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O 111322Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9547
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UNCLAS DAMASCUS 002733 
 
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/Bahrain, Syria/UAE, 
Syria/Argentina, Palestinian Territories, Iraq, Lebanon (6/9-11) 
¶1.  Summary: Syrian papers reported the visit to Syria by King 
Hamad Bin-Isa Al Khalifah of Bahrain and his talks with 
President Asad. Both leaders stressed their support for the 
 
Palestinian people's legitimate rights and the establishment of 
their independent state, with Jerusalem as its capital, and 
called for an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people. 
They also stressed their eagerness for security and stability in 
Iraq and the region and for foreign threats to be warded off. 
 
Papers also reported the visit to Damascus by former German 
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his meeting with President 
Asad, that focused on the Syrian-UAE Economic Forum currently 
being held in Damascus and prospects for investment in Syria. 
President Asad and Mr. Schroeder stressed that establishing 
security in the region will lead to economic revival.  The 
situations in Iraq and the occupied Palestinian territories, as 
well as the issue of terrorism and fighting it, relations 
between Europe and the region and Europe's political role in it 
were also discussed in the meeting. President Asad discussed 
with participants in the Syrian-UAE Economic Forum prospects of 
investment in Syria and the role of infrastructure in attracting 
investment. The President and participants in the Forum stressed 
that Syria has been proceeding with modernization despite the 
conditions through which the region is passing. President Asad 
was briefed on the visions presented by investors in Syrian 
investment projects and how to benefit from the experience of 
other Arab countries in this field. The delegation voiced the 
UAE's interest in enhancing existing relations with Syria in all 
fields, particularly in the economic sector. 
 
Government-owned Tishreen on (6/10) reported a lecture delivered 
at the Foreign Relations Institute in Argentina (6/8) by Deputy 
Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad, who reviewed Syria's 
positions toward the various events and developments in the 
Middle East and Syria's pivotal role in the region. Al-Miqdad 
said, "it is very clear that the amount of pressure that Syria 
is coming under as a result of its firm and principled positions 
is in itself an indication of the important role that Syria 
plays in the region, a role whose importance goes beyond the 
borders of the region." The deputy FM said: "Israel's 
persistence in its hostile policies against Palestinians, its 
construction of the racial segregation wall, and the tricks in 
which its leaders are engaged are aimed at deluding the world 
into thinking that this wall is meant only to prevent 
individuals from crossing, when the fact is that they consider 
this wall, in their unilateral plan, to be the final border." Al- 
Miqdad discussed the mistakes of American policy and the 
political double standards that the United States pursues in the 
region. He said: "Washington's position toward the results of 
the recent Palestinian elections shows the shortsightedness and 
mistakes of this policy. This also applies to US plans regarding 
Iraq and the chaos they have produced." Al-Miqdad stressed 
Syria's full readiness to strengthen national cohesion in Iraq 
and to establish diplomatic relations with that country. On 
relations with Lebanon, Dr. Al-Miqdad said: "Syria offered many 
sacrifices to stop the civil war, which destroyed Lebanon's 
infrastructure and fragmented its society. Syria sent its Army 
for this purpose at the request of the Lebanese themselves." 
 
Government-owned Tishreen featured an official Syrian statement 
denying a report published in the Lebanese newspaper Sada al- 
Balad on Wednesday (7 June) citing Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz to 
the effect that the Syrian PM asked the European Union to 
mediate with the Israeli government to resume negotiations on 
the Syrian track. Although peace is Syria's strategic option, 
the source said, this report is completely baseless and 
unfounded. Tishreen also cited a Syrian Foreign Ministry 
statement strongly denouncing the massacre that the Israeli 
occupation forces perpetrated against innocent civilians on the 
Gaza seashore. It also condemned the acts of violence and 
aggression that Israel continues to commit against the 
Palestinian people. The source urged all concerned Palestinian 
leaders to foil this plan through firm adherence to their 
national unity. 
 
Government-owned Al-Thawra on (6/9) reported Foreign Minister 
 
Walid al-Mouallem's meeting with Khalid Mish'al, Chairman of the 
HAMAS Political Bureau. Talks dealt with the current Palestinian 
situation. FM al-Mouallem stressed that the leadership and 
people of Syria are eager to make every possible effort to 
strengthen Palestinian national unity, lift the unjust siege on 
the Palestinian people, and continue support for the Palestinian 
democratic option. For his part, