kofi Annan bring Nicolas Michel with him to 
Beirut:  Annan may be presenting his visit as part of UNSCR 
1701 implementation, but Michel's presence would remind 
everyone -- including in Damascus -- that the recent fighting 
has not distracted us from the need to bring Rafiq Hariri's 
killers to justice. 
FELTMAN