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O 042110Z MAY 09
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TO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0000
INFO RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT IMMEDIATE 0000
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RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE IMMEDIATE 0000
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UNCLAS STATE 045217 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
USUN FOR SCHEDLBAUER 
HAGUE FOR MANNING 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL UNSC LE SY IS
SUBJECT: GUIDANCE: UNSC CONSULTATION ON LEBANON (UNSCR 
1559), MAY 7 
 
¶1. (U) This is an action message.  Please see paragraph 3. 
 
¶2. (U) Mission may draw on the building blocks in paragraph 3 
for the May 7 Security Council consultations on the ninth 
semi-annual report of the Secretary General on the 
implementation of UNSC resolution 1559 (2004). 
 
¶3. (SBU) Begin Building Blocks: 
 
-- We welcome the Secretary General,s ninth and most recent 
report on Security Council Resolution 1559. Our discussion 
comes on the heels of an important anniversary ) four years 
ago, on April 26, the last of Syria,s occupying forces were 
forced from Lebanon thanks to the Cedar Revolution.  It is 
also one year to the day since a Hizballah-engineered strike 
erupted into violence and resulted in Hizballah,s takeover 
of West Beirut*an ugly show of force that only underscores 
the need to fully implement Resolutions 1559 and 1701.  These 
two anniversaries tell us much about the desire and 
dedication of the Lebanese people to live in a free, 
sovereign, and independent state, as well as the dangers 
posed to these aspirations by the presence of armed militias 
in that country. 
 
-- Today, Lebanon and Syria should be commended for taking 
significant steps toward the establishment of normal 
relations.  When the Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon arrives at 
post, the completion of the exchange of ambassadors will be a 
notable achievement. 
 
-- Activating the joint border commission will be another 
step forward.  We hope that Syria names its delegates to this 
commission in the near future, so that meaningful efforts to 
demarcate their porous joint border can begin.  Demarcation 
of the border is a crucial component of broader efforts to 
stem cross-border smuggling and to close off, what the 
Secretary General calls, the &continuing potential for 
breaches of the arms embargo.8  These breaches facilitate 
Hizballah,s rearmament and the armament of Palestinian 
militias such as the PFLP-GC, which, as noted in the 
Secretary General,s report, is alleged to have fired rockets 
at Israel from Lebanon during the Gaza conflict. 
 
-- With progress on key areas nearing fruition, it would be 
tempting to think that the end of the utility of Resolution 
1559 is close.  This, however, would be a grave mistake. 
 
-- While the Secretary General,s report suggests a thaw in 
diplomatic tensions, as well as an improvement in the 
Lebanese political and security situation, it also notes &no 
tangible progress towards the disbanding and disarming of 
Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias as called for by the Taif 
agreement and resolution 1559.8  In the words of the 
Secretary General, &Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias 
continue to pose a threat to the stability of the country and 
challenge the need for the Government of Lebanon and the 
Lebanese Armed Forces to exercise the monopoly on the use of 
force throughout Lebanon.8 
 
-- Indeed, the admitted actions of Hizballah in 
Egypt*supporting militants there even as Hizballah leaders 
exhorted the Egyptian military to defy its political 
leadership*demonstrate it to be a threat not only to 
Lebanon, but also to the region at large.  We join with the 
Secretary General in condemning Hizballah,s &unwarranted 
interference in the domestic affairs of a sovereign Member 
State.8 
 
-- We believe strongly that the people of Lebanon must be 
able to choose their own representatives in open and fair 
elections without the specter of violence, without the 
intimidation of arms, and free from outside influence.  As 
Secretary Clinton noted recently in Beirut, the Lebanese 
&have a right to (their) own future.8 
 
-- The United Nations Security Council has made it clear in 
this resolution, as well as in Resolutions 1680 and 1701, 
that the only legitimate armed forces in Lebanon are those of 
the Lebanese government. 
 
-- The United States continues working to support Lebanon,s 
state institutions, including by providing the Lebanese Armed 
Forces with the training and equipment they need to protect 
Lebanon and its citizens and implement the resolutions of 
this Council. 
 
-- We join with the Secretary General in calling upon 
Hizballah to disarm and to transform itself into a solely 
political party and further call on all other militant groups 
in Lebanon to likewise disarm.   And let me be clear: we see 
no distinction between the so-called political wings and the 
military apparatuses of these groups.  Nor will we engage 
with them until they completely disarm, whatever their 
involvement in the Lebanese government. 
 
-- We similarly call for the State-sponsors of these armed 
groups to cease their support.  We are particular disturbed 
by the presence of PFLP-GC and Fatah al-Intifada militias 
along the Lebanese-Syrian border and note, as did the 
Secretary General, that these groups illegally exercise de 
facto control over sections of the border. 
 
-- We note that, even as we begin increased engagement in the 
region, the United States will not sacrifice Lebanon,s 
freedom, sovereignty, or independence at the altar of 
improved U.S. relations with one of Lebanon,s neighbors. 
 
-- Simply put, the United States will never sanction any deal 
at the expense of a free, sovereign, and independent Lebanese 
state.  The United States will never make any deal that sells 
out Lebanon and the Lebanese people.  This includes the 
functioning of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which is a 
critical and non-negotiable part of the process to end 
impunity for political assassinations in Lebanon. 
 
-- Likewise, the United States will continue to call for the 
full implementation of Resolutions 1559 and 1680 until all 
directives contained in both resolutions are met and the 
political independence and sovereignty of Lebanon are 
guaranteed. 
 
End Building Blocks. 
CLINTON