Those CIA tools within the Maronite Church....

Unless a denomination has apostolic continuity and the very same faith as the one "the Lord gave, was preached by the Apostles, and was preserved by the Fathers" it cannot be considered stricto-sensu 'Christian'.

I hope that I am not misunderstood on this point....

The Opus Dei Patriarch and the CIA....

Beshara Al-Ra3i is positioning himself to become the next Patriarch....and he is one of those CIA tools within the Maronite Church....unfortunately....

Bechara Raï is Opus Dei/CIA. He will be implementing the politics/policies of the Vatican...more and more tied to CIA. Period...Since CIA still controls Syria fully...despite the loud mouthed Baathists in Damascus...the Patriarch will come out fully supporting the ASSAD Mafia in Syria soon regardless its sordid deeds in Lebanon, together with the infamous White House Murder INC, in the Levant....courtesy of CIA shenanigans....

أبلغ مرجع روحي مسيحي في العالم، زار المنطقة مؤخراً، بعض القيادات اللبنانية أن دعم العـاصمة الأميركية الكبرى للنظام السوري لن يتغير قيد أنملة

DEC. 2011....LOL


http://csis.org/files/publication/110908_Malka_CrossroadsUSIsrael_Web.pdf

There are also other "secrets" about this man which I will not indulge into right now... Suffice it to say that people should pray to God, Jesus, Mary, the Saints and the Angels...and stay away from the crooked Clergy, at least some of them, because not all of them are devious....there are some who are Saints in today's world and we should respect them and encourage them in their Devotion to Christ and our Virgin Mary.

Michel Sleiman is a CIA Puppet as well..., Unfortunately....

قال شو روما بدها حدا حيادي!!! بس مشوار سليمان على روما ما راح ديعان.... يا عيب الشوم وين صار الدين والكنيسة

Bshara Al-Ra3i is a CIA stooge lock, stock and Barrel, has been for years....

It seems that the Whole Vatican apparatus is run by CIA. Period.

It's utterly Pathetic and disgusting to say the least...

من تلاتين سنة كتب زياد الرحباني غنيّة: راجعة بإذن الله ، على أنحس بإذن الله ، لا تفكّرها عم بتتقدّم ، راجعة بإذن الله

فالراعي الذي كانت مواقفه السياسية في غالب الأحيان تميل في اتجاه تبني كل ما يصدر عن تيار المستقبل وحلفائه، وتسويقه عبر إعطائه صبغة "مبدئية"، ورفعه من إطاره السياسي الضيق إلى سياق وطني عام، والراعي الذي كان يرفض أن يرى احتمال الخطأ في أي خطوة يقدك عليها رئيس الجمهورية ميشال سليمان، انطلاقاً من موقف كنسي عام تجاه الرئاسة المارونية، ولكون سليمان ابن رعيته... هذا الراعي نفسه الذي كاد أن يعارض العودة إلى قانون انتخاب نيابي على أساس القضاء رافعاً شعار "عدم العودة ستين عاماً إلى الوراء"، وهذا الراعي الذي سأله أحد الصحافيين يوماً عن رأيه في القانون الانتخابي الأفضل، فلم يحصل على جواب يتخطى العموميات، مكتشفاً أن المطران المذكور لا يدرك تفاصيل التوزع المذهبي للناخبين في المناطق، وتحديداً في العاصمة بيروت... هذا الراعي نفسه قال، وفي شكل مفاجئ بتاريخ 23 شباط 2011، ورداً على سؤال عن تشكيل الحكومة الراهنة، والحديث الدائر على خلاف بين الرئيس سليمان ورئيس تكتل التغيير والإصلاح العماد ميشال عون حول حقيبة الداخلية والبلديات، قال: "الحل ليس بإعطاء رئيس الجمهورية وزراء لأنه يصبح حزباً ويصير بالتالي طرفاً. الحل هو بتعزيز الصلاحيات الرئاسية عبر تخطي المشكلة التي بدأت في اتفاق الطائف الذي أوجد ثغرات في الدستور اللبناني تتعلق برئيس الجمهورية. رئيس البلاد ليس رئيس حزب أو تكتل نيابي ليعطى وزراء، وهذه المشكلة الحصصية بدأت في الدوحة لخلق توازن بين فريقين متنازعين، وهذا الأمر لم يعد قائماً في الحكومة العتيدة. أما القول بأن كل الحياديين هم مع الرئيس فليس صحيحاً على الإطلاق".

يوم كان البحث قائماً لتشكيل حكومة سعد الحريري، خرج البطريرك الماروني مار نصرالله بطرس صفير بنظرية مفادها أن "العربة التي يجرُّها حصانان لا يستقيم مسارها"، لأنه كان يرفض دخول المعارضة السابقة في الحكم، ويريده كاملاً لتيار المستقبل وحلفائه.

أما اليوم، وبعدما صار ما يسمى تجمع 14 آذار خارج السلطة، فنسي البطريرك الأحصنة وصار مع حكومة وحدة وطنية.

وكما بالنسبة للبطريرك، كذلك بالنسبة إلى الراعي، فهل لموقف الأخير علاقة بالتحولات السياسية التي حدثت، أو تلك الكنسية التي ستحدث؟ أم أن الأمر مجرَّد تطبيق جديد لمعادلة شاوول- بولس الإيمانية المعروفة، والتي تطبق حيناً في شكل صحيح، وأحياناً في صورة معكوسة؟

لقد أثبتت السعودية دائما ومنذ سبعينات القرن الماضي والوقائع عربياً وعالمياً، انها طائفية حتى العظم تُدخل البلد في حرب الحضارات بالشعارات التي ترفعها، وهي شعارات عنصريّة وتحريضيّة وداعمة لسلطة ومال طائفتها وأميرها الحريري في لبنان

على القضاء المختص التحرك تلقائيا وفورا لرفع الحصانات ومحاسبة المفتنين والعابثين بالامن الاهلي... يجب تطبيق القانون ووقف الشحن المؤذي

أن الأمر قد انتهى وان الإستراتيجية قد حُسمت منذ أن تم التوافق في البيان الوزاري لحكومات على معادلة "الجيش والشعب والمقاومة" التي تمثل أفضل صيغة دفاعية

بدنا هيك رئيس يعمل حكومة بلا عملاء اسرائيل, و يفتح كل الملفات

الحريري ومسيحيّو أميركا ينفذون هذه الاستراتيجية بمهاجمة سلاح المقاومة ودعم المحكمة....

ميشال سليمان من ألغام وعملاء أميركا ولا يُمثّل حليفاً مسيحياً يُمكن التعويل عليه جدياً في تأليف الحكومة أو في الانتخابات النيابيّة

في لقاء البطريرك الماروني مار بشارة بطرس الراعي مع الرئيس الفرنسي نيكولا ساركوزي عبّر البطريرك عن مخاوفه إزاء ما يحدث في العالم العربي وبخاصة في سوريا ومدى انعكاسه على الأقليات، محذراً فرنسا من السير في مشروع إطاحة نظام الرئيس الأسد بقوله: "إحذروا من استبدال نظام متشدد في سوريا بنظام أكثر تشدداً "، هذه الهواجس المشروعة تأتي ضمن سياسة جديدة يتبعها الفاتيكان تجاه المسيحيين المشرقيين، هي بمثابة إنذار أخير لما يتهدد المسيحيين العرب في وجودهم في هذا الشرق.

هذه السياسة الجديدة التزمتها بكركي والتي يعبر عنها البطريرك الراعي في خلال جولاته على المناطق اللبنانية، جولات الهدف منها توجيه رسالتين: الأولى الى المسلمين وهي رسالة تعايش وصفه الراعي بالنموذج الذي لا يملكه الغرب المسيحي، والثانية الى المسيحيين للقول ان البطريرك هو الذي يزور رعيته ويتفقد أحوالهم مشجعاً إياهم البقاء في ارضهم وعدم بيعها للإنتقال الى المناطق المكتظة مسيحياً، بل الاستمرار في التفاعل مع محيطهم المسلم بغض النظر عن عددهم في هذه المناطق، هي الرسالة نفسها التي يوجهها الفاتيكان على مستوى المشرق العربي لإبقاء المسيحيين في أوطانهم وعدم مغادرتها باتجاه الغرب المسيحي لإدراك الفاتيكان اهمية الكنيسة الشرقية في حماية المسيحية نفسها من الضلال.

أمّا في السياسة وعلى رغم عدم جواز إلباس هذا الموضوع رداء لا يناسبه، فبعض الأطراف المحلية المتضررة من السياسة الجديدة لبكركي أخذت الموضوع الى زواريبها الضيقة واضعة كلام الراعي في إطار زمني ومكاني ضيق؛ هي قوى الأقلية التي تنقسم بدورها الى قسمين: مسيحيي 14 آذار بمصطلحاتهم الخاصة من جهة، والسلفيين المدعومين من حزب المستقبل من جهة أخرى.

الفريق الأول كان أكثر غيرة على التطرف في الاسلام من السلفيين أنفسهم، (وللتوضيح فقط، ان مصطلح السلفيين وهم عدة ملل، منهم السلف الصالح، وأنا لا أقصده هنا، أما الذي أشير اليه هو السلفي التكفيري؛ ونقدي يندرج فقط في اطار الكشف عن النزعات العنصرية والسياسية التي تحملها معتقداته، ولا أنوي مناقشة أي فلسفة فكرية أو عقيدة دينية، والأخوان المسلمون يدرجون حالياً في خانة الاسلام المعتدل، لكن هم في واقع الأمر أبعد ما يكون عن الاعتدال بعكس ما يسوّق رئيس الوزراء التركي رجب طيب اردوغان، هذه الدعاية تدعمها الادارة الأميركية والإعلام الأميركي في إطار خطة ممنهجة لوصول الأخوان المسلمين الى الحكم في الدول العربية، لتتمكن تركيا من استعادة سيطرتها على هذه الدول في حلمها لإعادة إحياء الامبراطورية العثمانية السيئة الذكر، وبالتالي لتمكين الولايات المتحدة من إعادة السيطرة على منطقتنا بعد فقدانها لها بفضل تحطم مشروعها على صخرة التيار الممانع والمقاوم.

ولكن ما هي مصلحة حزب المستقبل بدعم هذا التوجه السلفي في لبنان بالتحديد؟ وهم تحولوا في الوقت الراهن الى جبهة متقدمة في الدفاع عن هذا التيار في وقت كان حزب المستقبل يتباهى منذ سيطرة الحريرية السياسية على الحكم في لبنان بأنه يشكل الوجه المعتدل للإسلام، أما اليوم فيسير في ركاب حزب العدالة والتنمية في تركيا وحزب التحرير في مصر والأخوان في سوريا من دون ان ننسى إرتباطه الوثيق بالوهابية، الأكثر تطرفا من الأخوان، في السعودية.

والجواب واضح، بعد أن خسر هذا الفريق رهاناته في البقاء في السلطة، فشل نتيجتها في إكمال مشروعه بالقضاء على ما تبقى من مقومات وجود الدولة والإجهاز على الوطن، وحاول طوال هذه السنوات فتفتت الشعب اللبناني وتحويله الى ملل متناحرة متصارعة، فالحريرية السياسية أخذت العبر من تاريخ لبنان حيث كان شعبه بعيد أزماته المصيرية يعيد بناء الدولة من جديد لمحافظته على حدّ أدنى من تضامنه وتماسكه وبالتالي وحدته.

OSP and the Pentagon Assassins....

OSP, the Pentagon Assassins...and the Infamous White House Murder INC, Worldwide...

SST opposed the invasion of Iraq on the basis of a lack of justification. "Curveball," the Iraqi HUMINT source, provided false witness to American intelligence concerning supposed Iraqi biological weapons. He admits now that he deliberately did this to trick the US into going to war. He wanted Saddam gone. The neocon run "Office of Special Plans" in the Rumsfeld's DoD rammed "Curveball" down the throat of DIA....

The guilt for the bloodshed of Iraq rests with the neocons led by Dick Cheney and his criminal gang of assassins, who pulled the Inside Job of 9/11 and people like Wolfowitz, Feith and Perle....

We are now in the 10^th year of the first decade of the ‘war on terror.’ So the inevitable anniversary assessments are beginning to make an appearance. Iraq reappraisals are back in vogue. They favor the drawing of balance sheets. They leave something missing – something of paramount importance. That is the effects on Iraqis themselves. Not Iraqis in the abstract, not as figures in a statistical category of sects. Rather, as flesh and blood and feeling persons. Frankly, most of the discourse about Iraq from day one has had a disengaged quality to it. That is the norm for dominant powers on the world stage; and for the seminar strategist. That was not always the norm by which Americans referenced war and violence

abroad in the 20^th century when we truly believed in our proclaimed ideals.

To illuminate the point, here are some too readily slighted facts. 100,000 – 150,00 Iraqis are dead as the consequence of our invasion and occupation. That is the conservative estimate. Untold thousands are maimed and orphaned. 2 million are uprooted refugees in neighboring lands. Another 2 million are displaced persons internally. The availability of potable water and electricity is less than it was in February 2003. The comparable numbers for the United States would be 1.1 – 1.6 million dead; an equal number infirmed; 22 million refugees in Mexico and Canada; 22 million displaced persons within the country. We did not do all the killing and maiming; we did most of the destruction of infrastructure. To all these tragedies we are accessories before and during the fact.

Digits make less of an impact on us than observed reality. That is always the case. And very few have been in a position to see the human effects of our actions first hand. So let me suggest a couple of ways to approximate that experience. Go to your nearest cemetery; read and count the tombstones up to ten. Do that ten times, then multiply by a thousand. Try visualizing only half that number since it is in the nature of all of us to diminish drastically the affect and identity for those who are not part of our community. Step two: go to RFK stadium, imagine it full. Do that 3 times and then imagine them all – men, women and children - in their graves. Imagine. Imagine them hobbling on one leg, lying crippled or maimed on a cot in a cinderblock house. Imagine them as Americans – men, women and children – who placed USA stickers on their cars, hoisted the Stars & Stripes on holidays, lustily sang the national anthem. Imagine them all as the victims of an invasion and occupation by Iraqi Muslims who were deceived by their lying leaders who had their own dark purposes. An occupation that featured the likes of L. Mahmoud Chalebi IV and Bashi Bazouks of the Blackwater ilk. Imagine that these altruistic Iranians leave behind a Vice-Regal Embassy on the banks of the Potomac, giant airbases scattered around the country, and 550,000 troops (proportional) – all out of concern for our health and safety. Parting is such sweet sorrow.

Imagine your counterparts in Baghdad now drawing up balance sheets.

Next Step: go back to the study and reconstruct your Iraq balance sheet.

Does this imply that pacifism is the only ethically acceptable conduct? No – but it does give us a better fix on the true meaning of our misadventure in Iraq. Moreover, keep in mind that the Iraqis never gave us permission to do those things to them. We willfully imposed our them based on the accusation of a pre-fabricated threat.

Who assigns value in the equation to the dead, the maimed, the orphaned, the distressed, the uprooted? Who assigns value to being free of Saddam's police? Who distributes the values among Shia, Sunnis, Kurds, Christains and Turkomen? Who decides on the relevant time frame? Who determines what constitutes sufficient evidence to support any of these judgments?

Who has the right, the authority, the legitimacy to do this? To do so before the event? To do so after the event in a post hoc justification of the actions that produced these effects?

