VZCZCXYZ0001
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLB #0011/01 0051503
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 051503Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6299

UNCLAS BEIRUT 000011 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OREP PREL PGOV KDEM EAID UNSC PTER MARR PREF
LE 
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR CODEL HASTINGS' JANUARY 8 VISIT 
TO LEBANON 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: U.S. Embassy Beirut welcomes your January 8 
visit as the first high-level delegation to Lebanon of 2010. 
As Lebanon emerges from a six-month struggle to form a new 
national unity government, your meetings with President 
Michel Sleiman, Prime Minister Saad Hariri, and Foreign 
Minister Ali El Chami will reinforce the message that the 
U.S. is committed to supporting Lebanon's state institutions 
and the new government.  Our support to the Lebanese Armed 
Forces and the Internal Security Forces (with a committed 
total over $1 billion), as well as our other robust 
assistance programs, aim to strengthen state institutions, 
promote economic growth, support education, and build civil 
society.  Your visit to Lebanon will show continued U.S. 
support for Lebanon's sovereignty and stability, in addition 
to highlighting the state's obligation to exert control over 
all of its territory.  Your visit will also highlight the 
U.S. desire to gain a better understanding of the Lebanese 
perspective and role in securing a comprehensive and lasting 
peace in the region.  President Sleiman and PM Hariri, in 
particular, will seek assurances that the U.S. remains 
committed to supporting Lebanon and that Middle East peace 
negotiations will take into account their concerns about 
Palestinian refugees resident in Lebanon.  End Summary. 
 
NEW UNITY GOVERNMENT BASED ON CONSENSUS 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The new prime minister, Saad Hariri, was able to 
form a cabinet in December after nearly six months of 
negotiations only after he granted the opposition key 
concessions.  Although the contentious cabinet negotiations 
weakened March 14 and strengthened those allied with Syria 
and Iran, most Lebanese leaders appear to be seeking a period 
of calm after years of tumult following former Prime Minister 
Rafik Hariri's assassination and the withdrawal of Syrian 
forces from Lebanon.  Your interlocutors will be keenly 
interested in U.S. engagements in the Arab world, with an 
emphasis on the U.S. relationship with Syria and our role in 
restarting Middle East peace negotiations.  They will likely 
emphasize Lebanese opposition to settling Palestinian 
refugees in Lebanon under any such deal. 
 
KEY U.S. OBJECTIVES: 
INSTITUTION-BUILDING, REGIONAL STABILITY 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Strengthening Lebanese state institutions has been 
and continues to be the primary U.S. objective in Lebanon. 
The U.S. has committed over $1 billion in security assistance 
to the military and police since 2005 in order to help them 
extend their control over all Lebanese territory, including 
those areas dominated by Hizballah.  President Obama 
underscored this vision by emphasizing the importance of 
controlling arms smuggling into Lebanon during President 
Sleiman's recent visit to Washington.  On the civilian side, 
USAID manages robust programs targeting the judicial, 
educational, and agricultural sectors.  The embassy also 
promotes civil society development and supports various 
initiatives targeting institutional reform through the Middle 
East Partnership Initiative and other USG programs.  Your 
visit is an opportunity to reaffirm U.S. support for 
political and economic reform in Lebanon and our ongoing 
support for the various Lebanon-related UN Security Council 
Resolutions (UNSCR), such as UNSCRs 1559 and 1701, that call 
for extending the state's control over all its territory. 
 
SLEIMAN SEEKS THE MIDDLE 
------------------------ 
 
¶4. (SBU) President Sleiman, the former army commander elected 
as a consensus candidate in 2008, has committed himself to 
representing all Lebanese and to striving for unity among 
Lebanon's sectarian groups.  Although the Christian 
president's powers are limited by the constitution, Sleiman 
has emphasized that his absolute priority is maintaining 
stability in Lebanon by balancing internal and external 
political forces.  Sleiman has also sought to return Lebanon 
to its place among the international community, and he was a 
prime force in pushing Lebanon's candidacy for a 
non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council, which it will 
assume this year.  During his December 14-15 visit to 
Washington, Sleiman publicly emphasized the need for 
continued U.S. assistance to Lebanon, complained of Israeli 
violations of Lebanese sovereignty, and called on the U.S. to 
ensure that any peace agreement between Israel and the 
Palestinians address Lebanese concerns on Palestinian 
refugees. 
 
HARIRI DONS THE PM'S MANTLE 
--------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Prime Minister Saad Hariri, leader of Lebanon's 
Sunnis and heir to his assassinated father's political and 
business legacy, assumed his new role after a grueling 
negotiation with his political opponents.  As the head of the 
primarily Sunni Future Movement, Hariri was a key leader of 
the March 14 coalition and an opponent of Syrian influence in 
Lebanon.  After forming a unity government in December, he 
visited Damascus to establish a relationship with Syria's 
President Bashar al-Asad as part of a regional detente 
between Syria and Hariri's primary backer, Saudi Arabia. 
Hariri will seek assurances of continued U.S. support for his 
country, and you will have the opportunity to urge him to 
strengthen and reform Lebanese state institutions which have 
been weakened by years of neglect, occupation, and internal 
strife.  Despite our extensive security assistance -- 
including the provision of high-tech items such as the Raven 
UAV -- Hariri will likely outline his desire for a "Marshall 
Plan" for the LAF. 
 
EL CHAMI EMPHASIZES SOVEREIGNTY 
------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Foreign Minister Ali El Chami, newly arrived at the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs from an academic position, is a 
close ally of Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri.  Drawing on 
his academic background, El Chami has been vocal in 
protesting Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty and in 
opposing UN Security Council Resolution 1559, which calls for 
the disarming of all militias.  In El Chami's view, 
Hizballah's weapons are a domestic issue to be resolved 
within the National Dialogue forum, and the arms of 
Palestinian militias cannot be addressed until the 
Palestinian question is resolved. El Chami will likely 
mention Lebanon's new role as a non-permanent member of the 
UN Security Council, and this meeting is an opportunity to 
impress upon him U.S. interest in cooperating with Lebanon 
within the Council. 
 
CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES AND IRAQI REFUGEES IN LEBANON 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Catholic Relief Services (CRS), funded in part by 
grants from USAID as well as the State Department's Bureau of 
Democracy, Labor, and Human Rights and Bureau of Population, 
Refugees, and Migration, has been active in providing 
outreach and services to Iraqi refugees.  In addition to 
providing outreach and counseling services to Iraqi refugees, 
CRS has conducted needs assessments and demographic surveys 
of the community, including Christian, Sunni, and Shia 
families.  CRS also recently obtained a new grant to 
encourage youth engagement in the upcoming 2010 municipal 
elections.  The Embassy, which hosts visiting refugee officer 
teams from the Department of Homeland Security, plays a key 
role in U.S. efforts to resettle Iraqi refugees.  During 
FY09, the embassy hosted teams that processed a total of 
1,082 cases containing 2,067 individual applicants.  Of those 
cases, 967 (2,030 individuals) were approved for resettlement 
in the U.S. 
SISON