WikiLeaks new cable shows March 14 was ready to do ’whatever’ in order to defeat Hezbollah
New US leaked cables revealed new details of conspiracies of the so-called March 14 bloc against Hezbollah, as some March 14 politicians claimed they were ready to do whatever to defeat the Resistance party while calling for US stronger support.
A Wikileaks cable, published Thursday by Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, spoke of a meeting between the head of the Phalange party in Lebanon Amin Gemayel, then US Charge d'Affaires Michele Sison, and then ministers Nayla Mouawwad and Marwan Hamadeh.
According to the cable, dated May 11, 2008, the four March 14 officials impressed upon the Charge the gravity of the situation and pressed her for stronger US support for March 14. While expressing that a Hezbollah victory could be imminent, they proposed several ideas, including extending UN Security Council resolution 1701 to Beirut International Airport, the port, and access roads, imposing an air ban by the US against Syria, and arming their own militias with US assistance. They said they felt let down by the US and the international communities. They expressed their dismay at Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) Commander Michel Sleiman's contradictory public statement and his private letter to then PM Fouad Saniora, asserting that he is a "concierge" for Hezbollah. They said they were not surprised to see LAF officers resigning as a result of Sleiman's "unwillingness" to protect the Lebanese.
WE NEED STRONGER SUPPORT
The cable said Gemayel wanted Sisson to communicate to Washington the gravity of the situation and to report back that the March 14 leaders are "very worried." Holding in his hand the statements made by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the White House on May 9, Gemayel commented that the statements fell short of what he was expecting, and that he was hoping for more support from Washington. He said he needed to be sure that the US is as concerned as March 14 and that the US Government was aware of the gravity of the situation. Sisson reportedly assured the March 14 leaders that Washington is very concerned and does not want to see any more loss of life and wants Hezbollah’s aggression stopped immediately.
STOP SYRIA AND IRAN!
"It is not a minor crisis," Gemayel warned during the meeting. "We may be at the end of an Iranian/Syrian process to take over Lebanon," he claimed. "We have to stop Syria and Iran or else you will be presenting your credentials to Damascus. It will be very dangerous if the March 14 alliance has to surrender. It will be a catastrophe for Lebanon and a bad message to the US's allies elsewhere," he stated, addressing Sisson. He suggested the US consider "tough, precise, and serious measures" against Iran and its proxies.
ANY COMPROMISE EQUAL TO DISASTER
Gemayel said that any compromise is equal to a disaster because a compromise gives Hezbollah and Iran the incentive to "take more" in Lebanon. Gemayel expressed March 14's dedication to do whatever is necessary to defeat Hezbollah. However, March 14 needs to feel they are backed by the international community with "words and effectiveness." Gemayel said, "We are ready to offer more martyrs like my son Pierre if that is what it takes" (Pierre Gemayel, assassinated in November 2006, had served as Industry and Trade Minister.)
WE BELIEVE WE’VE BEEN FOOLED
Meanwhile, and during the same meeting, then Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh expressed his disappointment with European and US responses. "We don't count anymore on our international friends. We believe we've been dumped and fooled." Gemayel chimed in, "The statements from the Arabs are nonsense!"
PRECISE MEASURES NEEDED
Noting that March 14 leaders Saad Hariri and Walid Jumblatt are "under siege", then Social Affairs Minister Mouawad proposed several "precise measures" to show the rest of the country that March 14 "has not lost." She dismissed the idea of an Arab peacekeeping force in Lebanon, saying that it would not work. She first recommended extending UN Security Council resolution 1701 to Beirut International Airport, the port, and access roads.
Second, she suggested stronger sanctions placed against Syria by the US, such as a ban on air travel. "Syria should not be able to use its airport until we can use ours," she remarked, noting that one of the last planes to land at Beirut International Airport (BIA) was an Iranian flight.
Mouawad confirmed that the Rene Mouawad airport, also known as Kleyate in the north was operable for commercial flights, but that the air traffic control tower was located in Beirut. She added that then PM Fouad Saniora had inquired about the airport's operability the previous day. 8.
Mouawad's third suggestion was to arm March 14 supporters. Gemayel said that the March 14 leaders know how to ready their militias, but would need "quiet support" from the US, stressing that they would need arms within the next five to six days in order to defeat Hezbollah.
Mouawad suggested that a valuable short-term solution would be a visit to Beirut by a quadripartite delegation composed of the Egyptians, Jordanians, Saudis, and Kuwaitis. During the meeting, the US received a press report that the Arab League foreign ministers were proposing a National Dialogue with two representatives each from the opposition and from March 14, and an Arab FM. Gemayel called this proposal "junk!"
SLEIMAN DOING DIRTY JOB!
According to the same cable, Mouawad asserted that the Cabinet does not want to retract its decisions to transfer the head of airport security and declare Hezbollah’s fiber optics network illegal. Gemayel stated that Lebanese Armed Forces Commander Michel Sleiman is "doing a dirty job." Gemayel explained that immediately after Sleiman's declaration, Sleiman sent a letter to Prime Minister Fouad Saniora informing the PM that he had investigated the Cabinet's decisions and that the government should cancel its decisions. The letter contradicts his statement, Mouawad reasoned. The statement said that the LAF would investigate the decisions, whereas Sleiman's letter stated that he had already investigated the matters, and now the Cabinet should revoke its decisions.
SLEIMAN CONCIERGE FOR HEZBOLLAH
Gemayel remarked that Sleiman's public declaration was an attempt to demonstrate that Beirut is returning to normal and that the LAF has control over Beirut. "Sleiman is a concierge for Hezbollah," he claimed. He continued, "We are seeing the final sprint of Syria and Iran, through its instrument, Hezbollah."
Hamadeh noted that Sleiman's public statement gave fodder to Syria to declare at the Arab League foreign ministers' meeting in Cairo that the Cabinet initiated this crisis with its decisions. Hamadeh confided that Saniora was unsure how to instruct Acting Foreign Minister Tareq Mitri to respond to Sleiman's declaration at the Arab League meeting.