Who is prepared to reach a definitive judgment? Is it God? Or is it those who instigated and supported those actions in the righteous conceit that they were acting as His surrogate? I place myself in neither category. “Let humanity be the ultimate measure of all that you do” is a Confucian admonition meant to guide the behavior of officials. America today pays it scant regard and it's utter corruption, criminality, murder, assassinations and is loathed & despised the world over....

2011: A Brave New Dystopia and Reagan's secret legacy....

A Brave New Dystopia and Reagan's secret legacy....

By Chris Hedges

The two greatest visions of a future dystopia were George Orwell’s “1984” and Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World.” The debate, between those who watched our descent towards corporate totalitarianism, was who was right. Would we be, as Orwell wrote, dominated by a repressive surveillance and security state that used crude and violent forms of control? Or would we be, as Huxley envisioned, entranced by entertainment and spectacle, captivated by technology and seduced by profligate consumption to embrace our own oppression? It turns out Orwell and Huxley were both right. Huxley saw the first stage of our enslavement. Orwell saw the second.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4rBDUJTnNU&feature=player_embedded

We have been gradually disempowered by a corporate state that, as Huxley foresaw, seduced and manipulated us through sensual gratification, cheap mass-produced goods, boundless credit, political theater and amusement. While we were entertained, the regulations that once kept predatory corporate power in check were dismantled, the laws that once protected us were rewritten and we were impoverished. Now that credit is drying up, good jobs for the working class are gone forever and mass-produced goods are unaffordable, we find ourselves transported from “Brave New World” to “1984.” The state, crippled by massive deficits, endless war and corporate malfeasance, is sliding toward bankruptcy. It is time for Big Brother to take over from Huxley’s feelies, the orgy-porgy and the centrifugal bumble-puppy. We are moving from a society where we are skillfully manipulated by lies and illusions to one where we are overtly controlled.

Orwell warned of a world where books were banned. Huxley warned of a world where no one wanted to read books. Orwell warned of a state of permanent war and fear. Huxley warned of a culture diverted by mindless pleasure. Orwell warned of a state where every conversation and thought was monitored and dissent was brutally punished. Huxley warned of a state where a population, preoccupied by trivia and gossip, no longer cared about truth or information. Orwell saw us frightened into submission. Huxley saw us seduced into submission. But Huxley, we are discovering, was merely the prelude to Orwell. Huxley understood the process by which we would be complicit in our own enslavement. Orwell understood the enslavement. Now that the corporate coup is over, we stand naked and defenseless. We are beginning to understand, as Karl Marx knew, that unfettered and unregulated capitalism is a brutal and revolutionary force that exploits human beings and the natural world until exhaustion or collapse.

“The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake,” Orwell wrote in “1984.” “We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power. Not wealth or luxury or long life or happiness: only power, pure power. What pure power means you will understand presently. We are different from all the oligarchies of the past, in that we know what we are doing. All the others, even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites. The German Nazis and the Russian Communists came very close to us in their methods, but they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended, perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and that just round the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal. We are not like that. We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power.”

The political philosopher Sheldon Wolin uses the term “inverted totalitarianism” in his book “Democracy Incorporated” to describe our political system. It is a term that would make sense to Huxley. In inverted totalitarianism, the sophisticated technologies of corporate control, intimidation and mass manipulation, which far surpass those employed by previous totalitarian states, are effectively masked by the glitter, noise and abundance of a consumer society. Political participation and civil liberties are gradually surrendered. The corporation state, hiding behind the smokescreen of the public relations industry, the entertainment industry and the tawdry materialism of a consumer society, devours us from the inside out. It owes no allegiance to us or the nation. It feasts upon our carcass.

The corporate state does not find its expression in a demagogue or charismatic leader. It is defined by the anonymity and facelessness of the corporation. Corporations, who hire attractive spokespeople like Barack Obama, control the uses of science, technology, education and mass communication. They control the messages in movies and television. And, as in “Brave New World,” they use these tools of communication to bolster tyranny. Our systems of mass communication, as Wolin writes, “block out, eliminate whatever might introduce qualification, ambiguity, or dialogue, anything that might weaken or complicate the holistic force of their creation, to its total impression.”

The result is a monochromatic system of information. Celebrity courtiers, masquerading as journalists, experts and specialists, identify our problems and patiently explain the parameters. All those who argue outside the imposed parameters are dismissed as irrelevant cranks, extremists or members of a radical left. Prescient social critics, from Ralph Nader to Noam Chomsky, are banished. Acceptable opinions have a range of A to B. The culture, under the tutelage of these corporate courtiers, becomes, as Huxley noted, a world of cheerful conformity, as well as an endless and finally fatal optimism. We busy ourselves buying products that promise to change our lives, make us more beautiful, confident or successful as we are steadily stripped of rights, money and influence. All messages we receive through these systems of communication, whether on the nightly news or talk shows like “Oprah,” promise a brighter, happier tomorrow. And this, as Wolin points out, is “the same ideology that invites corporate executives to exaggerate profits and conceal losses, but always with a sunny face.” We have been entranced, as Wolin writes, by “continuous technological advances” that “encourage elaborate fantasies of individual prowess, eternal youthfulness, beauty through surgery, actions measured in nanoseconds: a dream-laden culture of ever-expanding control and possibility, whose denizens are prone to fantasies because the vast majority have imagination but little scientific knowledge.”

Our manufacturing base has been dismantled. Speculators and swindlers have looted the U.S. Treasury and stolen billions from small shareholders who had set aside money for retirement or college. Civil liberties, including habeas corpus and protection from warrantless wiretapping, have been taken away. Basic services, including public education and health care, have been handed over to the corporations to exploit for profit. The few who raise voices of dissent, who refuse to engage in the corporate happy talk, are derided by the corporate establishment as freaks.

Attitudes and temperament have been cleverly engineered by the corporate state, as with Huxley’s pliant characters in “Brave New World.” The book’s protagonist, Bernard Marx, turns in frustration to his girlfriend Lenina:

“Don’t you wish you were free, Lenina?” he asks.

“I don’t know what you mean. I am free, free to have the most wonderful time. Everybody’s happy nowadays.”

He laughed, “Yes, ‘Everybody’s happy nowadays.’ We have been giving the children that at five. But wouldn’t you like to be free to be happy in some other way, Lenina? In your own way, for example; not in everybody else’s way.”“I don’t know what you mean,” she repeated.

The façade is crumbling. And as more and more people realize that they have been used and robbed, we will move swiftly from Huxley’s “Brave New World” to Orwell’s “1984.” The public, at some point, will have to face some very unpleasant truths. The good-paying jobs are not coming back. The largest deficits in human history mean that we are trapped in a debt peonage system that will be used by the corporate state to eradicate the last vestiges of social protection for citizens, including Social Security. The state has devolved from a capitalist democracy to neo-feudalism. And when these truths become apparent, anger will replace the corporate-imposed cheerful conformity. The bleakness of our post-industrial pockets, where some 40 million Americans live in a state of poverty and tens of millions in a category called “near poverty,” coupled with the lack of credit to save families from foreclosures, bank repossessions and bankruptcy from medical bills, means that inverted totalitarianism will no longer work.

1984 George Orwell Movie Trailer (1984), posted with vodpod

We increasingly live in Orwell’s Oceania, not Huxley’s The World State. Osama bin Laden plays the role assumed by Emmanuel Goldstein in “1984.” Goldstein, in the novel, is the public face of terror. His evil machinations and clandestine acts of violence dominate the nightly news. Goldstein’s image appears each day on Oceania’s television screens as part of the nation’s “Two Minutes of Hate” daily ritual. And without the intervention of the state, Goldstein, like bin Laden, will kill you. All excesses are justified in the titanic fight against evil personified.

The psychological torture of Pvt. Bradley Manning—who has now been imprisoned for seven months without being convicted of any crime—mirrors the breaking of the dissident Winston Smith at the end of “1984.” Manning is being held as a “maximum custody detainee” in the brig at Marine Corps Base Quantico, in Virginia. He spends 23 of every 24 hours alone. He is denied exercise. He cannot have a pillow or sheets for his bed. Army doctors have been plying him with antidepressants. The cruder forms of torture of the Gestapo have been replaced with refined Orwellian techniques, largely developed by government psychologists, to turn dissidents like Manning into vegetables. We break souls as well as bodies. It is more effective. Now we can all be taken to Orwell’s dreaded Room 101 to become compliant and harmless. These “special administrative measures” are regularly imposed on our dissidents, including Syed Fahad Hashmi, who was imprisoned under similar conditions for three years before going to trial. The techniques have psychologically maimed thousands of detainees in our black sites around the globe. They are the staple form of control in our maximum security prisons where the corporate state makes war on our most politically astute underclass—African-Americans. It all presages the shift from Huxley to Orwell.

“Never again will you be capable of ordinary human feeling,” Winston Smith’s torturer tells him in “1984.” “Everything will be dead inside you. Never again will you be capable of love, or friendship, or joy of living, or laughter, or curiosity, or courage, or integrity. You will be hollow. We shall squeeze you empty and then we shall fill you with ourselves.”

The noose is tightening. The era of amusement is being replaced by the era of repression. Tens of millions of citizens have had their e-mails and phone records turned over to the government. We are the most monitored and spied-on citizenry in human history. Many of us have our daily routine caught on dozens of security cameras. Our proclivities and habits are recorded on the Internet. Our profiles are electronically generated. Our bodies are patted down at airports and filmed by scanners. And public service announcements, car inspection stickers, and public transportation posters constantly urge us to report suspicious activity. The enemy is everywhere.

Those who do not comply with the dictates of the war on terror, a war which, as Orwell noted, is endless, are brutally silenced. The draconian security measures used to cripple protests at the G-20 gatherings in Pittsburgh and Toronto were wildly disproportionate for the level of street activity. But they sent a clear message—DO NOT TRY THIS. The FBI’s targeting of antiwar and Palestinian activists, which in late September saw agents raid homes in Minneapolis and Chicago, is a harbinger of what is to come for all who dare defy the state’s official Newspeak. The agents—our Thought Police—seized phones, computers, documents and other personal belongings. Subpoenas to appear before a grand jury have since been served on 26 people. The subpoenas cite federal law prohibiting “providing material support or resources to designated foreign terrorist organizations.” Terror, even for those who have nothing to do with terror, becomes the blunt instrument used by Big Brother to protect us from ourselves.

“Do you begin to see, then, what kind of world we are creating?” Orwell wrote. “It is the exact opposite of the stupid hedonistic Utopias that the old reformers imagined. A world of fear and treachery and torment, a world of trampling and being trampled upon, a world which will grow not less but more merciless as it refines itself.”

http://neithercorp.us/npress/2011/02/the-great-global-debt-prison/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skQuhoG7fFM&feature=player_embedded

Reagan's secret legacy....

Peter Chamberlin

On this, the one-hundredth birthday of Ronald Reagan, the Reagan worshippers are coming out of the woodwork. It seems that the self-appointed leaders of the “Tempest in the Teapot” party (or whatever they call themselves), even Obama himself, are trying to ride Reagan’s fame to new political heights. That’s good, because Reagan had a serious weakness, his notoriety associated with his extremist beliefs, which we should all take time to remember today.

Ronald Reagan did something very bad to this country; he planted a poisonous seed that has now put forth fully ripened fruit, in our own era, fruit which makes the heart cold and intoxicates the minds, filling them with visions of untold wealth and power. Reagan imbibed deeply on his own poison, giving substance to his own hallucinatory visions, which he shared with his followers. It his delusional military and economic theories that are directly responsible for the dual crises that threaten the civilized world today. His nonsensical faith-based “supply-side economics” theory (which George Bush described as “voodoo economics”) set loose the dangerous speculative economics that have plagued us, giving credence to the “borrow our way to prosperity” theories that have imperiled the world economy.

His was a “faith-based” policy, in that it required a leap of blind faith in Reagan’s promises, that the investor class would reinvest the enormous profits Reagan was sending their way, back into the American economy. Instead, they pocketed the cash, sending much of it to offshore bank accounts, or into building new factories in “Third World” countries, instead of modernizing American production lines. In short, Reagan promised that if we basically trusted his plan his rich friends would turn the American economy around, after he basically handed them the keys to the national treasury.

Deregulation took the lid off. In effect, financial institutions were urged to adapt the same policies used by the CIA over the years to raise cash for covert operations. Risky investments were encouraged, any investments, so long as there was some form of cash flowing or other capital to be used as new collateral for new loans, to increase investment pools for new ventures. Reagan unleashed a massive pyramid scheme, to use as a weapon to economically bludgeon Russia and its allies. In the end, all of us have come to feel the hard end of the economic weapon.

His crazy ideas of hiring militants to fight our enemies for us (so that the American military and the CIA might disavow the contracts) have lived on, eventually coming back to bite us all on the ass, in today’s “war on terrorism.” The war in Afghanistan, then Iraq, soon in Pakistan as well, are all clean-up operations, trying to eliminate some of the same militant groups which we have created to fight for us in the past.

The “Reagan revolutionaries,” who came to be known as the “neocons,” were masters in the science of propaganda, having spent their academic years studying European fascism (under the pretense of finding preventive measures with which to defend against new fascism). The key to effective propaganda is the ability to say one thing publicly and mean the exact opposite of that thing, revealing the truth only to a select group of insiders. The “neoconservatives” successfully took over the “conservative movement by using this technique. Both groups used the same words and phrases, but the neocons group lied about their definitions, using those words instead, as code words, understandable only to the elite, who knew that when Reagan spoke of reining-in the multinational corporations, he really intended to empower them. When he spoke of deregulation and privatization as being keys to unlocking the American economy, the insiders knew that only the wealthy few would be deregulated and that privatization would not improve anyone’s lives, other than the American oligarchs who would be handed vast segments of federal programs to cannibalize for their own profits, just like Russia’s oligarchs.

Which of Reagan’s many delusional values should Americans really want to “reconnect with”? The “patriotism” reflected in his “crusade for democracy,” which turned-out to be a front for international destabilization and limited warfare operations. His National Endowment for Democracy (NED) has been behind every “colored revolution” in former Soviet space. The attempts by these funded groups to foment democratic revolutions in Iran, Tunisia and Egypt have manipulated growing discontent, to agitate the masses and initiate popular reactions against America’s favorite puppets, puppets which have been targeted by the NED revolutionaries for regime change. The conceit that motivates Obama’s minions to destabilize the Middle East and Africa, as well as Central Asia, to further American plans for world control is a threat to the entire world.

The events now unfolding across North Africa are another American psy-op gone public (SEE: Egypt protests: America’s secret backing for rebel leaders behind uprising ), just like the recent Kyrgyz uprisings and the previous Future Movement attempts to ignite an anti-Hezbollah civil war in Lebanon. Having failed in its previous attempts to takeover the former Soviet governments through the so-called “colored revolutions,” and in its attempts in former Soviet Georgia to ignite a war against Russia, the American “deep state” has returned to its scheme to use democratic revolution to force its will upon the world.

Reagan’s team peddled a synthetic version of “democratic-revolution,” creating popular revolutions against targeted regimes, that were really not really “of the people,” even though they were obviously “by the people.” The legions of government scientists and psychologists had finally figured-out how to magnify negative emotions and to manipulate behavior, through a combination of bribery, threats and appeals to false ideals, so that the people themselves could be turned into guided weapons, much like the psychology of a suicide bomber. Reagan’s “Project Democracy” was a form of low-level warfare, capable of “weaponizing” the masses and directing them at their own governments.

