US embassy cable - 05MADRID643

C O N F I D E N T I A L MADRID 000643 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/17/2015 
TAGS: PTER, PREL, LE, SP 
SUBJECT: SPAIN OPPOSES LISTING OF HIZBALLAH 
 
REF: A. A) STATE 26062 
 
     B. B) MADRID 490 
 
Classified By: Political Officer Ricardo Zuniga; reason 1.4 (B). 
 
1. (C) Charge relayed ref A points to National Security 
Advisor Carles Casajuana on 2/14, emphasizing the importance 
the USG placed on pressuring Hizballah to end its terrorist 
activities.  Poloff followed up later in the day with MFA Sub 
Director General for the Near East (DAS equivalent) Alberto 
Moreno to urge Spanish support for the designation of 
Hizballah as a terrorist organization.  Moreno said that 
Spain opposes the designation of Hizballah because listing 
would imply a complete break in EU contacts with one of 
Lebanon's most important political organizations. 
 
2. (C) Moreno reiterated points raised in an earlier 
discussion of the Israeli demarche  regarding Hizballah (ref 
B).  He said that, on balance, designation of Hizballah would 
do "more harm than good" since it would eliminate any 
possibility of the EU influencing the organization in a more 
positive direction, or at least tracking its activities. 
Moreno agreed that Hizballah could not easily be divided into 
distinct political and military wings, though he noted that 
such an "artificial" division would be useful from a 
diplomatic standpoint since it would allow the EU to both 
condemn Hizballah terrorism and maintain open channels to 
what is an increasingly influential political and social 
organization.  Moreno said he expected Hizballah to expand 
its influence during the spring parliamentary elections, 
making designation an even less appealing proposition in 
Spain's view. 
 
3. (C) In ref B discussion, Moreno said the GOS would require 
clear evidence of recent Hizballah involvement in terrorism 
before it would consider changing its position.  He said the 
Israeli demarche had lacked such specifics and that he hoped 
the USG would be able to provide precise details to support 
the argument that the benefits of listing Hizballah 
outweighed the negatives. 
 
//COMMENT// 
 
4. (C) It will not be easy to obtain Spanish support for 
Hizballah's designation, particularly in light of Spain's 
emphasis on "dialogue" with all parties in the Middle East 
and their sense that they can parlay such contacts into 
positive influence.  However, the intelligence information 
discussed in ref A could significantly weaken GOS opposition 
to Hizballah's designation, especially if there is evidence 
that Hizballah is recruiting terrorists in Europe or 
otherwise using EU countries as a logistical base for 
terrorist activities.  We have several opportunities for 
engaging the GOS on this issue, including during the visit of 
DHS Director for International Affairs Cris Arcos to 
represent the USG in the commemoration of the March 11 Madrid 
train bombings and/or during the possible visits to 
Washington by the Spanish Minister of Interior and the 
Minister of Justice for discussions on bilateral 
counter-terrorism cooperation.  The desire of Spanish 
security officials to deepen counter-terrorism cooperation 
with the USG, for example by supporting the designation of 
Hizballah, could outweigh the MFA's reluctance to cut off 
contact with Hizballah. 
MANZANARES