VZCZCXRO8029
PP RUEHAG RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHKUK RUEHLZ RUEHROV
DE RUEHLB #1664/01 2971335
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 241335Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9842
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 1776
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIRUT 001664 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/GAVITO/YERGER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER LE
SUBJECT: LEBANON: PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES: VIEWS ON KEY 
ISSUES 
 
REF: IIR 6 857 0083 07 TRANSLATION OF AL-JAISH 
     INTERVIEW WITH MICHEL SLEIMAN 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) What are the views of the candidates for president 
on issues such as Hizballah, Syria, UN resolutions, the 
Special Tribunal for Lebanon and revising Lebanon's election 
law?  To answer that, embassy prepared the following summary 
of key candidates' views based on a review of source material 
including presidential platforms for the few candidates who 
have issued them, previous speeches and private 
conversations.  All candidates say they would pursue 
normalization of relations with Syria and the disarmament of 
Hizballah.  They make the statements required of Lebanese 
politicians about countering Israeli aggression.  March 14 
candidates emphasize the validity of choosing a president 
with an absolute majority vote, the need for democracy and 
sovereignty, and their commitment to international 
resolutions.  Opposition candidates emphasize the need to 
include the opposition in government and to cooperate more 
with Hizballah and Syria.  Consensus candidates typically 
attempt to express views in the middle.  End summary. 
 
MARCH 14 CANDIDATES 
------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) NASSIB LAHOUD:  Former MP Nassib Lahoud announced 
his candidacy in mid-September, arguing that only a March 14 
president (elected if necessary with an absolute majority) 
could lead to a democratic, modern, and independent nation 
and represent all Lebanese.  He has close family and business 
ties with the Saudis, and speaks fondly of his stint as 
Ambassador to the United States.  Lahoud promised to purse an 
"honorable internal compromise" based on the Taif Agreement, 
national dialogue, and Arab solidarity.  He pledged to 
initiate a process to bring Hizballah,s arms into a state 
security framework with prevent hostilities with Israel, 
combat terrorism, and forestall economic deterioration and 
migration.  Lahoud is the only candidate not to link the 
disarmament of Hizballah to the return of Shebaa Farms.  He 
called for normalizing relations with Syria with: an exchange 
of ambassadors; pledges of mutual non-interference; closure 
of illegal border crossings; demarcation of the border; and 
the return of Lebanese prisoners.  Lahoud considers UNSCR 
1701 "a comprehensive and appropriate framework" for putting 
an end to Israeli aggression, freeing Lebanese prisoners from 
Israeli jails, and regaining Shebaa farms." 
(www.nassiblahoud.org, Arabic only) 
 
¶3. (SBU) BOUTROS HARB:  March 14 MP Boutros Harb announced 
his program in late August.  While he will participate in a 
vote with an absolute majority, he will only stand as a 
candidate if he can gain the support of two-thirds of the 
deputies; he believes the president must not exclude national 
leaders despite fundamental differences, and he argues that 
any president selected through an international or domestic 
political deal will not be effective.  Harb said he would 
resume the 2006 National Dialogue and outlined a six-year 
plan to unite political factions.  He envisioned 
incorporating Hizballah's arms into the army and forming a 
national security strategy to resist Israel.  He called for 
"Lebanese-Syrian reconciliation" based on non-interference in 
domestic affairs, the establishment of diplomatic ties, and 
demarcation and control of the border.  In addition, Harb 
said Israel should place Shebaa farms under UN control and 
free Lebanese prisoners.  He opposes naturalizing Palestinian 
refugees and endorsed bringing the camps under state control. 
 Harb underscored his commitment to all UN resolutions 
(including 1559 and 1701) and the deployment of UNIFIL in 
southern Lebanon, and called the Special Tribunal a tool for 
achieving justice. (No web site, written platform was sent to 
NEA/ELA.) 
 
OPPOSITION CANDIDATES 
--------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) MICHEL AOUN:  General Michel Aoun announced his 
candidacy in March 2007.  The media viewed his October 2006 
speech commemorating his 1990 military removal from the 
office of Prime Minister as his presidential platform.  Aoun 
argued then that the Siniora government is illegitimate; he 
called for formation of a national unity government, passage 
of a new electoral law, and appointment of a constitutional 
 
BEIRUT 00001664  002 OF 003 
 
 
council prior to the election of a new president.  A new 
government could overturn the decrees issued by the 
"illegitimate" Siniora government, including the one calling 
for the establishment of the Special Tribunal. He has 
suggested he would hold politicians accountable for misusing 
public funds.  Aoun considered his memorandum of 
understanding with Hizballah as a springboard for dialogue 
and the resolution of national disputes, and argued that 
Hizballah will give up its arms upon formation of a national 
security strategy.  He opposed nationalizing Palestinians and 
called for disarming the camps and placing them under state 
control. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Aoun said he would pursue "balanced" diplomatic ties 
with Syria based on institutional relationships, and would 
encourage Damascus to feel secure and to profit from Lebanese 
independence; he asked Israel to acknowledge that Shebaa is 
Lebanese and to free Lebanese prisoners.  Aoun asked Israel 
to cease its violations of Lebanese airspace and waters, to 
withdraw from occupied Shebaa Farms and Ghajjar, and to 
release Lebanese prisoners allegedly held in Syria.  While he 
called for an investigation to reveal the truth about the 
assassinations and bombings directed at politicians and 
journalists, Aoun stopped short of recognizing the Special 
Tribunal.  Aoun employs a council of economic advisors who 
would focus on improving Lebanon's competitiveness rather 
than on reducing national debt. (See www.tayyar.org, and a 
translation of Aoun's 2006 speech sent to NEA/ELA.) 
 