Everyday people by the hundreds of thousands have been deceived by sincere-sounding agitators into putting their lives at risk in the streets, unleashing their anger in reaction to provocation. A real revolution “of the People” does not have an already formed “unity government” waiting in the wings, while agitators steer the “people power” revolution in the streets.

Every national politician since Reagan, of either party, has supported the chain of lies that the Reagan years have strengthened this country. All news media since the very beginning have promoted this idea, maintaining the fiction that this country has not been in regression, both economically and militarily, ever since Reagan unleashed his revolution. The sad truth is, that this country will continue its deadly downhill slide until we all realize just how badly we have been lied to by all of our leaders and take our own actions to correct the course that they have set us upon. Until we bravely face the truth about the total lack of truth in all of our national leaders and stand-up to them all, America is doomed.

Until we break free from this dumbed-down alternative America that Reagan has locked us into, by actually overthrowing the system that keeps empowering the cut-throats and the liars, we will never know true American greatness. Until we face the truth about who we are and understand why most of the world now hates us as the “evil empire” (a complete reversal of roles from Reagan’s world), we will not understand or see the path to national salvation which still lies open before us. Until the day that we take the future away from people like Obama and Palin, and Bush and Reagan, and Clinton and Gore, Bush and Cheney, we will truly have no future. Until we face the facts about just how wrong our leaders have all been and see the intricate blanket of lies used to cover their crimes, we will be unable to do anything to save ourselves.

Sitting idly by, while the Obama government endangers the roots of civilization itself, squandering any remaining investment potential in a failing gambit to save the American system of organized robbery and government by extortion, is not an option. If Obama is going to continue Reagan’s quest to overthrow the world order, forcing global “regime change,” then we will have no other choice but to defeat him and disrupt the great plan. If revolution is America’s last remaining exportable product, then it must also be revolution here at home.

There are two visions or ideologies that are propelling this country into the future, one of these visions promotes the idea that all of our counterfeit government leaders are instead, great men, with Ronald Reagan being venerated as perhaps among the greatest of all men. This political vision, or ideology, which has been carefully crafted by psychological warfare experts for our entertainment and control, glorifies what America has done to the world over the past thirty years, under the guise of sowing the seeds of Democracy and protecting them. This Reagan-worshipping cult of personality is content with Reagan’s original plan for a two-tiered America (kept in power by endless military adventurism), divided very unequally between a small, powerful, ruling elite and their mercenary force of bureaucratic technocrats, and the rest of us.

Then there is America’s alternative vision, one shared by a rapidly growing grass-roots movement, which focuses upon America’s secret military history. This vision, shared by much of the rest of the human race considers America’s string of “limited wars” to be a series of war crimes, military acts of aggression, which are more accurately defined as terrorism than as legitimate military action, since all of the mercenary forces hired or tricked into fighting for us have been “non-military combatants” (thugs, criminals and jihadists). In reality, America’s secret wars were dishonorable adventurism that real patriots or a heroic warrior class would not be associated with.

America’s alternative news services exist to post reports about America’s secret news, reports on countless little wars of aggression, that have been waged upon both friends and foes alike. Until America produces a generation of American leaders who are both willing to take-on the real debate about the American deep state at the state or national level and run on an anti-war-crime platform, then nothing will get better.

Reagan was not a “noble warrior,” riding on a white horse, come to save America. Nay, he was the slayer of America, riding a pale horse, come to finish-off what previous Empire-builders had started. Despite Reagan’s politically charged rhetoric, we know that the Empire he seduced us into helping him build was not American at all, except for a few of the multinational corporations with home offices in New York.

Reagan’s revolution was a counterfeit revolution, taking America in a direction the Founding Fathers never intended. History has been hijacked by an international cartel, intent upon creating a Fascist global government, subservient to the dictates of the cartel. Reagan and all those who come after him have merely been puppets of that international cartel. The sooner we all face that fact the sooner we begin a real resistance movement here in our homeland. Honoring Reagan or the forces he has set into motion is a disservice to the past.

The political crisis sweeping the Middle East is another part of Ronald Reagan’s dark legacy that is shattering into chaos even as the United States prepares to lavishly celebrate his 100th birthday.

Upon taking office in 1981, Reagan turned the United States onto a new course, away from Jimmy Carter’s intensive Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations and toward tolerance of the Likud strategy of expanding settlements on the West Bank and lashing out at Israel’s enemies in Lebanon and the Occupied Territories.

This Reagan-Likud cooperation also affected politics and media inside the United States. In the early 1980s, with Reagan’s assistance and blessings, a group of articulate operatives known as neoconservatives emerged as a powerful political/media force. Their dual role was to buttress U.S. support for the security interests of Israel and to rebuild a consensus around the U.S. global agenda, which had been shattered by the Vietnam War.

The neocons – through their work inside the Reagan administration and in key parts of the U.S. news media, such as The New Republic and the Washington Post’s opinion section – became, in essence, the arbiters of Washington’s conventional wisdom, setting the parameters of acceptable debate.

Even before the days of Fox News, their voices were prominent on the TV talk shows, the likes of Charles Krauthammer, Fred Barnes and William Kristol, or as publishers of influential opinion journals, such as Martin Peretz, Irving Kristol and Norman Podhoretz.

As the Reagan era advanced in the 1980s, journalists and politicians who showed skepticism about U.S. foreign policy — the sort of attitude that had been common in the 1970s — were dismissed as “blame America firsters,” a phrase coined by Reagan’s UN Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick.

Skeptics who continued to insist on challenging the Reagan/neocon propaganda saw their careers damaged or destroyed.

More malleable journalists ensured their status in the well-paying world of Washington media by bending to the prevailing winds. Many politicians did the same, recognizing the trouble they could get into by crossing Reagan’s team and its ideological heirs.

Reagan’s Middle East policy shifts — and the influence of the neocons — created space for Israel’s Likudniks to pay lip service to granting Palestinians a homeland while systematically encroaching onto more and more Palestinian land, a process that Likud called “changing the facts on the ground.” The expanding settlements essentially killed chances for a viable Palestinian state.

Reagan’s approach, in effect, turned the Middle East into a political pressure cooker with the Arab “street” steaming over the humiliations of the Palestinians and furious over the timidity of bought-off Arab leaders.

As the pressure built – with occasional outbursts of Muslim outrage, including acts of terrorism – Washington’s desire for “stability” required ever more repression. The Reagan administration stepped up security assistance to the region’s dictators.

Leading to Invasion

The cumulative effect of Reagan’s tough-guy legacy – and the neocons’ climb to the top of Washington’s opinion hierarchy – paved the way for George W. Bush’s 2003 invasion of Iraq with remarkably little resistance from the U.S. media/political elite.

The Iraq invasion represented the fulfillment of the idea that American force could bring into line Muslim governments that resisted U.S. dictates or that threatened Israel.

In the heady days after Saddam Hussein was knocked from power, the neocons joked about whether to turn next to Syria or Iran. The thinking went that once those nation-state targets were neutralized Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Palestine’s Hamas would have no choice but to beg for peace on whatever terms Israel deigned to offer.

However, events didn’t work out quite the way the neocons had diagrammed. After the initial victory in Iraq, the war went badly. The dreams of imposing pro-U.S./pro-Israeli regimes in Syria and Iran had to be deferred. Indeed, the U.S. ouster of Sunni leader Saddam Hussein in Iraq ended up increasing the relative power of Shiite-ruled Iran.

Closer to Israel, Hezbollah and Hamas – rather than pleading for mercy – grew stronger, while pro-U.S. dictators in places like Egypt, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and Jordan grew more unpopular. Many Egyptians sharply criticized President Hosni Mubarak for standing aside while Israel’s military pummeled Gaza in a brutal campaign in late 2008 and early 2009.

Meanwhile, the global financial collapse that marked the end of Bush’s Reagan-redux presidency added more steam to the Middle East pressure cooker, which was getting ready to blow. The only question was when.

The explosion started with a popular uprising in Tunisia, where the longtime dictator Ben Ali resigned and fled into exile. The popular revolt soon spread to Egypt, the most populous Arab country.

There, massive street demonstrations forced Mubarak to agree not to seek reelection, though protesters have kept up their demands that he leave immediately. Monarchies in Jordan and Saudi Arabia were shaken, too.

So, even as a lavish celebration is readied for Reagan’s 100th birthday — including a special act of homage to the late president at the Super Bowl — the Middle East is becoming just the latest part of his legacy to come undone.

The region now appears to be careening toward potentially bloody upheavals and possibly future war, especially if Israel with its high-tech weapons (and nuclear arsenal) fears its survival is threatened.

A Different Narrative

Things could have been very different if Reagan had not succeeded in wresting the White House from Jimmy Carter in 1980.

Carter was pushing a starkly different approach to the region, pressuring Israel to surrender Arab lands conquered in 1967 in exchange for peace agreements with its neighbors.

In 1978, Carter secured the first step in this peace process, the Camp David Accords in which Israel’s Likud Prime Minister Menachem Begin agreed to return the Sinai to Egypt in a peace deal.

However, Begin was furious, feeling that Carter had bullied him into accepting the arrangement. Beyond that resentment, Begin feared that Carter would use his second term to push Israel into accepting a Palestinian state on West Bank lands that Likud considered part of Israel’s divinely granted territory.

Former Mossad and Foreign Ministry official David Kimche described Begin’s fury in the 1991 book, The Last Option.

Kimche wrote that Israeli officials had gotten wind of “collusion” between Carter and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat “to force Israel to abandon her refusal to withdraw from territories occupied in 1967, including Jerusalem, and to agree to the establishment of a Palestinian state.”

Kimche continued, “This plan – prepared behind Israel’s back and without her knowledge – must rank as a unique attempt in United States’s diplomatic history of short-changing a friend and ally by deceit and manipulation.”

However, Begin recognized that the scheme required Carter winning a second term in 1980 when, Kimche wrote, “he would be free to compel Israel to accept a settlement of the Palestinian problem on his and Egyptian terms, without having to fear the backlash of the American Jewish lobby.”

In his 1992 memoir, Profits of War, Ari Ben-Menashe, an Israeli military intelligence officer who worked with Likud, agreed that Begin and other Likud leaders held Carter in contempt.

“Begin loathed Carter for the peace agreement forced upon him at Camp David,” Ben-Menashe wrote. “As Begin saw it, the agreement took away Sinai from Israel, did not create a comprehensive peace, and left the Palestinian issue hanging on Israel’s back.”

So, in order to buy time for Israel to move more Jewish settlers into the West Bank, Begin felt Carter’s reelection had to be prevented. A different president also presumably would give Israel a freer hand to deal with problems on its northern border with Lebanon.

The evidence is now clear that Begin found that new partnership with Ronald Reagan and his foreign policy team. Begin would do what he could to help Reagan defeat Carter in 1980, finally sliencing Carter’s incessant nagging.

Though Carter may not have understood his predicament, his position was even more precarious because he had made other powerful enemies, including the CIA’s “Old Boys” network. His CIA director, Stansfield Turner, had reined in their operations and cashiered some of their leaders, the likes of Ted Shackley who left the operations directorate and went to work for the campaign of former CIA Director George H.W. Bush.

In the Republican primaries, Bush competed with Reagan for the nomination but ultimately accepted the second spot on the GOP ticket, bringing along Shackley and a host of other disgruntled CIA veterans who were itching for payback against Jimmy Carter.

Carter’s human rights lectures also had riled America’s right-wing and anti-communist allies, especially after the brutal Shah of Iran was driven from power by a popular uprising in late 1978 only to get replaced by the similarly brutal Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Carter was viewed as a bumbling do-gooder who needed to be shown the door for the good of the Western world. Reagan, a former B-movie actor, may not have been the optimal replacement, but he was surrounded by Republican national security experts, including Bush, who knew their way around the global chessboard.

‘CIA Within the CIA’

In 1990, looking back on those events, legendary CIA officer Miles Copeland told me that “the CIA within the CIA” – the inner-most circle of powerful intelligence figures who felt they understood best the strategic needs of the United States – believed Carter and his naïve faith in American democratic ideals represented a grave threat to the nation.

“Carter really believed in all the principles that we talk about in the West,” Copeland said, shaking his mane of white hair. “As smart as Carter is, he did believe in Mom, apple pie and the corner drug store. And those things that are good in America are good everywhere else. …

“Carter, I say, was not a stupid man,” Copeland said, adding that Carter had an even worse flaw: “He was a principled man.”

The anti-Carter sentiments of “the CIA within the CIA” and Begin’s Likudniks appeared to stem from their genuine beliefs that they needed to protect what they regarded as vital interests of their respective countries. The CIA Old Boys thought they understood the true strategic needs of the United States – and Likud believed fervently in a “Greater Israel.”

Both groups saw Carter as a dangerous threat.

But the lingering mystery of Campaign 1980 is whether these two groups followed their strongly held feelings into a secret operation in league with Republicans to prevent Carter from gaining the release of 52 U.S. hostages then held in Iran and thus torpedoing his reelection hopes.

Carter’s inability to resolve that hostage crisis did set the stage for Reagan’s landslide victory in November 1980 as American voters reacted to the long-running hostage humiliation by turning to a candidate they believed would be a tougher player vis-à-vis America’s enemies.

Reagan’s macho image was reinforced when the Iranians released the hostages immediately after he was inaugurated on Jan. 20, 1981, ending the 444-day standoff.

The coincidence of timing, which Reagan’s supporters cited as proof that foreign enemies feared the new president, gave momentum to Reagan’s larger agenda, including sweeping tax cuts tilted toward the wealthy, reduced government regulation of corporations, and renewed reliance on fossil fuels. (Carter’s solar panels were removed from the White House roof.)

Reagan’s victory also was great news for CIA cold-warriors who were rewarded with the choice of World War II spymaster (and dedicated cold-warrior) William Casey to be CIA director.

Casey then purged CIA analysts who were detecting a declining Soviet Union that desired détente. He replaced them with people like the young and ambitious Robert Gates, who agreed that the Soviets were on the march and that the United States needed a massive military expansion to counter them.

Casey also embraced old-time CIA swashbuckling in Third World countries and took pleasure in misleading or berating members of Congress when they insisted on the CIA oversight that had been forced on President Gerald Ford and had been accepted by President Carter. To Casey, CIA oversight became a game of hide-and-seek.

Time for Expansion

As for Israel, Begin was pleased to find the Reagan administration far less demanding about peace deals with the Arabs, giving Israel time to expand its West Bank settlements.

Reagan and his team also acquiesced to Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982, a drive north that expelled the Palestine Liberation Organization but also led to the slaughters at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. Israel’s Lebanon invasion eventually drew U.S. troops into the Lebanese civil war, with 241 getting killed by a suicide bombing on Oct. 23, 1983.

Behind the scenes, Reagan also gave a green light to Israeli weapons shipments to Iran (which was fighting a war with Israel’s greater enemy, Iraq). The weapons sales helped Israel rebuild its network of contacts inside Iran while creating large profits which helped finance West Bank settlements.

In another significant move, Reagan credentialed a new generation of pro-Israeli American ideologues known as the neocons. That paid big dividends for Israel as these bright operatives fought for Likud’s interests both inside the U.S. government and through their opinion-leading roles in the major American news media.

In other words, if the disgruntled CIA Old Boys and the determined Likudniks did participate in the so-called October Surprise scheme to sabotage Carter’s Iran-hostage negotiations and thus seal his doom, they surely got much of what they wanted.

