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DE RUEHDM #2163/01 1291231
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O 091231Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8866
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 5932
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 3801
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 2312
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 7007
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 0962
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 4382
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 0602
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL//CCPA//
INFO RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 6746

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 002163 
 
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: Syria/Iraq, Lebanon, Iraq, 
Palestinian Territories (5/9) 
 
 
¶1.  Summary: Syrian papers reported that Vice President Shara 
received Sheikh Jawad al-Khalisi, Secretary General of the Iraqi 
National Foundation Congress (INFC); at their meeting Shara 
reiterated Syria's condemnation of terrorist attacks that target 
innocent civilians and sow seeds of partition among the Iraqi 
people. 
 
Papers also reported that Juergen Cain Kuelbel, German 
researcher and criminologist and author of "Hariri's 
Assassination: Hidden Evidence," held a press conference at the 
Omayyad Hotel in which he confirmed that Syria is innocent of 
the assassination of former Lebanese Premier Rafik Hariri and 
other killings in Lebanon. Mr. Kuelbel stated that assassination 
crimes in Lebanon date back to the civil war period and the 
crimes committed under the Israeli occupation. He added that the 
Israeli intelligence services and their proxies stood behind the 
assassination of Hariri, as the jamming equipment used by the 
Hariri motorcade had stopped working an hour before the 
assassination. The German criminologist indicated that such 
sophisticated jamming cannot be done without a central control 
network, adding that these capabilities can only be possessed by 
Israel. He pointed out that the assassination had been exploited 
to target Syria and pressure it into abandoning its national and 
pan-Arab stances. 
 
Papers also reported that Israeli warplanes on Monday renewed 
violation of Lebanese airspace and flew over the Tyre, Bint 
Jubayl and Marjouyun areas then turned left above the town of 
Alma towards the occupied Palestinian territories." 
 
End of summary. 
 
¶2.  Selected Headlines: 
 
"Vice-President al-Shara discusses with Sheikh Jawad al-Khalisi, 
Secretary General of the Iraqi National Foundation Congress 
 
SIPDIS 
(INFC), latest developments in the Iraqi arena, reiterating the 
importance of maintaining Iraq's national unity. Shara reiterates 
Syria's condemnation of terrorist attacks that target innocent 
civilians and sow seeds of partition among the Iraqi people" 
(Government-owned Al-Thawra, 5/9) 
 
"Hanieh confirms sacredness of Palestinian blood: We do not allow 
civil strife. Olmert pledges a state with a Jewish majority to 
fulfill Hertzel's dream" (Government-owned Tishreen, 5/9) 
 
"Lebanese rejection of foreign intervention expands. Nasrallah: 
US aggression will fail as Israel aggression failed" 
(Government-owned Tishreen, 5/8) 
 
"Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources signs a contract with 
US Marathon Oil Company to invest in petroleum and gas in 
northern Homs" (Government-owned Tishreen, 5/9) 
 
"Blair: Britain might reduce forces in Iraq soon. Two US soldiers 
and scores of Iraqis killed in Baghdad, Tal Afar and Ba'quoba" 
(Government-owned Tishreen, 5/9) 
 
¶3.  Editorial Block Quotes: 
 
--------------------- 
 
"Roots of Terrorism" 
 
--------------------- 
 
Shawkat Abu-Fakhr, an editorialist in government-owned Al-Ba'th, 
said (5/9): "Israel has escalated its air raids against Gaza.... 
The new Israeli Prime Minister inaugurated his term in office 
with appalling massacres against Palestinians and promised to 
proceed with the war of liquidation and assassinations to 
tighten the noose on the Palestinian people and their 
government.... 
 
"The new Israeli government will apparently continue to practice 
aggression and killing in order to implement its unilateral 
 
plans and to force the Palestinian Authority to embark on 
negotiations based on the Israeli agenda.... 
 
"We warn of a humanitarian disaster in the Palestinian 
territories with consequences that no one will be able to 
control.... Arabs must step up their support for 
Palestinians.... Unfortunately some Arabs are trying to woo 
Olmert or count on him.... This will only lead to an escalation 
of the campaign against Palestinians and Arabs...." 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
"Isn't it Time for them to Be Ashamed of Themselves?" 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
Omar Jaftali, a commentator in government-owned Tishreen, 
commented (5/9) "Isn't it high time for the Western world to be 
ashamed of its political hypocrisy and bias toward Israel? 
 
