VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDM #2132/01 1281210
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 081210Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8827
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 5925
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 3794
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 2304
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 7000
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 0954
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 4375
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 0595
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL//CCPA//
INFO RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 6739

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 002132 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR PA, NEA/ARN, INR/IC/CD, INR/S:STHIBEAULT AND 
JMCCARTER, VOA NEWS CA, NEA/PPD:CBOURGEOIS, DBENZE AND 
AFERNANDEZ, IIP/G/NEA-SA RWINCHESTER 
WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC 
CENTCOM FOR CCPA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KMDR PREL KPAO OPRC SY
SUBJECT: Damascus Media Reaction: Terrorism, US/Israel, 
Syria/Iraq, Lebanon (5/5-7) 
 
 
¶1. Summary: Papers reported that Syria has called for an 
international conference to distinguish between terrorism and 
the right of self-determination. Minister of Interior General 
Bassam Abdul Majid said in a statement on the sidelines of a 
conference of Interior Ministers of the EU and Adjacent 
Countries, which ended last night in Vienna, that it was 
necessary to look deep into the roots of terrorism and to tackle 
it in a rational way. He added that Syria's participation in 
such an event reflects its real interest in regional and 
international cooperation to confront the problem of terrorism 
in all its forms. The Conference ended with adoption of a draft 
declaration containing a set of principles and proposals on 
fighting terrorism, organized crime, corruption, human 
trafficking and illegal immigration. 
 
Two editorials in government-owned Tishreen (5/6) criticized 
President Bush's remarks about Israel and HAMAS in his May 4 
speech to the AIPAC centennial dinner. The paper maintained that 
"the current US Administration cannot be a friend, a neutral 
party, or a judge in anything related to the Arab region. 
Rather, it is Israel's willing partner in the hostility and 
aggression against the Arabs and all the struggling peoples who 
defend their freedom, sovereignty, and independence." 
 
Government-owned Al-Ba'th on (5/5) reported that Iraqi President 
Jalal Talabani, in a statement issued by his office, denied 
media reports that had cited him saying Syria is the main source 
of support for the insurgents in Iraq. The statement said 
Talabani told a group of journalists that he considers himself a 
friend of Syria and refuses to create problems with it. 
 
Papers reported a speech by Hasan Nasrallah, SecGen of Hizbollah, 
lashing out at the so-called March 14 Forces, saying that they 
did not really want to demarcate Lebanon's borders with Syria but 
are looking to disarm Hizbollah. Nasrallah said that Lebanese 
parties have agreed that ties with Syria are excellent due to 
historical relations and the Taif Accord. He questioned the 
commitment of most of the March 14 Forces, and therefore of the 
Lebanese government, to decisions of the national dialogue about 
the Syrian-Lebanese file, asserting that there are those who are 
committed to enmity with Syria who are searching for every issue, 
large and small, to continue provocations between the two 
countries. "Raising any problem about the borders with Syria is 
shameful...," Nasrallah said. 
 
On (5/5) Papers reported that President Lahoud received a 
delegation of Palestinian factions. Lahoud reiterated the 
necessity of acknowledging the Palestinian refugees' right of 
return, warning that settling Palestinians in Lebanon would mean 
the end of the Palestinian cause. He stressed that security and 
stability in the region will not be achieved without a just and 
comprehensive peace that guarantees the Palestinian right of 
return and restores all occupied Arab territories. 
 
 
End of summary. 
 
 
¶2.  Selected Headlines: 
 
"Conference of Interior Ministers of the EU and Neighboring 
Countries concludes deliberations in Vienna with the 
participation of Bassam Abdul Majid, Syrian Minister of Interior. 
Syria Calls for an international conference to define terrorism" 
(Government-owned Tishreen, 5/7) 
 
"Washington exerts pressures on the Quartet to prolong siege on 
Palestinians. Mahmoud Abbas, Head of the Palestinian Authority, 
discusses the financial crisis and sharing authority with Ismail 
Hanieh, Palestinian Prime Minister" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 
5/7) 
 
"Six Palestinians martyred in Gaza and Nablus. Olmert is to meet 
Bush on May 21. No date has been set for meeting Abbas. Sweden 
grants an entry visa to a Palestinian Minister. Israel denounces 
it" (Government-owned Tishreen, 5/6) 
 
 
"Washington and Israel block financial aid to the Palestinian 
Authority" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 5/5) 
 
"The Knesset approves the Israeli cabinet. Hamas considers Olmert 
program a declaration of war. Abbas calls for negotiations" 
(Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 5/5) 
 
"President Lahoud: The resistance deters Israel from launching 
aggression against us. Lebanese figures and parties denounce some 
parties' fabrication of troubles to sabotage continued endeavors 
to normalize relations with Syria" (Government-owned Tishreen, 
5/6) 
 
"Nasrallah, SecGen of Hizbollah: Raising any border problem with 
Syria is shameful" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 5/5) 
 
"Talabani of Iraq denies statements attributed to him on Syria" 
(Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 5/5) 
 
"Calls for speeding up formation of the Iraqi government 
continue. Three US soldiers killed in Babel. CNN: 2415 American 
soldiers have been killed in Iraq" (Government-owned Tishreen, 
5/6) 
 
"Three US soldiers killed in Baghdad. 13 Iraqis victimized by US 
shelling of Al-Ramadi" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 5/5) 
 
"A British military helicopter crashes in Basra, and a US 
helicopter in Afghanistan" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 5/7) 
 
"First Iranian Vice President voices readiness to put Iran's 
expertise in Syria's hands" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 5/5 
 
¶3.  Editorial Block Quotes: 
 
------------------- 
 
"Drowning in Shame" 
 
------------------- 
 
Isam Dari, an editorialist in government-owned Tishreen, 
commented (5/6): "In his May 4th speech to the AIPAC centennial 
dinner, President Bush asserted that his country's commitment to 
Israel's security is unshakable and that Washington will not 
deal with HAMAS unless it recognizes Israel. Bush' statement was 
not surprising.... 
 