Yet, while motive is an important element in solving a mystery, it does not constitute proof by itself. What must be examined is whether there is evidence that the motive was acted upon, whether Begin’s government and disaffected CIA officers covertly assisted the Reagan campaign in contacting Iranian officials to thwart Carter’s hostage negotiations.

This evidence is strong though perhaps not ironclad. A well-supported narrative does exist describing how the October Surprise scheme may have occurred with the help of CIA personnel, Begin’s government, some right-wing intelligence figures in Europe, and a handful of other powerbrokers in the United States. [See Consortiumnews.com’s “CIA/Likud Sinking of Jimmy Carter” or Robert Parry’s Secrecy & Privilege.]

It’s also clear that Reagan – after becoming president – did nothing to retaliate against Iran for the hostage-taking and instead rewarded Khomeini’s regime by secretly approving Israeli arms shipments to Iran. That hidden reality became apparent to some U.S. government officials after one of Israel’s supply planes crashed just inside Soviet territory on July 18, 1981.

In a PBS interview nearly a decade later, Nicholas Veliotes, Reagan’s assistant secretary of state for the Middle East, said he looked into the incident by talking to top administration officials who insisted that the State Department issue misleading guidance to the press.

“It was clear to me after my conversations with people on high that indeed we had agreed that the Israelis could transship to Iran some American-origin military equipment,” Veliotes said.

In checking out the Israeli flight, Veliotes came to believe that the Reagan camp’s dealings with Iran dated back to before the 1980 election.

“It seems to have started in earnest in the period probably prior to the election of 1980, as the Israelis had identified who would become the new players in the national security area in the Reagan administration,” Veliotes said. “And I understand some contacts were made at that time.”

If the October Surprise narrative is true, then Reagan’s Iran-Contra arms deals in 1984-86 would have been essentially a sequel, not a stand-alone story, with Iran getting more weapons in exchange for its help in freeing other American hostages then held in Lebanon.

Yet, whatever one thinks of the October Surprise story – whether you believe that the Republicans sabotaged President Carter or not – there can be little doubt that the shattering events of that period propelled the Middle East down a course that changed the region’s history – and has today left the world at another dangerous crossroads.

A three-decade epoch was begun with the neocons and the Reaganites emerging as the dominant forces in Washington; with stepped-up security protecting autocratic Arab leaders from the angry “street”; with Shiite-ruled Iran supplying militant Muslim organizations to undercut the mostly Sunni autocrats and to pressure Israel; and with Likud and its vision of a Greater Israel guaranteeing little sustainable progress toward a Palestinian state.

It was an epoch that Ronald Reagan and his foreign policy team helped launched in 1980-81; it was an epoch that Jimmy Carter’s second term might have prevented; and it is an epoch that may be collapsing into violence and disorder now.

CIA-MOSSAD-MI6, ROTHSCHILDS, SPICE GIRL, WIKILEAKS

Sacha Gervasi and Jessica de Rothschild (Website for this image)

On 21 December 2010, Jessica de Rothschild (36) is to marry Sacha Gervasi (44). (confidante)

Gervasi once had a relationship with Spice Girl Geri Halliwell and their offspring is Bluebell Madonna Halliwell. (Sacha Gervasi - Wikipedia)

Geri Halliwell (Website for this image)

Reportedly, Gervasi once had a £200-a-day heroin and crack cocaine habit. (Father of Geri Halliwell's baby is a former junkie.)

Sacha Gervasi's father, Sean Gervasi, was an economic adviser to John F. Kennedy; Sean Gervasi became "a leading member of the anti-Vietnam war movement."

Sacha Gervasi's uncle, Tom Gervasi, was an expert on intelligence matters. [23][24]

Sir Evelyn de Rothschild....

Jessica de Rothschild is the daughter of banker Sir Evelyn de Rothschild

Sir Evelyn de Rothschild is the son of Anthony Gustav de Rothschild (1887-1961) and Yvonne Cahen d'Anvers (1899-1977).

Sir Evelyn de Rothschild has had three wives:

1. In 1966 he married Jeannette Bishop (1940-1981), a niece of Sir Stanley Hooker, the jet-engine engineer. The marriage ended in divorce in 1971.

2. In 1973, he married Victoria Lou Schott (b. 1949), the stepsister of American news correspondent Felicia Taylor, whom he divorced in 2000.

The three children of this marriage are:

1. Jessica (b. 1974)

2. Anthony (b. 1977) (Rothschilds and Geography)

3. David (b. 1978) (Rothschilds and Geography)

Lynn Forester (centre)

3. In 2000, Sir Evelyn married the American lawyer and entrepreneur Lynn Forester.

She is the former wife of Andrew Stein, a New York City political figure.

By this marriage, Sir Evelyn has two stepchildren, Benjamin Forester Stein (b. 1985) and John Forester Stein (b. 1988).

Sir Evelyn and his family live at Ascott House, a country estate owned by the National Trust in Buckinghamshire.

According to the Daily Mail, 21 December 2010, Jessica de Rothschild met Sacha Gervasi at a stage show premiere. (RICHARD KAY: confidante)

Jessica "is an heir to Sir Evelyn’s £450 million fortune and a successful theatre producer.

"Her company, Sweet Pea Productions, staged the successful West End run of The Misanthrope, which starred Keira Knightley.

"Gervasi... wrote the screenplay for the Tom Hanks hit The Terminal."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1340384/Betrayal-royal-confidante.html#ixzz18jQaM4cq

Sir Evelyn de Rothschild was chairman of The Economist from 1972 to 1989.

His wife Lynn Forester de Rothschild currently sits on The Economist's board.

The Rothschild family also has a sizeable shareholder interest in The Economist.

In 2008, CIA/Wikileaks's Julian Assange was granted The Economist's New Media Award.....

Julian Assange's lawyer Mark Stephens, of Finers Stephens Innocent, is the legal adviser to the Rothschild Waddesdon Trust. (Who is Behind Wikileaks?)

~~

So Who Exactly is Sowing Strife in Lebanon?

State Department's Wikipocrisy....

So Who Exactly is Sowing Strife in Lebanon?

Beirut

On October 24, 1970, during its 25th session, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Declaration of Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.

The UN Declaration provides in part:

“No State has the right to intervene, directly or indirectly, for any reason whatever, in the internal or external affairs of any other State. Consequently, armed intervention and all other forms of interference or attempted threats against the personality of the State or against its political, economic and cultural elements, are in violation of international law.”

Perhaps not since the Vietnam War, with the exception of Iraq, has an American Embassy so inextricably inserted, bullied and entangled itself into the internal affairs of another country, than the U.S. Embassy here in Beirut. Or so brazenly targeted a nationalist political party that won the largest number of votes in the most recent election and that likely represents a majority of the country’s population. Not since 1982 has it occurred in Lebanon.

Myriad extra-consular activities by ‘Embassy Beirut’, many of which violate American as well as international laws including the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, present serious problems for Lebanon. They ultimately constitute major problems for the American people who increasingly seek an even-handed American Middle East policy and friendship with all legitimate countries in the region.

The de-facto American Ambassador to Lebanon and Syria remains Undersecretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Jeffrey CIA Feltman/assassin in chief.... who on 12/9/10 during a phone conference with Arab reporters in Washington, London and some Arab capitals, complained: “ the Wilkileaks information is being used to sow strife in Lebanon.” He added that he was “afraid that some Lebanese nationalists would be harmed for cooperating with the U.S and for better ties between Washington and Beirut.” He added, “The release of private conversations calls for disgust and anger.”

Not for the first time, Jeffrey CIA Feltman/assassin in chief.... has his analysis precisely backwards . For it is not some leaked cables, which to date have revealed nothing not already widely known or suspected in Lebanon, but rather it is the intense US interference in Lebanese internal affairs on behalf of Israel that is causing deep distrust and suspicion of American motives—all across the region—as well as among American citizens living here and at home. These fundamental causes include, what every school child in Lebanon has witnessed in one form or another, directly or through relatives or friends. That is the massive US weapon supplies delivered to Israel , used to repeatedly and ferociously attack Lebanese civilians, killing more than 30,000, wounding more than 200,000, and displacing more than two million, during a quarter century of Israel’s use of American weapons against Lebanon.

In addition to regularly unleashing and green lighting Israeli aggression against Lebanon, there is the continuing and ever evolving ‘Embassy Beirut’ based Welsh Club “ Lebanon Project List” (LPL) which lengthened in early 2005 and endures following Mr. Welsh’s retirement in 2009 . It is from this informal unit that State Department lawyers urged the White House to establish the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (UNSCR 1757) under Chapter VII of the UN Charter.

“The duty not to intervene in matters within the domestic jurisdiction of any State, in accordance with the UN Charter.” UN Declaration Concerning Friendly Relations among States.

At various times joint US-Israeli Welch Club projects included plans for an airbase to be shared with Israel and NATO at Kleiat near the Sunni area of Akkar as part of a ‘Northern Sunni army’ to confront Southern Shia Hezbollah; moving the US Embassy and its electronic equipment to a hillside overlooking Dahiyeh with the capacity to listen in on virtually to all conversations and watch the movements of many Hezbollah officials; setting up Druze leader Walid CIA Jumblatt as front man to confront the Resistance over its secure telecommunications system, and one of their supporters in charge of aspects of Beirut airport security; to helping bring in Salafists, among others and implanting them in certain areas including Nahr al Bared and Ein el Helwe Palestinian Refugee camps; igniting, at every opportunity, sectarian tensions among, Sunni, Shia and various Christian sects; labeling certain media outlets, and publishing the names of their investors, and social service organizations as “terrorists’;channeling USAID/CIA projects, to chosen sects rather than on the basis of equality for all Lebanese; and more than a dozen projects to keep Lebanon divided, and weakened in its capacity to confront Israeli aggression, or to emerge from its history of domination by foreign powers.

In addition, ‘Embassy Beirut’ continues to function as salon and sounding board for all many of schemes to re-shape Lebanon to Israel’s liking, including this week’s confirmation of the earlier rumored Israeli-backed Saudi brainstorm to establish an “All Arab Force” to invade Lebanon and fight Hezbollah.

US interference on behalf of Israel, even to the degree of a willingness to cede Lebanese sovereign territory to Israel, allow daily air and sea invasions of Lebanese sovereignty, has sown strife in Lebanon. It is not some leaked Embassy cables that prevents “better ties between Washington and Beirut” which Jeffrey CIA Feltman/assassin in chief.... and no fewer than 43 visiting US officials have bleated to Lebanese media about over the past several years.

It was on April 17, 1983, after a similar intense period of US Embassy meddling in Lebanese internal affairs and using its diplomatic compound as a base to support one pro-Israeli Lebanese faction that many innocents were killed because the US Embassy had become a virtual command center and hence a legitimate military target....

U.S. Israeli intrigue in Lebanon....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/08/lebanon-funding

December , 2010 -- U.S. Israeli intrigue in Lebanon....

U.S. involvement with Lebanon wiretaps. Where did UN tribunal obtain cell phone evidence linking Hezbollah to Hariri assassination and were the intercepts doctored by the neocon cells in the US intelligence community?

From the cables not released by Wikileaks to the Western newspapers. From Al Akhbar of Lebanon. U.S. interfernce in the UN investigation of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al Hariri [also note that Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi were solicited for funds for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, both countries are interested in linking Hezbollah and Iran to the assassination when it is common knowledge that Israel's Mossad, and CIA , were behind the truck bombing, after Bamboozling Asef SHAWKAT into carrying out the whole operation, from A to Z..., and this is well known as the infamous White House Murder INC, ever since the assassination of Mr. Elie HOBEIKA, January 24th 2002 by Asef SHAWKAT's goons squad....]

لمفروض ان يتم التحقيق مع المر بشأن هذا الكلام لانه كلام خطير لشخص يجلس في وزارة الدفاع وهذا يرتقي الى الخيانة العظمى لانه يدل على ان من قال هذا الكلام اي المر انه يتعامل مع اسرائيل

Elias El-Murr is an American-Israeli SPY first and foremost...., like father like son...,"Syrian Intelligence DOGS" and like their crooked uncle GABY MURR and his family of spies for CIA/MOSSAD....

http://al-akhbar.com/ar/node/216466

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 BEIRUT

NSC FOR ELLIOTT ABRAMS/SINGH/YERGER

إلياس المر صعد قطار الخيانة, فهل يكون آخـر

الخونة...؟

2. (S) Charge, Defense Attache and ODC Chief met with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Elias Murr on March 10 at his home in Rabieh. The atmosphere of the meeting was cordial and friendly.....like in a [SCIF...].....

5. (S) As for the areas further north in Lebanon such as Keserwan and the Metn, Murr confirmed that Shia are renting in high numbers there because they feel that Israel is going to attack soon. Such action could take place as early as April 2008, he warned. ....Murr also told us that Hassan Nasrallah's cousin has moved his family out of the southern suburbs, the Dahiyya, and rented a chalet in the resort town of Farayya for a year. According to Murr, this means that Nasrallah is on high alert. In addition to renting homes in these areas, Hizballah is making many concessions to the Christians who live in these areas. In a meeting three weeks ago between top Hizballah officials such as Wafiq Safa and March 14 members at MoD Headquarters in Yarze, Hizballah agreed to all of the Christians demands. The two most notable concessions were that Hizballah will not place any signage with Nabih Berri or Hassan Nasrallah's image in these locations and that Hizballah will not have a visible presence in these areas...... During this same meeting, March 14 members learned that Hizballah has rockets that can fly over 200 kilometers.

7. (S) Murr told us that Hizballah is not "internally convinced" that it can win this time. It was internally convinced that it could win in 2006. Murr predicted that Hizballah's war with Israel will not be like 2006 .... Murr harbors no illusion that they will not get bogged down in the village a second time. Instead, Murr thinks they will bypass strongholds in villages and pursue the main forces, the rockets. "I am sure Hizballah is scared and they are preparing for a severe lesson this time," Murr said. ...... (S) Murr related that Saudi journalist Ghassan Charbel of the Al-Hayat newspaper recently returned to Beirut from Damascus where he met with Bashar Al-Assad. .....He does not see anything at all happening this year in Lebanon, Charbel had said. Murr seemed to think otherwise, reporting that Syria has recalled 250,000 migrant agricultural workers from Lebanon who also serve in the Syrian military reserves....... Returning to the theme of a wary Hizballah, Murr told us that "they (Hizballah) are scared, terrorized. They know the Israelis will not lose again." Murr thinks that Ehud Barak is a very different Minister of Defense... Additionally, President Bush is coming to Israel in May, so they think that this new war must be completed by that time.

13. (S) When asked what role Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun is playing right now, Murr deadpanned that he is "going insane." Retired BG Fouad Ashkar, an Aoun advisor dating to Aoun's time as Lebanese Army Commander, came to see Murr on March 9 to discuss weapons permits for Aoun's bodyguards. Murr told Ashkar that he was authorized only ten permits. Aoun had recently contacted Murr's father to try and pressure the MinDef into agreeing to fifty weapons permits. A defiant Murr told Ashkar to "go get some of your Hizballah suicide bombers to serve as bodyguards," the sub-context being that perhaps Michel Aoun would get blown up along the way......

