VZCZCXYZ0015
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLB #0015/01 0061411
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 061411Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6303

UNCLAS BEIRUT 000015 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR INL FRONT OFFICE, INL/AEE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PINS PBTS SNAR PREF PTER KPAL KCRM LE
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR A/S JOHNSON'S JAN 10-11 VISIT TO 
LEBANON 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: U.S. Embassy Beirut welcomes your January 
10-11 visit as one of the first high-level visits to Lebanon 
of 2010.  As Lebanon emerges from a six-month struggle to 
form a new national unity government, your meeting with 
Interior Minister Ziad Baroud will reinforce the message that 
the U.S. is committed to supporting Lebanon's state 
institutions and the new government.  Our robust U.S. 
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 meeting with Baroud will provide 
an opportunity to evaluate current INL programs in Lebanon 
and discuss new possibilities, such as anti-narcotics 
assistance and border control training.  You will also attend 
a police graduation ceremony, meet with senior police 
officers, discuss regional UNDP anti-corruption programs, and 
interface with INL contractors.  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 the March 14 coalition 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. 
 
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 
Michel 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. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Your visit is an opportunity to reaffirm U.S. 
support for security reform in Lebanon and our ongoing 
commitment to 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. 
Existing INL programs in Lebanon train and equip the Internal 
Security Forces (ISF), and we are ready to explore new 
initiatives that will strengthen Lebanon's ability to control 
its borders.  The new government has not clearly defined its 
strategy for the Common Border Force (CBF), and your visit 
will offer a chance to urge progress on the CBF and indicate 
our interest in supporting it through training and equipment. 
 
CURRENT INL PROGRAMS A SUCCESS 
------------------------------ 
 
¶5. (SBU) Our assistance program to the ISF, totaling $64 
million over the last three years, has raised public respect 
for the institution, increased its professionalism, and built 
its capacity to gradually expand its operations into 
Hizballah-controlled areas and Palestinian refugee camps. 
This year's INL program will total $20 million, and the 
budget request for 2012 is $30 million.  We met our 
commitment to train 8,000 new ISF cadets at the ISF academy, 
and we are also training hundreds of supervisors while 
developing an in-service training program for the 16,000 
deployed ISF officers who have not passed through our cadet 
programs. 
 
¶6. (SBU) We have focused, in particular, on helping the ISF 
develop its presence in the Nahr Al-Barid Palestinian camp, 
which was completely destroyed in a battle between terrorists 
and the Lebanese security forces in 2007.  As part of this 
effort, we have offered intensive community policing training 
for the ISF contingent that will police the camp.  We are 
also evaluating tenders for a police station in the area 
adjacent to the camp, and we expect to break ground by March. 
 
¶7. (SBU) On the equipment side, we have provided the ISF over 
 
480 vehicles, refurbished 45 armored personnel carriers, and 
fully equipped over 4000 ISF cadets with uniforms and 
non-lethal equipment.  This year, we will also start 
upgrading the ISF communications system, since ISF officers 
in the field -- who do not have access to a secure 
communications network -- communicate via cell phone.  This 
upgrade will take several years and cost up to $50 million. 
 
BAROUD RETAINS THE INTERIOR MINISTRY 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶8. (SBU) Ziad Baroud, a popular independent affiliated with 
President Sleiman, returned in the new cabinet as Interior 
Minister.  Your meeting with Baroud, under whom the ISF 
falls, will provide an opportunity to evaluate current INL 
programs and discuss additional ways in which INL can assist 
the Lebanese security forces.  We are especially interested 
in enhancing the ability of the ISF to expand its operations 
and authority in areas where its presence is historically 
weak, such as regions dominated by Hizballah and in the 
Palestinian refugee camps.  Possible ways to achieve this 
goal are providing anti-narcotics programs (including 
eradication support) in the Biqa' Valley and expanding 
policing in the Palestinian camps using the Nahr Al-Barid 
model.  We could also consider developing a training program 
for the CBF, nominally headed by the ISF, once the GOL 
develops its border strategy. 
 
OTHER EVENTS 
------------ 
 
¶9. (SBU) You will speak at the graduation ceremony for three 
ISF classes, and the event will be covered by the press. 
Your presence at this event will demonstrate U.S. commitment 
to a professional and proficient ISF and answer common 
criticisms of our motives for supporting it.  You may also 
meet the six ISF generals who recently completed a two-week 
study tour of community policing practices in the U.S.  They 
will explain how the ISF intends to implement community 
policing practices nationwide, not just in Nahr Al-Barid. 
Your meeting with the over 40 U.S. and 80 local contractors 
supporting the INL program will allow you to thank them for 
their service and hear their perspectives.  We also look 
forward to discussing UNDP regional anti-corruption programs 
during your visit, as well as meeting with the donor 
community on border security issues. 
SISON