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DE RUEHC #0414 2992129
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O 262108Z OCT 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0000
INFO RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT IMMEDIATE 0000
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS IMMEDIATE 0000
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV IMMEDIATE 0000

UNCLAS STATE 110414 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
USUN PLEASE PASS GERMAIN 
SCHEDLBAUER 
MASILKO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PTER UNSC LE IS SY
SUBJECT: GUIDANCE: CONSULTATIONS ON UNSCR 1559, OCT 27 
 
¶1. (U) This is an action message.  Please see Paragraph 3. 
 
¶2. (U) Mission may draw on the building blocks at paragraph 
three for the October 27 Security Council consultation on the 
tenth 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 tenth and most recent 
report on UNSCR 1559. Our discussion takes place during a 
period of both promise and peril for Lebanon -- promise, as 
we look forward to Lebanon's presence as a non-permanent 
member of the UN Security Council, a recognition not only of 
Lebanon's prominence in the Middle East, but also of its role 
in shaping the potential for a just and lasting peace in the 
region - and peril, because, as the Secretary General has 
noted in his most recent report, "the existence and 
activities of 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." 
 
-- As we are all aware and as the Secretary General 
describes, the presence of these militias threatens Lebanon's 
sovereignty and democracy as well as peace and security in 
the region. Indeed, the Secretary General speaks in detail of 
Hizballah's "substantial para-military capacity and 
infrastructure separate from the State" while noting its 
"arsenal is a direct challenge to (State) sovereignty." It is 
deplorable that Hizballah's dangerous and illegal armed 
presence is so well-established it takes the efforts of the 
Secretary General or significant events such as the 
explosions at Khirbet Selim and Tayr Falsayh to pique our 
collective interest in the militia issue, to say nothing of 
the spate of violent attacks, both thwarted and successful, 
in Tripoli. 
 
-- I would like to briefly discuss four ideas on how we, the 
international community, can unstick the stalled 
implementation of resolution 1559 to best achieve its goals. 
 
-- First, there must be meaningful engagement with Lebanon's 
government. 
 
-- We join the Secretary General in commending the 
re-establishment of full diplomatic relations between Lebanon 
and Syria and likewise join with him in strongly encouraging 
Syria and Lebanon to begin the process of delineating their 
porous joint border, a process that cannot commence until 
Syria takes the critical step of naming its delegates to the 
joint border commission. We think that Syrian-Jordanian 
cooperation on border issues, recently extolled by Prime 
Minister Mohammad Naji Al-Utri in Damascus, is a clear 
demonstration that bilateral border commissions can and do 
work in the region, and, as the Prime Minister pointed out on 
October 19, bilateral cooperation on border issues can have 
an important regional dimension. 
 
-- Second, the restrictions on arms importation required by 
resolution 1701 must be fully honored as a necessary step 
toward militia disarmament as required by resolution 1701. 
With regard to this, we look forward to seeing in the 
upcoming 1701 report a much fuller account of the incident at 
Tayr Falsayh than is provided in this report, and we would 
appreciate any further details about that incident that Mr. 
Larsen can give us today. 
 
-- Delineation of the border and closure of Palestinian 
militant bases along it are critical steps toward stopping 
smuggling.  As the Secretary General suggests, honoring the 
"arms embargo" is "a key factor for stability in Lebanon and 
the region." 
 
-- Even beyond Hizballah's vast arsenal, the September 11 
rocket attacks launched against Israel and the wave of 
attacks in Tripoli, demonstrate the availability of arms to 
militia groups facilitates and perpetuates unacceptable and 
potentially destabilizing violence.  Moreover, as noted by 
the Secretary General, "(i)t creates an atmosphere of 
intimidation incompatible with the conduct of the normal 
democratic process in a State."  Resolution 1559 call for the 
disarming of all militias, and we reiterate that call for all 
militias - Lebanese and non-Lebanese - to disarm and disband. 
 
-- Third, external political and material support for armed 
groups within Lebanon must cease.  We remain particularly 
disturbed by the presence of PFLP-GC and Fatah al-Intifada 
militias along the Lebanese-Syrian border and note that, 
while Lebanon has committed to dismantling and disarming 
Palestinian groups outside the refugee camps, State-sponsors 
of militia groups such as Syria and Iran have the obligation 
to refrain from interference in Lebanese affairs, just as the 
wider international community must permit the Lebanese people 
to select its own government free from outside influence.  As 
these groups are headquartered in Damascus, Syria bears a 
particular obligation to assist in the closure of these bases. 
 
-- Finally, support for Lebanese state institutions, 
including the Lebanese Armed Forces, must be provided so that 
the State can act effectively as the sole guarantor of 
security for the Lebanese people.  At the same time, we 
expect the Lebanese Armed Forces and Lebanese government to 
take the necessary steps to implement their charge under 
resolutions 1559 and 1701, especially with regard to the 
weapons-free zone in the south.  Continued inaction in the 
face of blatant violations of these resolutions risks 
undermining international support for the army and other 
Lebanese state institutions. 
 
-- The United States remains fully committed to the dual and 
interlocking causes of Lebanese sovereignty and independence 
and a fair, just, and lasting peace in the Middle East.  We 
recognize the unbreakable linkage between these two issues. 
We would note that the full implementation of resolution 1559 
is called for repeatedly in resolution 1701, which calls upon 
Lebanon and Israel to support "a permanent cease-fire" and 
emphasizes "the importance of the extension of the control of 
the government of Lebanon over all Lebanese territory." 
CLINTON