18. (S) Making clear that he was not responsible for passing messages to Israel, Murr told us,...if Israel has to bomb all of these places in the Shia areas as a matter of operational concern, that is Hizballah's problem. According to Murr, this war is not with Lebanon, it is with Hizballah. ..... As such, Murr is trying to ascertain how long an offensive would be required to clean out Hizballah in the Beka'a. The LAF will move to pre-position food, money, and water with these units so they can stay on their bases when Israel comes for Hizballah--discreetly, Murr added. (S) Murr also gave guidance to Sleiman that the LAF should not get involved "when Israel comes." .... that he promised Sleiman the political cover for LAF inaction. .....For Murr, the LAF's strategic objective was to survive a three week war "completely intact" and able to take over once Hizballah's militia has been destroyed. ......

http://anaconda-manifesto.blogspot.com/2008/02/why-is-more-important-than-how-in.html

ليس المر هو العرص ولكن العرص هو من اصر على جلبه وزيرا للدفاع مع علمه بانه خائن

هناك مشكلة في لبنان إسمها ما هيدا لبنان ....

لك أيه كـ........ ام لبنان إذ بدو يضل الياس المر وزيرا للدفاع في دولة تزعم المقاومة فيها أنها أنهت العصر الاسرائيلي في وقت لا تزال لاسرائيل جزر إستناد ورؤوس جذور تبدا من القصر الجمهوري ولا تنتهي في بطريركية صفير مرورا بالعميل الصغير فؤاد السنيورة والعميل الاصغر الاسخر إبن خوفو الحرامية رفيق الحريري

....http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_61535.shtml

VZCZCXRO6148 PP RUEHAG RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV DE RUEHLB #0109/01 0271616 ZNY SSSSS ZZH P 271616Z JAN 09 FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4075 INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3390 RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 3597 RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC Content S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIRUT 000109 SIPDIS NOFORN DEPT FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ELA ALSO FOR IO PDAS WARLICK P FOR DRUSSELL AND RRANGASWAMY USUN FOR WOLFF/GERMAIN/SCHEDLBAUER NSC FOR MCDERMOTT E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/26/2019 TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PTER, PINR, UNSC, LE, SY SUBJECT: LEBANON: UNIIIC COMMISSIONER ON THE FOUR GENERALS, REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL SYRIA-LINKED INFORMATION REF: USUN NEW YORK 000044 Classified By: Ambassador Michele J. Sison for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). SUMMARY ------- 1. (S/NF) UNIIIC Commissioner Daniel Bellemare explained to the Ambassador in a January 26 meeting the issues surrounding the release or transfer to The Hague of the four generals currently in Lebanese custody in connection with former PM Rafiq Hariri's assassination. According to Bellemare, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) has 60 days starting March 1 to request a transfer of the generals from Lebanese custody to the STL. Once they are transferred, Bellemare suspects he will face pressure by the STL to bring a case against the generals or release them. Replying "no comment" on whether he has enough evidence to bring a case, he nonetheless went on to say that if the judges were released in the Netherlands, he (and the Dutch) fear they could seek asylum from the Dutch government. If Bellemare does not request the transfer, the Lebanese could continue to detain the generals, in the face of mounting public pressure, or release them. Bellemare stressed the need for information from the U.S. to assist him in his final investigations in Syria under Chapter VII authority. Bellemare also raised internal UN management issues that continued to soak up his time. End summary. WHEN TO RELEASE FOUR DETAINED GENERALS ---------------------- 2. (S/NF) The Ambassador, accompanied by LegAtt and PolOff, met with UNIIIC Commissioner Daniel Bellemare in Monteverde on January 26. Bellemare explained that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) has 60 days starting March 1 to request the GOL to transfer the four generals, currently held in Lebanese custody in connection with the assassination of former PM Rafiq Hariri, to the STL in The Hague. Bellemare, carefully asserting that he had "no comment" on whether or not he has a case against the generals, added that there is no time frame from the date of request by which they must actually be transferred. 3. (S/NF) Bellemare said he suspected that Lebanese Public Prosecutor Saiid Mirza wants the generals transferred to the STL. Bellemare explained that, while it has been pointed out to him that no one can dictate to the STL how long the STL can detain the generals, implying that Bellemare could detain them indefinitely in The Hague, he disagreed with this approach in part because he feared that he might face legal pressure (by the STL itself) to release them immediately if he did not have a case. Bellemare added that the generals could not be released on bail (per the Lebanese code of criminal procedure, Section 108), but could be released without condition. In such a scenario, the GOL could put them under surveillance, he noted. 4. (S/NF) Bellemare noted that one concern held by the Dutch government is that the generals would seek asylum if released by the STL. Another worry is that one of the four, former Surete Generale DG General Jamil Sayyad, would run in the parliamentary elections, an idea evidently supported by opposition leader Suleiman Franjieh and Hizballah. 5. (S/NF) Bellemare further expressed concern that transferring the generals could be a dangerous operation, noting that Hizballah does not want the generals to leave Lebanon. A transfer would need to be coordinated with Lebanese authorities, making the operation even more vulnerable because of possible Hizballah penetration of those authorities, in his view. If the GOL decides to release the four, it should put as much distance between the generals' release and the parliamentary elections on June 7, Bellemare recommended. (Note: We agree. End note.) "IF THERE IS ASSISTANCE TO PROVIDE, BEIRUT 00000109 002 OF 003 PROVIDE IT NOW" ----------------------------------- 6. (S/NF) Noting that he would return to Syria in February for the last time under Chapter VII authority, Bellemare stressed the urgency of receiving information from the U.S. to use during interrogations. "If there is assistance to provide," he pleaded, "Please provide it now." Specifically, he requested information on "human vulnerabilities, suggestions on questions to ask, people who do not fit into our charts, partial answers we can use to test the subjects." Bellemare explained that the level of interrogation his consultants would employ during this trip to Syria would be "very different from previous visits, but I need the ammunition to conduct these interrogations." 7. (S/NF) Bellemare complained that the Syrians treat UNIIIC as "school kids in short pants." He explained, "They provide us with 40,000 pages in Arabic. After we translate them and find nothing of interest, they feign surprise and hand us another 40,000 pages in Arabic." He assessed that the Syrians are nervous because they do not know what information UNIIIC has collected to date. CONCERNED ABOUT SAFETY OF STL JUDGES ------------------------------------ 8. (S/NF) Bellemare said that the four of the eleven STL judges who are Lebanese have chosen to move back and forth between The Hague and Lebanon. Acknowledging the security concern, Bellemare said he suspected the judges conditioned their acceptance to the position on retaining freedom of movement. (Comment: One of our Embassy LES members suggested that he knew the identity of one of the judges because the Internal Security Forces had recently beefed up security outside of the judge's residence. End comment.) ISSUE OF APPOINTING A DEPUTY PROSECUTOR --------------------------------------- 9. (C) According to Bellemare, appointing a Lebanese Deputy Prosecutor has become problematic. He reported that during January 2008, he interviewed candidates and the UN Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) will submit his confidential recommendation to the cabinet, which will appoint the individual. He expected that the cabinet would discuss the appointment in time for the March 1 deadline (reftel). However, he relayed that he heard majority leader Saad Hariri was displeased with his recommendation, believing the candidate is "too independent", and may request his Future Movement ministers to block the appointment. 10. (C) Bellemare noted that Public Prosecutor Saiid Mirza, close to Saad, supported Bellemare's recommendation. Acknowledging that he could start work without a deputy, making an appointment without delay is nonetheless important for symbolic purposes because the deputy position is a Lebanese national. 11. (C) The power of the veto also worried Bellemare as he considered the potential composition of the next cabinet. Bellemare wondered whether a cabinet dominated by what is currently the opposition would attempt to stop GOL funding to the STL, despite its obligations under an international agreement. STILL PLAGUED BY MANAGEMENT ISSUES ---------------------------------- 12. (C) Bellemare expressed his frustration that the STL Management Committee ruled that the STL would not participate in the Interagency Mobility Accord (reftel), which is designed to facilitate mobility between organizations participating in the UN common system. Declaring that he would seek a revision to this decision, Bellemare argued it was more expensive to recruit new people than to transfer them from within the UN system. He also stressed that he needed the "best individuals possible" and did not want to BEIRUT 00000109 003 OF 003 discourage qualified applicants because of a tedious transfer process that could cost them some of their benefits. A SMALL UNIIIC PRESENCE TO REMAIN --------------------------------- 13. (S/NF) Mentioning that he would travel to The Hague in February to find an apartment and attend the next interagency working group, Bellemare said that a small field office of UNIIIC would remain in Beirut. He said the remaining 10 or 20 individuals would likely change the location of their offices, but that was not yet decided. SISON

