Wiki [13]: "Putting the 'Tribunal' on ice" (Yup. It conveniently can be done!)

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O 221722Z JAN 07

FM AMEMBASSY PARIS

TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4369

INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 1101

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 000257

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2016

TAGS: FR KDEM LE PGOV PREL SY

SUBJECT: FRENCH NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR'S VIEWS ON MIDDLE

EAST

REF: PARIS 170

Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt, reasons

1.4 (b) and (d).

[...]

Lebanon: Putting the Tribunal on Ice

------------------------------------

¶2. (S) The Ambassador hosted French NSA-equivalent Maurice

Gourdault-Montagne (MGM) for breakfast on January 22. MGM

cheerfully reviewed preparations for the January 25 Lebanon

Conference, saying France would announce a contribution of

500 million euros,....

¶3. (S) MGM said he saw little chance of resolving Lebanon's domestic political crisis prior to the Lebanese presidential election in November 2007. Consequently, some had raised the  

idea of "putting the tribunal in the freezer" until that  

time, in hopes that a delay in setting up the tribunal would  

aid PM Siniora to break the political deadlock. "Of course, 

we (neither he nor Chirac) are not advocating this idea," MGM stressed at several points. Nevertheless, he continued, the  

Lebanese themselves might ask the French and the U.S. to put  

the tribunal on ice, in part because Siniora would need the  

opposition's help in order to deliver the economic reforms

that the GOL is promising at this week's conference. The only other option, MGM continued, would be to change the scope of the tribunal itself -- something France found unacceptable. When pressed on why the French were contemplating a change in their approach to the tribunal at this point -- especially when it was unclear that Lebanon's opposition had the upper hand -- MGM made another (and somewhat jumbled) reference to the need to obtain the opposition's support for economic reform...."