VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLB #1752/01 3471511
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 121511Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3779
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS BEIRUT 001752 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/FO AND NEA/ELA 
ALSO FOR IO A/S HOOK AND PDAS WARLICK 
P FOR DRUSSELL, RRANGASWAMY 
USUN FOR KHALILZAD/WOLFF/SCHEDLBAUER/GERMAIN 
NSC FOR ABRAMS/RAMCHAND/YERGER/MCDERMOTT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL UNSC LE SY
SUBJECT:  LEBANON: PRESIDENT CARTER WELCOMED POLITELY BY POLITICOS, 
EXCEPT HIZBALLAH 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and an accompanying 
delegation presented a proposal to Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and 
Interior Minister Ziad Baroud to send a team to observe the 2009 
parliamentary elections.  Baroud welcomed Carter's proposal, but 
noted that it required cabinet approval.  Across the political 
spectrum, no parliamentary bloc, including Hizballah, objected to 
Carter's proposal.  However, only March 14 leader Samir Geagea 
expressly supported the idea.  Carter met with representatives of 
all parliamentary blocs except Hizballah, which declined, saying 
they would not meet with an official of a former or current U.S. 
administration. 
 
¶2. (U) During the four-day visit, December 9-13, Carter also heard 
complaints from members of Berri's Amal movement and opposition 
leader Michel Aoun about perceived U.S. bias towards Israel.  Aoun 
criticized U.S. policy further by blaming the U.S. for creating 
political divisions in Lebanon.  Carter finishes his visit with a 
speech at American University in Beirut December 12, before 
continuing his regional visit in Damascus on December 13.  End 
Summary. 
 
ELECTION OBSERVATION 
POLITELY WELCOMED 
------------------ 
 
¶3. (U) Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter met, separately, with 
President Michel Sleiman, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, Speaker of 
Parliament Nabih Berri, Interior Minister Ziad Baroud, former 
President Amine Gemayel, MPs Michel Aoun and Saad Hariri, head of 
the Lebanese Forces (LF) Samir Geagea, and a number of 
parliamentarians during his December 9-13 visit.  Carter expressed 
hope that the 2009 parliamentary elections would be transparent and 
would take place on time. 
 
¶4. (U) Carter formally presented The Carter Center's election 
observation proposal for the 2009 elections during his meetings with 
Baroud and Siniora December 11.  Baroud welcomed Carter's suggestion 
to monitor the elections.  However, he explained that while article 
20 of the new electoral law approved September 27 could permit 
international observation, such a decision would require cabinet 
approval. 
 
¶5. (U) Reports of Carter's proposal garnered muted reaction from 
several of the opposition parties, including Hizballah and Amal. 
Hizballah MP Mohammad Raad told the press that Hizballah would 
accept any decision of the cabinet on the matter, as did MPs of 
Berri's Amal Movement who met with Carter.  Pro-opposition Minister 
of Agriculture Elie Skaff told Embassy staff he welcomed Carter's 
initiative.  However, he requested that Carter closely monitor the 
influence of money in these elections, alleging that Saudi Arabia 
was ready to allocate USD 1 billion to support March 14 candidates. 
This figure, according to Skaff, surprised Carter who thought that 
he was joking. 
 
¶6. (SBU) March 14 leaders expressly welcomed Carter's proposal. 
Majority-leader Saad Hariri said the coalition wanted election 
monitors, in addition to having the elections occur on time.  Former 
president and Phalange Party leader Amine Geyamyel called Carter's 
plan "encouraging," while Lebanese Forces (LF) leader Samir Geagea 
said he "supported" the Carter Center as an observation team. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Gemayel added Carter's visit to Lebanon complemented 
efforts by the "friends of Lebanon" to help it get out of its recent 
political crises. Elie Khoury, LF Foreign Relations officer told 
Polstaff that Geagea and Carter also discussed the need to implement 
National Dialogue resolutions adopted in 2006, notably the border 
delineation between Syria and Lebanon and the disarmament of the 
Palestinian factions outside the Palestinian refugee camps (i.e., 
PFLP-GC). 
 
HIZBALLAH AND AMAL: 
ALLIES, BUT NOT THE SAME 
------------------------ 
 
¶8. (SBU) Hizballah representatives refused to meet with former 
President Carter, in what many viewed as a surprising move. 
Hizballah MP Raad told AFP, "the party does not meet any official 
from the U.S. administration that supports Zionist terrorism."  On 
December 10, Ali Hamdan, senior advisor to Speaker Berri told 
 
Embassy staff, that Hizballah's refusal should make the U.S. realize 
the importance of Nabih Berri as a serious interlocutor.  He noted 
that although Berri is allied with Hizballah and most of his popular 
support is from the south, Berri, nevertheless, is capable of 
adopting positions different from Hizballah.  Former minister and 
Shia parliamentarian from Berri's parliamentary bloc Yassine Jaber 
believed Hizballah's refusal was due to Carter's sponsorship of the 
Camp David peace agreement. 
 
"U.S. BIASED IN 
FAVOR OF ISRAEL" 
AND CREATING DIVISIONS 
----------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Jaber called discussions between Carter and Berri's 
parliamentary bloc "heated."  Most of the MPs, he said, blamed 
perceived U.S. bias towards Israel as the source of the Lebanese 
people's sufferings.  The MPs conveyed a clear message to former 
President Carter that the Lebanese are not against the American 
people, but rather against U.S. policy, said Jaber.  He added that 
the parliamentarians called on Carter to view the region in a more 
just manner.  However, disappointment reportedly filled the air when 
Carter called or Lebanon to absorb some of the Palestinian refuges 
who reside Lebanon. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Carter also heard complaints from opposition-allied Michel 
Aoun, pro-opposition Agriculture Minister Elie Skaff, and Secretary 
General of the Armenian Tachnaq party Hovig Mekhitirian who blamed 
U.S. policy for the divisions among the Lebanon's political leaders. 
 Skaff reported that his ally Aoun argued that the U.S., by inciting 
one Lebanese group against the other, was the cause of political 
unrest.  Additionally, Aoun highlighted U.S. "double standards" in 
the region and Lebanon, according to Skaff. 
 
CARTER VISITS 
UNIFIL IN SOUTH 
--------------- 
 
¶11. (U) In addition to presenting his election observation proposal, 
Carter visited the UNIFIL headquarters in South Lebanon on December 
10 and expressed hope Israel would withdraw from Shebaa Farms and 
southern village of Ghajar.  On December 12, Carter is scheduled to 
meet with Druze leader Walid Jumblatt's parliamentary bloc, to see 
Speaker Nabih Berri in South Lebanon, and to give a lecture at the 
American University of Beirut before leaving for Damascus on 
December 13. 
 
SISON