VZCZCXRO0459 PP RUEHAG RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV DE RUEHLB #1451/01 2811721 ZNY SSSSS ZZH P 071721Z OCT 08 FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3229 INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3006 RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 3217 RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC Content S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 001451 SIPDIS NOFORN DEPT FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ELA ALSO FOR IO ACTING A/S HOOK, PDAS WARLICK P FOR DRUSSELL AND RRANGASWAMY USUN FOR KHALILZAD/WOLFF/SCHEDLBAUER NSC FOR ABRAMS/RAMCHAND/YERGER/MCDERMOTT E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/05/2018 TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PTER, PINR, UNSC, SY, LE SUBJECT: LEBANON: UNIIIC COMMISSIONER HAPPY WITH USG ASSISTANCE BUT SEEKS TWO CRIMINAL ANALYSTS REF: BEIRUT 1348 Classified By: Ambassador Michele J. Sison for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 1. (SBU) This is an action request. See paragraph 10. SUMMARY ------- 2. (S/NF) In an October 3 meeting with the Ambassador, Daniel Bellemare, Commissioner of the UN Independent Investigative Commission (UNIIIC), was generally pleased with USG assistance to date, and repeated a single request: that the USG loan two criminal analysts who would work out of The Hague (reftel). He expressed his flexibility to make this work, stressing that these analysts were his priority. Noting that UNIIIC's mandate will expire at the end of the year, he said the investigation component will not stop. He was feeling the deadline pressure, but remarked that the investigation was moving aggressively. The Special Tribunal budget is awaiting approval by the Management Committee in New York, he reported. He did not yet foresee a problem with approval, but he informed the Ambassador that the UNIIIC budget was short two to three million dollars and he had requested approval for a supplementary budget. The FBI would continue to pay the analysts' salaries, which would be considered a USG contribution, and UNIIIC would cover travel and per diem expenses, he suggested. End summary. INVESTIGATION MOVING ALONG; TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE --------------------------- 3. (S/NF) The Ambassador, accompanied by LegAtt and PolOff, met Daniel Bellemare, Commissioner of the UN Independent Investigative Commission (UNIIIC), at his office in Monteverde on October 3. A confident Bellemare said he felt things are bubbling in his investigation and that his operation was running aggressively like a "police investigation," while noting that time was running out. (Note: UNIIIC's mandate will expire on December 31, 2008. End note.) He expressed a concern about Syria, saying simply, "We are afraid we may run out of witnesses. Time is of the essence, but we do not want to strike prematurely." HAPPY WITH USG ASSISTANCE; REQUESTS CRIMINAL ANALYSTS --------------------------- 4. (S/NF) LegAtt reported that the USG had responded to almost all of the outstanding RFAs, but warned that the FBI may not be able to provide the criminal analysts requested (reftel). Bellemare inquired what was necessary to make these individuals available to UNIIIC. Bellemare proposed that the analysts work out of The Hague, where he said space was not an issue, on a contract basis. The FBI would continue to pay the analysts' salaries, which would be considered a USG contribution, and UNIIIC would cover travel and per diem expenses, he suggested. 5. (S/NF) Appearing satisfied with USG assistance, Bellemare said in reference to previous requests for data-mining analysts, "I would never turn down help. If I have to prioritize, I need the criminal analysts the most." He said he hoped for analysts' assistance as soon as possible, to work until UNIIIC's mandate expires. He inquired whether the clearance for the new UNIIIC Chief of Investigations, Garry James Loeppky, was granted for the Intelligence Community Working Group. 6. (S/NF) While UNIIIC's mandate will expire, he continued, the investigation will not, implying that he would still need many of the analysts currently contracted out to UNIIIC. He noted that he had started contacting organizations to see if they will agree to transfer their contracted personnel to The Hague, to which he had received positive responses. Bellemare said there was a provision in the draft budget for "internal contractors and secondees." BEIRUT 00001451 002 OF 002 PRESS REPORT "UNHELPFUL" ------------------------ 7. (S/NF) Addressing the October 1 al-Anwar article purporting that Bellemare will name 120 suspects in his final report, Bellemare said he had no idea who or how this story was concocted. He explained that he had to have his new spokesperson respond to the press report, though he usually preferred to remain silent. He suggested that the Ambassador could be helpful in letting political figures know that these kinds of articles are unhelpful. 8. (S/NF) He said he had visited President Michel Sleiman and PM Fouad Siniora in the previous month to convey to them that his investigation would not be tied to a political timetable. He added that in the coming two months, UNIIIC investigators would be more visible as they conduct interviews with political figures. AWAITING BUDGET APPROVAL ------------------------ 9. (S/NF) Bellemare said that he had submitted the operating budget to the Special Tribunal's Management Committee, and was now awaiting approval. On UNIIIC's budget, he relayed that currently he was having internal discussions with the new UN comptroller on a supplementary budget because he projected that he will be two or three million dollars short. It was not a problem yet, he said, but he wanted to make the Ambassador aware in case the amount was not approved. He said that he may need USG assistance in pushing for the supplementary budget's approval. ACTION REQUEST -------------- 10. (S/NF) Post requests a response to UNIIIC's request that the USG loan two criminal analysts to interview witnesses, or information on what response is given to Bellemare. End Action Request. SISON VZCZCXRO3042 PP RUEHAG RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV DE RUEHLB #1348/01 2591418 ZNY SSSSS ZZH P 151418Z SEP 08 FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3034 INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY RHMFISS/CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 2905 Content S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIRUT 001348 NOFORN SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ELA, IO/FO-HOOK, WARLICK, IO/UNP-AMORRISON, L/FO-JBELLINGER, JTHESSIN, L/AN-LJACOBSON, L/UNA-TBUCHWALD, INR/GGI-MARGULIES, CIA/CNC-JFINKEL, JBRODERERICK, CIA/CTC-JBEAN, DOJ-JEVY, USUN-KHALILZAD, WOLFF, SCHEDLBAUER, NSC FOR ABRAMS/RAMCHAND/YERGER/MCDERMOTT E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/12/2018 TAGS: PREL, PTER, PGOV, PINR, UNSC, LE, SY SUBJECT: LEBANON: BELLEMARE ANXIOUS FOR MORE USG ASSISTANCE THAN HE HAS SEEN REF: THE HAGUE 744 Classified By: Ambassador Michele J. Sison for reasons 1.4 (b), (d) SUMMARY ------- 1. (S/NF) In a September 12 meeting with the Ambassador, Daniel Bellemare, Commissioner of the UN Independent International Investigative Commission (UNIIIC) made three specific requests for USG assistance and additional requests for USG action. First, he asked that the USG provide intelligence information that UNIIIC has formally requested. Second, that the USG loan UNIIIC two criminal investigators TDY. UNIIIC needs "investigators who can question a witness" to interview some 200 persons currently in prison who may have some relevant information. Third, that the USG urge the UK to do more to help UNIIIC, particularly with intelligence information (the UK has provided loaned personnel). 2. (S/NF) In addition, Bellemare asked for USG support when the Management Committee considers the Tribunal operating budget on September 25 -- the same day that Lebanese President Sleiman will meet President Bush in Washington. He also raised the prospect of consultations among the P-5 on a new resolution to clarify some legal issues. Finally he repeated earlier requests for a USG reaction to 26 sketches of possible suspects that UNIIIC had given the USG and asked about getting access to alleged Hizballah defectors reportedly in the U.S. 3. (S/NF) On other matters, Bellemare said that the GOL has not asked that UNIIIC investigate the latest political assassination (the September 10 attack on opposition Druze member Saleh Aridi). He is concerned about a new Telecommunication Ministry directive that may impede his plans for using wiretaps. End Summary. GOL HAS NOT ASKED THAT UNIIIC INVESTIGATE LATEST ASSASSINATION -------------------------------- 4. (S/NF) The Ambassador and DCM met on September 12 with Daniel Bellemare, Commissioner of the UN Independent International Investigative Commission (UNIIIC), in his office in Monteverde. The Ambassador asked if UNIIIC would investigate the case of Saleh Aridi, a Druze political official assassinated in a car bomb attack near Beirut on September 10. Bellemare explained that for UNIIIC to take on a case, first the GOL must ask the UN SYG, then the SYG and Security Council must approve. He said that the GOL had shown no indication that it would request that UNIIIC investigate the Aridi killing. UNIIIC is interested in finding out more about the Aridi attack, since details are similar to other cases it is investigating. If it is not invited to investigate but wants information about a case, UNIIIC must submit a request to the Lebanese chief prosecutor. The criteria the GOL uses to decide on requesting UNIIIC assistance is "a mystery to me" Bellemare said. (NOTE: The Aridi assassination is the first of a pro-Syrian politician. END NOTE.) WIRETAPPING ----------- 5. (S/NF) Bellemare was concerned about something he had learned the day before that might affect wiretapping. The Telecommunications Ministry had directed two private telecom companies in Lebanon to inform the Ministry about any requests for wiretapping. He noted that it is well known that the Internal Security Forces (ISF), the national police, conduct wiretapping even though the legal basis for their authority to do so is weak. The Telecom Ministry's move may have been directed against the ISF. The order, however, also could limit the ability of UNIIIC to conduct wiretaps if the phone companies fear that they will have to report those BEIRUT 00001348 002 OF 003 efforts to the Telecommunications Ministry. 6. (S/NF) The Ambassador asked if Bellemare believed the action was targeted at UNIIIC, noting that the new Telecommunications Minister is from the opposition. Bellemare replied that he was not in a position to say. At his meeting with PM Fouad Siniora earlier in the week, on September 8, Siniora told Bellemare to inform him if he runs into any problems with cooperation from government officials. He said he might discuss this with the PM if it looks as if this new telecom directive will be a problem, but first he will meet with officials of the two telecom companies next week. The Ambassador offered to support his efforts at resolving this issue. 7. (S/NF) Bellemare noted that at his August 14 meeting in The Hague with the USG Interagency Working Group (IWG), he had asked for USG help with wiretapping capability. He said that trying to work wiretapping through the Lebanese ISF or military intelligence would be like "putting the names (of targets) in the paper". He explained that UN legal experts were currently looking into the possibility that UNIIIC has legal authority to carry out wiretaps. Beyond legal authority for wiretapping, though, Bellemare said he needs technical capability. ASSISTANCE FROM THE USG ----------------------- 8. (S/NF) Bellemare expressed frustration that USG has not provided more in response to his requests for assistance, and noted that he has discussed this with State Department officials. He outlined three requests for USG assistance for his investigation. -- One, provide intelligence information that UNIIIC has formally requested, or inform him that it cannot be provided, so that he knows not to pursue the requests. -- Two, provide two loaned criminal analysts on TDY. UNIIIC needs "investigators who can question a witness" to interview some 200 persons currently in prison who may have some relevant informtion. -- Three, using USG influence, urge the U government to provide more to UNIIIC, particulaly regarding intelligence information. Bellemare said he has requests in to MI-6, but has not received much. On personnel, Scotland Yard has provided a loaned investigator. 9. (S/NF) Bellemare showed a good understanding of the problems associated with complying with the first two requests from his several meetings with USG officials, but his frustration was nonetheless evident. "You are the key player. If the U.S. doesn't help me, who will?" The USG has "a big investment in the Tribunal" and being more forthcoming on UNIIIC's requests is a way of making that investment pay off, he said. 10. (S/NF) During the meeting, Bellemare made several other requests for USG action: -- USG support when the Committee considers the Tribunal operating budget, scheduled for September 25, the same day that Lebanese President Sleiman will meet President Bush in Washington. He warned that the budget includes high travel costs, but that these are necessary because of the need for frequent travel between the Hague and Lebanon. Bellemare thanked the USG for what he said was a much improved attitude on the part of the Tribunal Management Committee. His requests have been more favorably received than was the case previously. -- He raised the prospect of consultations among the P-5 on a new resolution to clarify some legal issues. He mused about the possibility of getting Chapter VII authority for the BEIRUT 00001348 003 OF 003 Tribunal via such a new resolution, but seemed to think that was not doable in the Council. -- He asked for a reaction to the 26 sketches of possible suspects that UNIIIC had given the USG. -- Finally, he asked about getting access to alleged Hizballah defectors reportedly in the U.S., or a definitive negative response to the request. The answers the USG has given him so far on this subject, he said, have been not sufficiently definitive. INTERVIEWS IN SYRIA ------------------- 11. (S/NF) On this issue, Bellemare repeated what he said in the IWG meeting (reftel): that he did not want to go to Syria until the USG or other sources had provided names of leads he should ask to interview and other information. If Syria denied his request to interview these people, then he would have evidence of Syrian non-cooperation. Just asking would give some indication to others in Syria where his investigation might be headed, which could provoke more cooperation "if I hit the right person." 12. (S/NF) Bellemare emphasized the urgency for responding to his request related to Syria, first, because UNIIIC's mandate and with it Chapter VII authority expires at the end of the year, and second, the importance of conducting the interviews before the interviewees disappear by being killed or other means. OTHER ISSUES: NEW MINISTER OF JUSTICE, UNIIIC PRESS SPOKESPERSON ------------------------------ 13. (C ) Bellemare said he had a very positive impression of new GOL Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar, who had told Bellemare he wanted to be helpful. Najjar's predecessor, Charles Rizk, was a vocal supporter of the Tribunal but also known for public criticisms of Bellemare and the previous Commissioner, Serge Brammertz. Bellemare, a Canadian, noted that Najjar had taught at McGill University in Montreal and they had some mutual acquaintances. 14. (SBU) UNIIIC now has a press spokesperson who started work the week before, Bellemare reported. The official had good relevant experience as the spokesperson for the Yugoslavia Tribunal and most recently for the UN Legal Affairs office. The new spokesperson is currently working up a strategy for UNIIIC's press interaction. 15. (C) Bellemare said he had been advised by several persons to not make statements in public that might be seen as disrupting the current relative calm in Lebanon. He planned to follow that advice, (NOTE: Bellemare traveled to Saudi Arabia September 15, we understand. We will seek further information from UNIIIC contacts. END NOTE.) SISON VZCZCXRO7290 PP RUEHAG RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV DE RUEHLB #0571/01 1151658 ZNY SSSSS ZZH P 241658Z APR 08 FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1655 INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 2480 RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC Content S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 000571 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/YERGER/GAVITO E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/23/2018 TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PTER, PINR, SY, LE SUBJECT: LEBANON: ANTI-HIZBALLAH SHIA FIGURE TALKS UP FORMER HIZBALLAH SECRETARY GENERAL TUFAYLI REF: A. BEIRUT 456 B. BEIRUT 554 Classified By: CDA Michele J. Sison for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). SUMMARY ------- 1. (C) Independent Shia figure Ahmad Assad argued that former Hizballah Secretary General Subhi Tufayli is "ready" to join forces against Hizballah, but that first he needs to have resolution of criminal charges against him for involvement in the killing of an LAF officer and a French citizen. (Note: Tufayli remains on the USG Terrorist Watch List. End note.) Assad introduced a board member of his anti-Hizballah political party, Amcit Abdallah Bitar, a prominent businessman from Shia-dominated Nabatieh in southern Lebanon. End summary. 2. (C) In preparation for his second trip of the year to the U.S. to garner support for his anti-Hizballah movement, independent Shia figure Ahmad Assad introduced a member of his four-person delegation, Abdallah Bitar, to the Charge on April 23. Bitar, an Amcit, is the head of the Chamber of Commerce in the Shia-dominated city of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, and recently joined the board of Assad's political party Lebanese Options Group (LOG) (Ref A). DCM and EmbOffs also attended the meeting. FORMER HIZBALLAH SECRETARY GENERAL "READY TO LEAVE" ---------------------------------- 3. (C) Like Lebanese Forces Leader Samir Geagea (ref B), Assad mentioned the name of former Hizballah Secretary General Sheikh Subhi Tufayli, arguing that he is "away from his old rhetoric and ready to leave (his past alliance)" and the U.S. should work with him. Assad explained that Tufayli has been accused of giving orders to kill a Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) officer during the 1990's. Tufayli claims he is innocent and is ready for a trial, Assad said, but his case has been shelved despite an outstanding Lebanese warrant for his arrest. 4. (C) Assad said that several years ago majority leader Saad Hariri had purportedly offered assistance to Tufayli to push the case along, but dropped his efforts, citing French resistance. Saad reportedly told Tufayli to wait until the last French presidential election, but Tufayli has not received a positive response to his appeals from Saad since President Sarkozy took office. 5. (C) Arguing that the U.S. should push the GOL to give Tufayli a trial, Assad said that Tufayli would be a valuable asset in countering Hizballah's influence. He could direct "a few thousand votes" in the Bekaa, Assad predicted, which would be a blow against Hizballah. Assad acknowledged that Tufayli has not yet departed from his anti-U.S. views. (Note: Tufayli remains on the USG Terrorist Watch List. End Note.) HIZBALLAH INFLUENCE IN THE SOUTH -------------------------------- 6. (C) A prominent Shia from Nabatieh, Bitar reported that Iran, through its "Iranian Organization for Rebuilding Lebanon," is busy with improvements in the south, including building streets, parking lots, etc. The organization employs many Lebanese and pays them directly, he added. Bitar explained that people in the south currently have no assistance from the government, and are in need of social services and medical aid. 7. (C) Bitar said he has always communicated with everyone, naming Speaker Nabih Berri and Hizballah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, in particular. He caveated that he has not spoken with Nasrallah in some time. I am not switching sides by joining Assad, he explained, just moving from an apolitical stance to becoming more politically engaged. He noted that Hizballah is currently unhappy with him because of his friendship with Assad. 