"Despite the tragic situation in the Palestinian territories, no 
one in the Western countries wants to respect human law and 
facilitate the delivery of aid to Palestinians. Instead, they 
continue to blackmail Palestinians and to bargain with them over 
sovereign and legal issues, with flagrant interference in their 
national affairs.... 
 
"It is now time for Western countries to be ashamed of 
themselves and to say a fair and just word about the Palestinian 
question...." 
 
------------------ 
 
"But It Is the UN" 
 
------------------ 
 
As'ad Abbud, a columnist in government-owned Al-Thawra, 
maintained (5/9): "The UN is serving US interests and 
agendas.... It does not represent the international 
community.... Yet countries of the South have an interest in 
maintaining the international organization and must continue to 
deal with it.... 
 
"For the foreseeable future, we will not have any alternative to 
confront American hegemony in the United Nations and over 
international decisions. The international organization will 
continue to be very busy with Iran's nuclear file, but 
definitely not with Israel's arsenal of nuclear weapons. It will 
continue to be busy with what is happening in Darfur, but 
definitely not with the racial separation wall in the 
Palestinian territories and the daily slaughter of the 
Palestinians. It will also continue to be busy with the Syrian- 
Lebanese border.... 
 
"There has never been a border problem between Syria and 
Lebanon.... And, to the disappointment of everyone, there will 
be no border problem between Syria and Lebanon. When Lebanon is 
led by its sincere Arab sons, without games, lies, falsehoods, 
and allegations, there will be no problem between the two 
countries over two inches of land.... 
 
"We must deal in full courage with the United Nations and what 
it wants. And it is very dangerous to trust everything that 
comes out of it." 
 
------------------------------- 
 
"May 5, 2006, a Historical Day" 
 
------------------------------- 
 
Buthaina Sha'ban, Minister of Expatriate Affairs, commented 
(5/9): "Friday, May 5, is a historical day, on which the results 
of the British local elections were announced and the Amnesty 
International report on American abuse of prisoners was 
 
published.... 
 
"Millions of Britons demonstrated against the Iraq war in 2003, 
many of them carrying children on their shoulders "to draw the 
attention of the government to the fact that the war was against 
innocence, childhood, and the human life that God granted us." 
 
"I could not believe at the time that the demonstrations that 
expressed a living human conscience failed to change the 
government's determination to support an unjust war against a 
peaceful people and a historical nation at the heart of human 
civilization. 
 
"The war on Iraq has brought disasters.... It has also given 
Israel a free hand to confiscate Palestinian lands, kill and 
displace Palestinians, and liquidate a genuine people who have 
been living on their land for thousands of years." 
 
"Between that time and May 5, 2006, the Spanish people said 
their word against that unjust war. The Spanish Prime Minister 
kept his promise and withdrew Spanish forces from Iraq 
immediately after his victory. The Italian people also said 
their word and voted for the opponents of the war. And here are 
the British people saying their loud and escalating word against 
the war and against pain and evil. The American people are also 
saying their word through successive demonstrations and fair 
commentaries that some writers are trying to convey to the world 
conscience. The resignation of Karl Rove and CIA Director Porter 
Goss are timid steps to address a deteriorating crisis in the 
United States, represented by the American people's growing 
awareness of the massive damage this war is causing to American 
and Iraqi families.... 
 
"Amnesty International's report on prisoner abuse shows the 
weakness that has afflicted American 'democracy', as it now uses 
Stalin-style methods against freedoms and rights.... There are 
always tyrants, warmongers, and criminals sanctioning torture 
and genocide and using attractive language to justify it, but 
ultimately peoples prevail in their defense of freedoms, 
dignities, and rights.... 
 
"Arabs and Muslims must look at Evo Morales, Chavez, and Lula da 
Silva, who are returning their countries' resources to their 
peoples and preserving the dignity of these peoples against a 
ferocious campaign while the tyrants are falling one after the 
other." 
 
Seche