VZCZCXRO3586
PP RUEHBC RUEHDBU RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHHM RUEHKUK RUEHPW RUEHROV
DE RUEHLB #0971/01 2401442
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 281442Z AUG 09 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5628
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUCNDMI/HUMANITARIAN DEMINING COLLECTIVE
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 3567
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 4100
RHMCSUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 000971 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ELA 
ALSO FOR IO A/S EBRIMMER 
P FOR AWELLS/RWALLER 
DRL/NESA FOR JBARGHOUT 
PARIS FOR DNOBLES 
USUN FOR AWOLFF/EGERMAIN/ASCHEDLBAUER 
NSC FOR DSHAPIRO/MMCDERMOTT 
DOD/OSD FOR FLOURNOY/KAHL/DALTON 
OVP FOR HMUSTAFA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/26/2019 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PINR MOPS MCAP PM IS LE IR
SUBJECT: IRAN PUSHES INTO LEBANESE DEMINING OPERATIONS 
 
Classified By: Classified by Ambassador Michele J. Sison for reasons 1. 
4 (b) and (d). 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (C) The demining NGO Mine Advisory Group (MAG) has 
confirmed the launch of a new Iranian demining NGO in south 
Lebanon.  The Iranian NGO Peace Generation Organization for 
Demining (PGOD) is starting with a small presence.  In 
addition, MAG director Christina Bennike reaffirmed that some 
of her MAG staff were solicited by Hizballah to work on 
demining operations.  Lebanese Mine Action Center (LMAC) 
director Brigadier General Mohammad Fehmi separately 
confirmed that LMAC was offered donations by Iranians for 
demining and victims assistance, but he claimed to have 
refused the offer because the grants would come with 
"Hizballah tied to them."  MAG and LMAC also disparaged 
Israeli strike data from the June 2006 war as being too vague 
to be useful.  UNIFIL, however, was more positive about the 
value of the data and about the importance of the Israeli 
gesture.  With demining funds growing tighter, the door looks 
open to all comers.  End summary. 
 
IRAN JOINS DEMINING EFFORT 
-------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) MAG's Bennike confirmed press reports of the launch of 
a new Iranian demining NGO in LMAC's south Lebanon area of 
operations.  The NGO PGOD, which is reportedly funded by an 
Iranian foundation and assisted by the Iranian company Ayman 
Sazan, is focusing on the south Lebanese villages of Zawtar 
al-Sharquiya and Qabrikha, according to newspapers.  Bennike 
reported that PGOD was accredited by the LMAC on August 20 
and has fielded three teams of 10-12 deminers, as compared to 
the eight to ten teams that MAG heads as the largest demining 
NGO in Lebanon.  Bennike repeated her comments from last May 
that some of her MAG staff were solicited by Hizballah to 
work on demining operations.  (Note: Bennike is very hesitant 
to speak about Hizballah due to safety concerns.  Although 
she has not received any personal threats, she lives in Tyre 
and works in Nabeytieh and was advised by an LMAC officer 
last May to keep references to Hizballah quiet.  End note.) 
 
¶3. (C) LMAC director BG Fehmi, who spoke at the launching of 
PGOD on August 20, separately told poloff that the new NGO 
has signed a work agreement with LMAC, the controlling 
authority for demining operations in Lebanon.  He also 
confirmed that LMAC had been offered unspecified donations by 
other Iranians for demining and victims assistance.  BG Fehmi 
claimed to refuse any Iranian offers because they would come 
with "Hizballah tied to them."  Contrary to rumors that LMAC 
was considering an Iranian as director of its Mine Victims 
Assistance Program, BG Fehmi insisted that the position would 
be filled by a Lebanese. 
 
DEMINING OPERATORS DISPARAGE 
ISRAELI STRIKE DATA 
---------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Both Bennike and Fehmi advised poloff that the strike 
data provided by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in May 2009 
to UNIFIL and passed along to NGOs in the field had not 
improved the pace or quality of demining operations.  Fehmi 
described the data as "useless," especially after the deaths 
of 45 persons (many of them children) and three years of 
clearing minefields while the IDF refused to release the 
information.  He also cast doubt on Israeli claims of 
ignorance regarding the type and quantity of munitions used 
in artillery and aerial bombardment, given the sophistication 
of Israel's armed forces and weapons.  "How could the IDF not 
know; they are not a militia," Fehmi remarked.  Although the 
LMAC knew most of the strike locations before the Israelis 
shared their records, Fehmi  reported, the LMAC found 51 
confirmed contaminated sites that do not appear on the "fire 
dispersion" data spreadsheet and 289 locations that lack the 
 
BEIRUT 00000971  002 OF 002 
 
 
direction or altitude used by the aircraft that dropped the 
munitions, making pinpointing munitions dispersion 
impossible. 
 
¶5. (C) Bennike assessed that MAG operations, which are 
largely funded by PM/WRA, were not materially affected by the 
release of the data.  MAG's Technical Field Manager Jeffrey 
Caldwell told poloff that even though the data had confirmed 
areas already known to have been infested with cluster bombs, 
it is not detailed enough to facilitate a quicker day-to-day 
pace.  New UNIFIL Chief of Staff BG Vincent Lafontaine 
evinced a more positive attitude to the strike data, however, 
affirming that the maps were in fact useful and a positive 
Israeli gesture that UNIFIL appreciates.  (Note:  UNIFIL 
leads the Tripartite talks between the IDF and Lebanese Armed 
Forces (LAF) on UNSCR 1701 issues and has pressed the IDF for 
years to hand over strike data.  The data turnover is one of 
few success stories from the Tripartite talks.  End note.) 
For his part, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon PolOff Rami 
Shehadeh criticized demining NGOs and accused them of not 
making a serious effort to use the data since May.  "The 
Israelis have given a lot, more than they had to give.  We 
just need to put an end to this issue," he explained to us. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶6. (C) The LMAC cannot turn down demining assistance from 
Iranian-affiliated NGOs while the Lebanese Armed Forces is 
trying to build up its reputation for social support and 
services in the south.  Even more, with demining funds 
growing tighter, MAG, like other international NGOs, is 
slashing staff as it awaits $1.5 million in PM/WRA money 
still pending congressional notification.  In such a funding 
environment, the door is open to all comers. 
SISON