8. (C) Assad said that he is trying to work on the Shia clerics in Nabatieh to part with Hizballah, but they are BEIRUT 00000571 002 OF 002 afraid in part because their salary is controlled by Hizballah. Moreover, Assad continued, there is internal pressure from the residents to continue supporting Hizballah. He clarified that the Shia won't switch to March 14 if they leave Hizballah, but instead are looking for another Shia movement to support. PUSHING FOR PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION --------------------------------------- 9. (C) Assad said that head of the National Bloc party Carlos Edde (allied with March 14) and a March 14 MP are on his side in terms of advocating for proportional representation in a new electoral law. Assad said they are considering doing a joint press conference, but fear creating friction within the March 14 coalition. COMMENT ------- 10. (S/NF) This is the second time in two days Tufayli's name was passed to us. Assad was vague about Tufayli's exit from Hizballah. We know that Tufayli was expelled in 1998 from the organization and has since tried to rejoin as late as 2005. He was a founding member of Hizballah and served as Hizballah Secretary General from 1989-1991. He is wanted by the SIPDIS Lebanese authorities for killing soldiers and civilians in 1998 clashes. The list of his anti-U.S. rhetoric is long, including praise for the 9/11 attacks and a desire to have participated in the 1983 U.S. Marine barracks bombings. We plan to ask the French about their own interest in Tufayli. Our assessment is that Tufayli would not bring much Shia strength to Ahmed al Assad's organization; indeed, with Tufayli's reputation, legal problems, and reputation for corruption, he would more likely bring discredit. End comment. SISON VZCZCXRO9896 PP RUEHAG RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV DE RUEHLB #0523/01 1071642 ZNY SSSSS ZZH P 161642Z APR 08 FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1544 INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 2418 RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC Content S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 BEIRUT 000523 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/YERGER, STATE FOR NEA/ELA, E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/16/2018 TAGS: PTER, ECPS, PINR, LE, IR, SY SUBJECT: LEBANON: HIZBALLAH GOES FIBER OPTIC REF: BEIRUT 490 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Michele Sison for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) SUMMARY 1. (S) Requesting a special meeting with Charge, Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh decried the establishment of a complete fiber optics network by Hizballah throughout Lebanon. The GOL has been sharing this information widely among friends of Lebanon, to include the governments of France, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the UAE. Hamadeh sees only two choices for the GOL: approach the UN Security Council, or use the "cover" of March 14-friendly municipalities to cut the lines. However, he questioned whether the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the Internal Security Forces (ISF) have the "guts" to do so, given that Hizballah already stated to Lebanese security officials that it would view this as equal to an Israeli act of aggression, and would then take action against the GOL. Hamadeh hopes that Saad Hariri, now in Geneva, will return soon to Lebanon so that March 14 can meet to formulate a strategy. End summary. GOL HAS BEEN SHARING HIZBALLAH FIBER OPTIC MAP, REPORT WIDELY ------------- 2. (S) &Iran Telecom is taking over the country!8 were the first words out of the mouth of Minister of Telecommunications Marwan Hamadeh when he met with Charge and Econoff on April 16. He was referring to the discovery of a complete fiber optic system (FiOS) installed by Hizballah throughout Lebanon - reftel. In addition, Hizballah has introduced Wi-Max in Beirut's southern suburbs. Hamadeh pointed out that although Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC) television had run a story the previous night about the Hizballah FiOS network, it was already widely known. The LBC story was not planted by the GOL, nor planned, but in Hamadeh's opinion it was no bad thing to get the story out there. Hamadeh himself has been sharing the news both within the GOL and outside, with &friends,8 which includes the Arab countries, the U.S., France (Sarkozy was &stunned") and Terje Roed-Larsen of the UN. He briefed Bernard Kouchner, Jean-David Levitte, Boris Bouillon and Michel Barnier while in Paris. In Beirut he spoke to Charge Andre Parent of France and Ambassador Abdul Aziz Khoja of Saudi Arabia. Saad Hariri, when he heard, sent a private plane from Saudi Arabia to pick up a copy of the map, which traces in detail the route of the system, to share with Saudi King Abdullah and Intelligence Chief Prince Mukrin bin Abdul-Aziz. PM Siniora briefed the Jordanians and Emiratis, as well as Arab League SYG Amr Musa on the network during his recent trip around the region, Hamadeh confirmed. Within Lebanon Hamadeh says that the first person he told, after the Prime Minister and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt was Maronite Patriarch Sfeir. Hamadeh described the strategic implications of the Hizballah plan, which he says is targeting the Christian areas, despite a denial of that by Hizballah. In addition to Hamadeh and PM Siniora, Druze leader Walid Jumblatt and Defense Minister Michel Murr have been active in the GL information campaign on the network. INTERFERENCE IN TELECOMS LINKED TO NETWORK ----------------- 3. (S) While the confrontation over the FiOS system was taking place with Hizballah, mobile telecommunications were being subject to interference by Syria in the north, Israel in the south and possibly by the UN at sea, according to Hamadeh. The information about Israeli interference was passed &unofficially8 by UNIFIL, since, in a recurring complaint by Hamadeh during the conversation, the LAF has not reported any problems officially. The Syrian interference is similar to that occurring during the Nahr al-Barid fighting, and highlights the ability of the Syrians to communicate within Lebanon through non-Lebanese mobile systems. Because the system in the part of Syria bordering on northern Lebanon is a private company, MTM, Hamadeh believes that they offer political cover to the Syrian government, who he nevertheless believes is behind the problem. Hamadeh views these events as part of the same strategic interference in Lebanon, both internally and externally. Hamadeh has a map that delineates BEIRUT 00000523 002 OF 004 the interference, in an arc that runs from the north to the south of Lebanon. MARCH 14 NEEDS TO MEET, BUT SAAD SHOULD BE THERE ------------------------ 4. (S) Hamadeh said that he, the Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Elias Murr are all danger, but he and Murr will take the biggest risk in exposing the Hizballah FiOS network. Hamadeh told the PM that he could not assume the risk alone for a showdown with Hizballah. He also used the risk of physical harm as a deterrent with Jumblatt, who wanted to hold a press conference to expose the Hizballah system. Hamadeh believes that this is a March 14 issue, and cannot be resolved without the participation of Saad Hariri. Hamadeh complained that there has not yet been either a March 14 meeting or a cabinet meeting to discuss this matter. He says he asked for such discussions in a meeting with PM Siniora April 15, and will raise it again when they meet April 16. Hamadeh also discussed the issue with Larsen, whom he met with recently in Paris, although he did not give Larsen the map. If the GOL decides to raise the issue with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) he will then provide the map, said Hamadeh. HIZBALLAH RESPONSE - DON'T TOUCH! -------------- 5. (S) Hamadeh reported that LAF G-2 Brigadier General Georges Khoury and ISF Major General Ashraf Rifi saw Wafiq Safa, the Hizballah liaison to the Lebanese intelligence services, together. Khoury asked Safa to take down two parts of the network as a first step; Safa refused. Safa stated that the network is part of Hizballah's ability to defend Lebanon, and that Hizballah would regard any attack on the network as an act of aggression. However, PM Siniora only got a written report from Khoury ten days after the meeting, Hamadeh complained. Even then, the report was unsigned and thus returned to Khoury for signature. According to their report, Hizballah argued that the PM, Hamadeh and Murr are only raising the issue of the FiOS system in order to bring up the issue of Hizballah weapons. Safa stated categorically that the FiOS system is not up for discussion because it is a key part of the Hizballah arsenal. Safa freely acknowledged to Rifi and Khoury that the network exists. It could only be discussed as part of a defense strategy, he said, adding that the network has no commercial or trade implications. He maintained that it does not penetrate the Christian areas. HIZBALLAH ASSERTIONS UNTRUE ----------------- 6. (S) Hamadeh believes both Hizballah assertions to be untrue. He refutes the Hizballah claim that the system exists solely to give them defensive communications throughout the country, saying that there are "centrales" or hubs in many villages along the route, and no doubt these have lines running off to other villages and residences. He also believes that Hizballah crews are only waiting for the snows in the Christian regions of Metn and Kswaran to melt before completing penetration of these regions from the east. WORK DONE UNDER VARIOUS FORMS OF COVER ----------------- 7. (S) To complete the installations and at the same time stay below the radar, Hamadeh says that Hizballah has used the municipalities to issue local permits. For example, in Sidon they are working under the cover provided by Abdel Rahman Bizri, the mayor. In another case the Ministry of Energy issued a permit for work that was "to reinforce energy lines," although Hamadeh says that was clearly not true. Hamadeh says that the whole of the Bekaa valley was done with local permits, and installations were done by different groups, each unaware of what the others were doing. However, he also says that some of the work was done with the knowledge of resigned Minister of Energy Fneish, a Hizballah member. DISCOVERY AND REPORT -------------------- 8. (S) The first official report was from the region of BEIRUT 00000523 003 OF 004 Chouifat, which reported installation of an unknown fiber optic system, and asked the Minister of the Interior to stop it. No one did anything because, in Hamadeh's opinion, they "had no guts." At the time of the earlier exposure of the Hizballah telephone lines running through Beirut, and even along the wall of the French embassy, the GOL asked Hizballah to remove those lines, which Hizballah did, and Hamadeh said that he believed at the time that would be the end of the network in the south. The full Ministry of Telecommunications report on the system was compiled by engineers in the ministry and others, including Shia engineers from the south, who Hamadeh believes could be in great danger because of the report. Once again Hamadeh pointed out that there were no official reports yet from ISF Major General Rifi or LAF G-2 Brigadier General Khoury. FUNDING FROM IRAN ----------------- 9. (S) The current installations, as per the map Hamadeh has given us, shows lines running from Beirut, around both sides of the airport, into the south below the Litani and back up through the Bekaa valley to the far north. It covers the Palestinian camps, and the Hizballah training camps in the Bekaa, and is penetrating deep into the Christian Metn and Ksarwan areas. Although Hamadeh says he has &a few names,8 he did not list the companies who are responsible for the installation, but said that information would be made available shortly. He cited the Iranian Fund for the Reconstruction of Lebanon as the source of the funding. This same group has been rebuilding roads and bridges since the July 2006 war with Israel, and has been accused before of installing telecommunications lines in parallel with new roads. Hamadeh said that he wants to get the list of companies involved and black list them with the GOL. STRATEGIC VICTORY ----------------- 10. (S) Hamadeh highlights the system as a strategic victory for Iran, since it creates an important Iranian outpost in Lebanon, bypassing Syria. He sees the value for the Iranians as strategic, rather than technical or economic. The value for Hizballah is the final step in creating a nation state. Hizballah now has an army and weapons; a television station; an education system; hospitals; social services; a financial system; and a telecommunications system. As a sign of its confidence Hizballah official Safa told Khoury and Rifi that any move against the FiOS system would be taken as "an Israeli attack" and dealt with accordingly. When Khoury and Rifi pointed out that the people in the area might not accept this and might show hostility to Hizballah in this case, Safa replied, "We don't care; we will accept hostile reactions." At that point, according to Hamadeh, the GOL decided it needed to inform its friends and make a decision on the next steps to be taken. HAMADEH PREPARES INTERNAL CAMPAIGN ----------------- 11. (S) Meanwhile, Hamadeh is preparing a "very strong" internal campaign. This campaign, he said, has the potential to "destroy" Aoun and mobilize Christians, as well as influence those Shia who are already beginning to worry about Hizballah. He is waiting for a March 14 meeting to discuss this campaign. Saad has apparently traveled to London and Geneva this week, and is expected to be back in Riyadh by 4/20. Saad has been out of Lebanon for some several weeks and it is not known when he will return. Hamadeh sees only two choices for the GOL: approach the UN Security Council directly, or take on Hizballah by cutting lines. But do the Lebanese security forces have the "guts" for that, or are they frightened by Safa's statement that those actions would be considered an act of aggression, he wonders. 12. (S) Comment: Last year, when Hamadeh's telecommunications ministry "discovered" the well-known Hizballah telephone system, including the line strung along the wall of the French embassy, he maintained that the GOL would not tolerate the erosion of its "last monopoly" by Hizballah, However, aside from the ceremonial cutting of the French embassy line, there was no further action. This time around, it appears that by sharing as widely as possible the details of the plan, the GOL may hope that someone else will take on the challenge. End cmment. BEIRUT 00000523 004 OF 004 SISON VZCZCXYZ1697 PP RUEHWEB DE RUEHLB #0331/01 0641613 ZNY SSSSS ZZH P 041613Z MAR 08 FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1187 INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 2284 RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC Content S E C R E T BEIRUT 000331 SIPDIS NOFORN SECRET SIPDIS SIPDIS NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/GAVITO DEPT FOR NEA/FO, IO/FO DEPT PLEASE PASS TO EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE OVP FOR HANNAH/KAREM E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/03/2018 TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PTER, SY, LE SUBJECT: LEBANON: GEAGEA PROPOSES REVAMPING GOVERNMENT WITH CHRISTIAN MINISTERS Classified By: CDA Michele J. Sison for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). SUMMARY ------- 1. (C) Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea conveyed his thoughts to the Charge on the political impasse shortly before departing on his three-week trip to the U.S. He believes Lebanon should boycott the March 29-30 Arab League summit in Damascus if no president is elected. At a minimum, the summit should be held outside of Syria. On the electoral law -- one of the obstacles to reaching an agreement on the Arab League initiative -- Geagea pressed for proportional representation, explaining that such a system would benefit the March 14 Christians and weaken both Hizballah strongholds and Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun's bloc. 2. (C) Proposing that March 14 enlarge its reach, Geagea said he wanted to join forces with non-Hizballah Shia, and in particular, Ahmad Assad, leader of Lebanon Intimaa ("Belonging"), an anti-Hizballah "third way Shia" political movement. Geagea is still proposing to elect a president with a half plus one majority, but, acknowledging the proposal's lack of support, he advocated revamping Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's government by replacing current ministers in key positions with Christians. End summary. 3. (C) The Charge, accompanied by PolOff, met with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on March 4, days before he departs on a three-week trip to the U.S. Geagea advisors Elie Khoury and Joseph Nehme attended the meeting. BOYCOTT THE ARAB LEAGUE SUMMIT ------------------------------ 4. (C) Geagea opposed what he believes is Saudi Arabia's current position on attendance at the March 29-30 Arab League summit in Damascus: Saudi Arabia will attend if Syria invites Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's government. Instead, Geagea wants Lebanon and Saudi Arabia to condition attendance on the election of a president in Lebanon, a position he believes Druze leader Walid Jumblatt (with whom, we note, Geagea is often at odds) would support. At a minimum, Geagea wants the summit to be held outside of Syria, as an extraordinary summit, so that it is not under Syrian leadership. Geagea believes that Siniora would accept the invitation if extended. However, he questions whether Syria would invite only Siniora, who is Sunni, suspecting that Damascus would include Shia Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in order to avoid giving the impression that Syria recognizes the Siniora government. MARCH 14 REJECTS MOUSSA'S LATEST IDEA ------------------------------------- 5. (C) Geagea reported that it was not clear whether Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa would return to Beirut this week. He explained that Moussa's latest proposal to majority leader Saad Hariri was to elect a president, then form a national unity government in which the prime minister is not from March 14, an idea which March 14 promptly rejected. PRESSING FOR PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION ---------------------------------------- 6. (C) Revisiting Moussa's most recent attempt at negotiations, Geagea said electoral reform remains an obstacle, even within March 14. Geagea is calling for proportional representation, a system he argues would advantage March 14 Christians and break Hizballah strongholds. Moreover, he added, proportional representation would divide Free Patriotic Movement Michel Aoun's opposition bloc by at least 50 percent. Another advantage could be the election of March 14 Shia MPs, he posited. However, he acknowledged, some of Saad Hariri's MPs may lose and Jumblatt would need convincing, and requested that the U.S. urge them to support proportional representation. (Note: Berri told Charge in their February 25 meeting that he favored proportional representation, although he advocated one large electoral district, whereas Geagea favors small districts. End note.) ALLYING WITH NON-HIZBALLAH SHIA ------------------------------- 7. (C) Charge, having just met earlier in the day with Ahmad Assad (septel), leader of Lebanon Intimaa ("Belonging"), an anti-Hizballah political movement, inquired about Geagea's relationship with him. Geagea responded that he has good relations with Assad (who also supports proportional representation, he noted) and that he was interested in bringing him into the March 14 alliance. Claiming that Assad is best positioned to lead a large Shia coalition, Geagea sees potential in Assad but remarked that he needed funding. He cautioned that Saad is opposed to Assad, in part because the Saudis (Saad's allies) do not want to be at loggerheads with Hizballah. Therefore, Geagea concluded, any U.S. support for Assad should be kept quiet. According to Geagea, when Assad ran for parliament as an independent, he received 15-20 percent of the votes cast in his district. (Note: we are skeptical; our information is that he received far fewer. End note.) 8. (C) Other potential Shia include Labor Minister Trad Hamadeh's family and independent journalist Okab Saqr. That was the extent of the possibilities, claimed Geagea. Geagea said the U.S. aid to southern Lebanon was not successful at shifting residents' allegiance away from Hizballah, and therefore U.S. aid should go to Assad, in the south, as well as to Christians in the north. REVAMP THE GOVERNMENT WITH CHRISTIAN MINISTERS -------------------------- 9. (C) Looking at the political impasse today, Geagea sees three scenarios: 1) Status quo continues; 2) March 14 elect a president with a half plus one majority; or 3) Revamp the cabinet by placing Christians into key ministerial posts. Geagea, still supporting the half plus one option, recognizes that it is a risky move that lacks the necessary support at this time. He suggested revamping the cabinet and putting three representative Christians into important ministerial posts such as Interior, Education, and Economy. As some of these slots are currently filled by technocrats, Geagea argued that since Lebanon is not really doing much as a government these days, it does not need technical skills, but rather symbolically important Christian representation. "Now it is seen as a Hariri government; we want it to be seen as a March 14 government," Geagea explained. USS COLE: THE U.S. IS IN A BIND ------------------------------- 10. (C) "You put yourself in big trouble," warned Geagea referring to the presence of the USS Cole off Lebanon's coast. He reasoned that if someone were to try something, the U.S. will look bad if it does not react. Conversely, he said, if the U.S. reacts, he is reminded of 1983. The U.S. cannot sit idle, nor can it retreat at this point. He suggested the U.S. could be more supportive if it imposed a travel embargo on Syria, preventing all airlines from flying in and out of Syria. Geagea opined that the Europeans would be more amenable to an embargo after Imad Mugniyeh's assassination, which provided the smoking gun to the world that Syria harbors terrorists. 