"But Bush deserves to be thanked for his statements: He gave us 
yet another document about the real nature of American policy, 
which is based, simply, on sanctifying force and terror, 
censuring resistance, and fighting and humiliating nations.... 
 
"Bush gave us conclusive evidence that US Administrations say 
things that they do not mean and adopt practical policies that 
conflict with their ideal slogans, such as democracy, which was 
rejected when HAMAS won the confidence of the Palestinian 
people, and freedom, which was contradicted when the United 
States occupied Afghanistan and Iraq, and human rights, which 
were violated in Guantanamo, Abu Ghurayb, and the flying and 
fixed prisons in various countries, including some in Europe.... 
 
"The current US Administration cannot be a friend, a neutral 
party, or a judge in anything related to the Arab region. 
Rather, it is Israel's willing partner in the hostility and 
aggression against the Arabs and all the struggling peoples who 
defend their freedom, sovereignty, and independence. 
 
"We know that the United States is committed to the security of 
the only power that threatens the security and stability of the 
region and practices terrorism around the clock. And we know 
that the strongest superpower in today's world is hostile to 
HAMAS, Syria, Iran, Lebanon, and all the Arabs because it wants 
to please Israel and encourage the Zionist plan. We know that 
the Bush administration is nothing but a tool in the hands of 
 
the Zionist lobby and Israel, implementing pure Israeli policies 
and willing to antagonize the American taxpayer himself in 
return for the approval of Tel Aviv's leaders. 
 
"The Bush administration has the right to do whatever pleases it 
and Israel. But it has no right, from now on, to claim that it 
is the champion of freedom, democracy, and human rights." 
 
--------------------- 
 
"Commitment or Crime" 
 
--------------------- 
 
Hanan Hamad, a commentator in government-owned Tishreen, wrote 
(5/6): "We wonder if commitment to Israel's security means the 
annihilation of the Palestinians.... 
 
"US support for Israel is nothing new, but it has reached a peak 
with the attempt to besiege and starve the Palestinian people 
and block all their channels of survival through a systematic 
and programmed policy to push them toward one of two options:Qnnihilation or displacement.... 
 
"President Bush has called on HAMAS to lay down its arms and 
recognize Israel.... The American president ignores Israel's 
ceaseless killings of Palestinians and turns a blind eye to all 
the measures that Israel is unilaterally taking to impose a 
racist, colonialist, and occupational fait accompli on the 
Palestinians...." 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
"The Olmert Government and a Tendency Toward Introversion" 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
Ahmad Sawwan, a commentator in government-owned Tishreen, wrote 
(5/6): "The Israeli government's plan for unilateral withdrawal 
from parts of the West Bank seeks to impose more facts on the 
ground that conflict radically with the peace process and to 
complicate the situation further in an escalatory and explosive 
direction.... 
 
"The plan constitutes a declaration of war on the Palestinian 
territories, the Palestinian people, and the peace process.... 
 
"Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's endeavor to secure 
American support for the plan is a forewarning that if 
Washington supports the plan, it will be pushing the situation, 
not only in the Palestinian territories but also in the entire 
region, toward the brink of an abyss.... 
 
"The only solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict lies in a 
full Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian territories, to the 
4 June 1967 border...." 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
"Distinguished US-Israeli Product" 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
Muhammad Ali Buzah, an editorialist in government-owned Al- 
Thawra, commented (5/5): "The US State Department report on 
terrorism is a politically motivated report in which Washington 
levels accusations against certain countries that resist 
American and Israeli plans. The report is part of the culture of 
hate, hostility, and political classification..., and it seeks 
to divert attention from the atrocities and crimes that 
Washington and Tel Aviv commit in this region and the rest of 
the world through wars of invasion, interference, usurpation, 
and confiscation of nations' wills, freedoms, and 
independence.... 
 
"While the US Administration legitimizes mass killings in Iraq, 
 
Palestine, and Afghanistan, it labels as terrorism every form of 
resistance, rejection, and confrontation. 
 
"The United States has no right to make unsubstantiated 
accusations or punish anyone, because terrorism is an American- 
Israeli industry par excellence...." 
 
--------------------------------- 
 
"Criticism that is a Compliment" 
 
--------------------------------- 
 
Izz-al-Din al-Darwish, an editorialist in government-owned 
Tishreen, wrote (5/5): "The merchants of politics in Lebanon 
place themselves at the service of the American media campaign 
against Syria and arrange show meetings to provoke Damascus, in 
return for a handful of dollars, a promise to meet an American 
official, or a certificate of good conduct from the Israeli 
prime minister's office.... 
 
"These people do not recognize that homelands are sacred, and 
that dealing with them as commodities for sale amounts to high 
treason.... The people will never forgive these merchants and 
will not remain silent forever. As for Syria, its right is 
guaranteed, and everyone knows that their insults to it are, in 
fact -- as far as all others are concerned - compliments for 
Syria." 
 
Seche