¶6. (SBU) JEAN OBEID:  Former MP and Foreign Minister Jean 
Obeid has not announced his candidacy or spoken publicly 
about his vision for Lebanon, but has argued for including 
the opposition in the government.  His personal ties to 
former Syrian President Hafez Assad and his work as Syrian 
and Arab affairs advisor to Lebanese Presidents Sarkis and 
Amine Gemayel indicate he would pursue a closer relationship 
with Syria.  As Foreign Minister, Obeid was a hard-line 
advocate for a comprehensive Arab peace agreement with 
Israel, the withdrawal of Israel from Lebanese and Syrian 
territories, and the return of Palestinians to their own 
state based in Jerusalem.  Obeid has said he would bring 
Hizballah into the state, but did not describe a mechanism to 
do so.  In private conversations, he supported the UNSCRs and 
the Special Tribunal. (No web site or written platform 
available.) 
 
CONSENSUS CANDIDATES 
-------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) ROBERT GHANEM:  Biqa' MP and March 14 latecomer 
(though he now claims not to represent March 14) Robert 
Ghanem in mid-August reissued a platform prepared in 2004. 
He proposed a comprehensive "salvation plan" for national 
unity, dialogue, and the transition to a civil rather than a 
sectarian state.  His proposed strategic defense council 
would devise a national defense strategy, decide how to 
respond to any Israeli aggression, and bring Hizballah's arms 
under state control.  Ghanem argued that a Lebanese-Syrian 
diplomatic relationship based on sovereignty, equality, 
justice, and institutions would help Lebanon reclaim Shebaa 
farms and demarcate the border.  He reiterated his commitment 
to UN and Arab League resolutions, but condemned the UN 
creation -- rather than the Lebanese creation -- of the 
Special Tribunal as divisive. (www.robertghanem.com) 
 
¶8. (SBU) MICHEL SLEIMAN:  Lebanese Armed Forces Commander 
Michel Sleiman told the press his current military position 
bars him from candidacy and that an interim military 
government would be ineffective, but privately said he would 
serve in the event of a deadlock.  Sleiman in May asked U.S. 
officials to push March 14 to compromise in order to 
forestall violence.  Promoted ahead of his peers by Syrian 
military officers, Sleiman's emphasis on army unity and 
neutrality in March 2005 permitted the demonstrations of the 
Cedar Revolution, but in January 2007 nearly allowed 
sectarian riots to spin out of control.  In a February 2007 
"Al-Jaish" interview, he emphasized the need for national 
consensus and inclusion of all sects in a legitimate 
government.  Sleiman said arms must be under the exclusive 
control of the government, expressed gratitude for foreign 
military support and the desire to cooperate in the global 
war on terror, and criticized the government for not 
procuring modern weaponry.  Sleiman has said the military's 
staff and budget are inadequate, indicating he would increase 
both. (Ref) 
 
BEIRUT 00001664  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶9. (SBU) CHARLES RIZK:  Minister of Justice Rizk has not 
announced his candidacy but has publicly stated his desire to 
be president.  Included in the cabinet as a confidante of 
President Emile Lahoud and careful not to criticize the 
opposition, since the July 2006 war he stopped his regular 
meetings with Hizballah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah 
and is perceived as being closer to March 14 than March 8. 
He was instrumental in the creation of the Special Tribunal, 
and has said the next president must implement the Tribunal. 
In a September "Monday Morning" article he outlined the key 
issues the next president will face.  Rizk supported creation 
of an election law reconciling political choice with 
confessional affiliation, and a governing process in which a 
confessionally inclusive absolute majority can implement 
decisions.  Rizk called for finding a strategy to incorporate 
Hizballah's arms into the government and control the 
Palestinian camps.  He charged the next president with 
revitalizing the economy to bring back the Lebanese diaspora. 
(No website or platform available.) 
 
¶10. (SBU) RIAD SALAMEH:  While no party has called Central 
Bank of Lebanon (CBL) Governor Riad Salameh its candidate, he 
has repeatedly expressed interest in the position.  In 
January former French President Chirac used the Paris III 
donor conference to raise Salameh's profile, in February 
Salameh in speeches and an interview with "La Revue du Liban" 
expressed interest in the presidency, and this summer Salameh 
used comments about his strategy in the event of a second 
government to draw attention to his leadership.  These 
comments were well received by the banking and business 
communities.  Salameh emphasized his impartial leadership at 
the CBL as a model for political leaders, and he argued that 
the government must reach consensus before it acts, even in 
urgent economic reforms.  Salameh emphasized the need to 
strengthen constitutional institutions.  Under Salameh the 
CBL and Lebanese banks have developed close ties with their 
Syrian counterparts, and Salameh's deputies travel frequently 
to Syria for consultations, indicating he could pursue a 
closer relationship as president.  He has not publicly 
announced a security policy. (No website or platform 
available.) 
FELTMAN