11. (S/NF) Geagea also provided the Charge with unconfirmed intelligence describing an Iranian delivery to Syria of 15 submarines. Information was passed to DAO. COMMENT ------- 12. (C) We were surprised to hear about what appears to be Geagea's relatively developed relationship with Assad and to spot a copy of "The Shia Revival" by Vali Nasr on his desk. Geagea and Berri's shared preference for proportional representation is also interesting. End comment. SISON VZCZCXRO1305 OO RUEHAG RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV DE RUEHLB #0264 0501231 ZNY SSSSS ZZH O 191231Z FEB 08 FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1059 INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI PRIORITY 0743 RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS PRIORITY 3684 RUEHROV/AMEMBASSY VATICAN PRIORITY 1081 RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 1972 RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO PRIORITY 2240 RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY Content S E C R E T BEIRUT 000264 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/YERGER, TREASURY FOR U/S LEVEY E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/18/2019 TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PTER, PARM, PHUM, PINR, SY, IS, LE SUBJECT: LEBANON: HARIRI PROVIDES ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE ON MAKLOUF, SHAWKAT FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS REF: A. BEIRUT 215 B. DAMASCUS 70 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i. Michele J. Sison for Reasons: Se ction 1.4 (b) and (d). 1. (S/NF) In the course of a February 11 meeting with the Charge (Ref A), majority leader Saad Hariri and advisor Ghattas Khoury provided anecdotal information regarding alleged financial transactions of Rami Maklouf and Syrian Directory of Military Intelligence Asef Shawket. They alleged that Maklouf had assisted Syrian President Bashar Asad in moving funds out of Syria to Dubai. Most of the money was funneled through the Damascus airport he said. Maklouf also allegedly owns a hotel in Romania and other real estate in Dubai. Shawkat reportedly facilitated the transfer of $50 million from Qatar in Free Patriotic Movement leader General Michel Aoun's OTV, in the names of Aoun's daughters. 2. (S/NF) As they have before, Hariri and Khoury urged that the USG designate Maklouf and Shawkat as a means of punishing Syria for it's interference in Lebanon and because their activities promote corruption. SISON VZCZCXRO9473 PP RUEHAG RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV DE RUEHLB #0251/01 0461248 ZNY SSSSS ZZH P 151248Z FEB 08 FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1037 INFO RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1960 RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 2228 RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC Content S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIRUT 000251 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/HARDING E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/12/2018 TAGS: PGOV, PREL, UNSC, PTER, SY, IS, LE SUBJECT: LEBANON: PM GRATEFUL TO RECEIVE PRESIDENT'S STRONG LETTER OF SUPPORT REF: BEIRUT 00175 Classified By: Ambassador Michele J. Sison for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). Summary -------- 1. (C) Under Secretary of Defense Edelman delivered the President's personal letter to Prime Minister Fouad Siniora during their meeting in Beirut on February 12. The Prime Minister was grateful for the letter, saying he was pleased to see such "strong and firm support on many important issues." The Prime Minister reached out directly to KSA officials, who informed him that the Saudi contribution for the Special Tribunal "had likely already happened." The Prime Minister asked for the international community to join together for clear and united statements of support for the March 14th majority and immediate presidential elections. He asked for additional economic support and called recent Israeli actions along the southern border unhelpful. Finally, he acknowledged that the Palestinian refugee camps still present a security challenge. He asked for international donors to support the reconstruction of the Nahr al-Barid camp in order to provide "a new model for camps in Lebanon. End Summary. Grateful for the President's Letter ----------------------------- 2. (C) Prime Minister Siniora paused at the opening of his February 11 meeting with Ambassador and USD/P Eric Edelman to carefully read the text of the personal letter from the President that Edelman had just handed to him. The PM acknowledged that the letter was coming at an important time, as March 14th prepares to commemorate the third anniversary of PM Rafik Hariri's assassination on February 14. 3. (C) The Prime Minister expressed his gratitude for the letter and said that he had no doubt about the President's personal commitment to Lebanon. However, he was anxious to "move forward with a literal translation of this support on the ground," mentioning the need for continued support for Lebanon's military and the Special Tribunal. PM Reaches Out to KSA Officials for Tribunal Funding Update ----------------------------- 4. (C) During his last meeting with the Ambassador (reftel), the Prime Minister said he would follow up personally with the KSA for contributions to the Special Tribunal. When asked by the Ambassador for an update on his efforts, he said that he had personally spoken with Prince Saud al Faisal, the KSA Foreign Minister, about the issue and sent a reminder on February 11. With the U.S. delegation still in the room, he phoned Saudi Prince Bandar for an update. At the conclusion of the conversation, he told us that "The Saudis want to do this, but they want to do it without noise." He did not elaborate on this comment. 5. (C) He also took a call from Prince Mukrin bin Abdel al Aziz, Director of Saudi General Intelligence. At the end of this conversation, Siniora told us that he had been told that the Saudi transfer of funds had "most likely already occurred." Siniora asked Prince Mukrin for his assistance in following up on the pledges from both the Kuwait and the UAE. (Note: After this meeting, DCM spoke with Hariri senior advisor, Ghattas Khoury, who said that Saad Hariri planned to personally call Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Zayed on the evening of February 12 to urge formal and rapid tranfer of their donations into the UN Special Tribunal accounts. End Note.) Lebanese Majority Has Already Compromised Too Much -------------------------------- 6. (C) As it had been four months since his last conversation with Ambassador Edelman, PM Siniora provided an overview of recent events "to put things in a Lebanese perspective." He said the majority has already sacrificed and compromised too much. They have shelved the right to use their "50 plus 1" majority to elect a president and they have agreed to support a presidential candidate who comes from outside of their own BEIRUT 00000251 002 OF 003 cadre of March 14th loyalists. The Prime Minister pointed out that March 14th had gone along with the French initiative and said, "We were let down." 7. (C) Siniora reiterated that the opposition still insisted on obtaining veto power in the new government and they were holding the presidential election hostage until their demand was met. "We want the blackmail to end," emphasized Siniora. Lebanon Needs Allies to Speak with One Voice ------------------------------ 8. (C) In Siniora's opinion, the many "sidebar" consultations with Syria to date have failed to produce meaningful results. "The Syrians are masters at seeing light between the cracks and playing allies against each other. If the Syrians can see any room for negotiation, they will bring a situation to the brink in pursuit of the best possible deal for themselves. We have to stop the blackmail and escalating accusations. Dialogue should not take the form of violence in the streets - nobody wants that." 9. (C) Siniora would like the Arabs, Europeans, Russians and Americans to deliver one coordinated message to the Syrians, which he admitted is difficult to do. He emphasized the potential for Russia to play a positive role, stating that they had perhaps the greatest ability to influence internal decision-making in both Syria and Iran. Siniora was pleased with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Saltanov's statement earlier this week which contained clear language calling for an immediate election in Lebanon. King Abdullah had been in Moscow earlier this week and reported to Siniora that Lebanon had been an agenda item during his meetings at the Kremlin. 10. (C) Siniora also confirmed that Lebanon had not yet received an invitation from Syria to the March Arab League Summit in Damascus, although it is clear that there is no way for Syria to get around the issue of Lebanon's participation. The PM doubts that Syria will invite him to participate as head of state, despite the fact that he is currently carrying out executive functions in accordance with the Lebanese constitution. The alternative is that there will be an empty seat behind the Lebanese flag on the table during the meeting. Neither option seems palatable to Arab League member states, Siniora said. GOL Needs Assistance to Face Challenges ------------------------------ 11. (S/NF) Siniora said that he would shortly be traveling to Kuwait, London, Paris and Berlin to seek additional political and economic assistance for Lebanon. He also said he had approached the KSA and UAE, but told us in a resigned tone, "I've spoken to them and visited them frequently. These things take time." He wondered aloud if these allies were starting to become ashamed of helping Lebanon. "Well, we are not," Ambassador Edelman emphasized. He told the Prime Minister that he would be discussing with Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Murr a new USG donation of USD 7.4 million in additional military assistance. He would also be providing the first results of some new intelligence sharing and proposing ways to build on existing LAF training programs for future cooperative programs. 12. (C) Prime Minister Siniora shared that he had a good working relationship with both the World Bank and the IMF, proudly telling us that the GOL was exceeding expectations despite the current challenges it faces. Siniora, a former Finance Minister, then launched into some statistics. The rising price of oil has hit Lebanon hard and the GOL, which subsidizes electricity production, is losing USD 1.2 billion per year. After Paris III, the GOL also agreed to reduce import taxes and Siniora said that they have to contend with USD 600 million per year on lost fuel excise taxes. He said he has been speaking with two countries to arrange for less expensive oil purchasing agreements. Kuwait has agreed to sell Lebanon oil at the same price it sells to the U.S., which Siniora claims "is not cheap." Siniora also plans to dispatch a delegation to Iraq to negotiate a purchase of crude oil which could be shipped to Lebanon via Turkey. "Syrians Use Sheba'a Farms to Justify the Presence of BEIRUT 00000251 003 OF 003 Hizballah" ----------------------------- 13. (C) The Prime Minister also raised one of his frequent talking points -- the need to find a resolution for the Sheba'a Farms issue. He asked the USG to "do something helpful. Don't make us have to deal with the Syrians to find a solution for this. They like having this bleeding wound on the border. They use it to justify the preence of Hizballah." Israelis "Not Helpful" forStability in Lebanon ---------------------------- 14. (C) Ambassador Edelman mentioned that he would shortly be meeting with Israeli interlocutors who, in general, respected the work of the Siniora government given the current difficult challenges that it faces. Siniora said Israeli actions continued to exacerbate tensions in southern Lebanon, specifically highlighting the continued illegal overflights, the lack of cooperation in identifying the location of cluster munitions from the 2006 war, and the recent kidnapping of shepherds and shooting death by IDF forces firing into Lebanese territory. He also said that Israeli representatives were "unhelpful" in UN-led border coordination meetings, especially on border demarcation issues. According to Siniora, all of these tiny things combined to put great pressure on the GOL's ability to maintain stability in southern Lebanon. Palestinian Camps Still Sources of Trouble --------------------------- 15. (C) In response to Ambassador Edelman's request for information about the Ayn al Hulwah Palestinian refugee camp, the Prime Minister acknowledged that this and other camps continue to be sources of trouble. The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have been able to exert some control in the camps and to make offenders aware of the GOL's determination to maintain order, but the PM said the camps are still, in reality, microstates. 16. (C) When asked how the GOL would address this issue, the Prime Minister responded by saying that a new model for camps was needed in Lebanon. He called on international donors to contribute to the rebuilding of the Nahr al-Barid refugee camp. "We must show the people progress and give them a sense of hope for a better future. We paid a terrible price to gain control of that camp. We have to make it mean something." Conclusion ---------- 17. (C) The Prime Minister ended that meeting by telling Ambassador Edelman that the current political crisis was "bigger than Lebanon." He said that, if not resolved quickly, the Lebanese model will have profound implications on "societal openess in the rest of the region. SISON VZCZCXRO8413 PP RUEHAG RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV DE RUEHLB #0237/01 0451656 ZNY SSSSS ZZH P 141656Z FEB 08 FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1008 INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 2226 RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC Content S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 000237 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/YERGER E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/14/2018 TAGS: PGOV, PREL, IS, KPAL, LE SUBJECT: LEBANON: THEORIES ABOUT MUGHNIEH'S ASSASSINATION REF: TD 314-011416-08 Classified By: DCM William Grant for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). SUMMARY -------- 1. (C) Two days after the February 12 Damascus car bomb attack that killed senior Hizballah commander Imad Mughnieh, theories abound in Beirut on who was behind the assassination and why. The timing of the killing also cannot be ignored, occurring just two days before the third anniversary of the assassination of former PM Rafiq Hariri and a March 14 commemorative rally in downtown Beirut. With tensions in Lebanon already high -- and both sides hardening their positions -- due to the ongoing political impasse, many Lebanese are predicting that Lebanon will pay the price for Mughnieh's death. 2. (C) The assassination of a figure who was an icon for the Lebanese Shia resistance, but one of the U.S.' and Israel's most sought after terrorist fugitives, raises questions about who wanted Mughnieh dead now, and why. While most regional finger pointing is directed at Israel, with the U.S. coming a close second, several local political and intelligence sources believe the Syrian regime had good reasons to rid itself of Mughnieh. 3. (C) As the Hizballah controlled southern suburbs of Beirut are in deep mourning for the February 14 burial of one of their own, reaction from members of the pro-government March 14 bloc ranges from private satisfaction to the sober condolence statement issued by Future Movement leader Saad Hariri. However, the possibility that March 14 could have been involved has also surfaced in the rumor mill. There is widespread concern that retaliation will not be good for Lebanon. End summary. CONCURRENT MAJORITY AND OPPOSITION MEMORIALS ----------------------- 4. (C) On a dreary and wet February 14 afternoon Hizballah buried its hero, Imad Mughnieh, in a mass funeral service that included speeches by Hizballah SYG Hassan Nasrallah and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. A few hours earlier, and just a short drive from Mughnieh's funeral, the pro-government March 14 bloc held a mass rally in Martyrs' Square commemorating the third anniversary of the assassination of former PM Rafiq Hariri. The mass gathering of March 14 supporters (claims of attendance ranged from 100,000 to a million supporters) was an attempt to re-energize the majority's base and regain the political initiative against the opposition. Nasrallah vowed "open war" with the "Zionists," pledging to carry out operations against Israel outside of Lebanon in retaliation for Mughnieh's death. The speechmaking at the peaceful March 14 rally focused on the need for Lebanese "consensus and agreement," and the immediate election of a president. Among the many speakers, only Druse leader Walid Jumblatt came out tough on Syria and its opposition allies, vowing that Lebanon will not be "handed to Damascus or to the black Syrian-Iranian world." MARCH 14'S PUBLIC CONDEMNATION: MORE THAN CROCODILE TEARS? ------------------------- 5. (C) On February 13, March 14 leader MP Saad Hariri publicly denounced Mughnieh's assassination and offered his condolences to Hizballah SYG Hassan Nasrallah. In an LBCI television interview the same day, Hariri agreed with Hizballah's accusation that Israel was behind the killing. However, Hariri also hinted at a Syrian role when he noted that Mughnieh was killed in Damascus, near an Iranian school, and in an area controlled by Syrian intelligence. 6. (C) The day of the assassination. March 14 SYG Fares Suaid spoke of Mughnieh's death as though it were a lesson for Hizballah. Namely, Hizballah should realize that its only protector and guarantor is the Lebanese state and the Lebanese army and not/not the Syrian security apparatus and its arsenal. 7. (C) Meanwhile Druse leader and March 14 member Walid Jumblatt, believes that either the Israelis, for obvious BEIRUT 00000237 002 OF 002 reasons, or the Syrians, for reasons unknown, eliminated Mughnieh. In any case, Jumblatt, candid as usual, called Mughnieh's death "good news." 8. (C) A number of majority politicians, including former Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Simon Karam and National Liberal Party leader Dory Chamoun, believe Syria liquidated Moughnieh as a "gift to the Americans." Both hoped that the deal will not turn out to be at Lebanon's expense. 9. (C) Minister of the Interior Hassan Sabaa told Ambassador that he was relieved that Mughnieh was not killed on Lebanese soil, otherwise March 14 would have been accused of conspiring with Israel against Hizballah. Sabaa, undecided as to the identity of the perpetrator, commented it could be Syria wanting to send a message to Hizballah or to the U.S., or even the result of a split within Hizballah. He, too, expressed concern that Lebanon could pay a price in case the message was directed to the U.S. as reminder that the U.S should deal with Syria over the presidential election and Hizballah. 10. (C) Another theory in the Beirut rumor mill has it that the Saudis and the Hariri family collaborated with Syrian Sunni jihadis to deal a blow to the opposition and their allies Syria and Iran. This idea is based on previous allegations that Saad Hariri and Saudi Arabia were involved in arming Sunni militants in an effort to counter Hizballah. ISF OFFICIALS SEE BASHAR'S HAND ------------------------------- 11. (S/NF) Mid-level officials from Lebanese Internal Security Forces (ISF) told emboffs they believe Syrian forces affiliated with President Bashar al-Asad may be responsible for the assassination in an effort to force a compromise in the ongoing political impasse by lessening pressure on Syria (Ref A). The officials further speculated that the attack would be a severe blow to Hizballah, leading to extensive confusion and lack of cohesion. They attribute their assessment to alleged tension between al-Asad and his military intelligence chief Asef Shawkat resulting from a disagreement between the spouses of the two men. The ISF officials further noted that al-Asad was becoming increasingly independent, sidelining previously trusted advisors such as Shawkat. SOME OPPOSITION OBSERVERS DOUBT ISRAELI "GUILT" ------------------------- 12. (C) While most observers in the Lebanese opposition rallied behind Hizballah's accusation against Israel, Aoun-bloc MP Ghassan Mokheiber noted privately to emboffs that it was bizarre that Moughnieh was killed after stepping out of a Syrian intelligence office, adding that Mughnieh's death represented a big challenge for Hizballah. Mokheiber commented that the days ahead would probably reveal the nature of a possible "deal" made. SISON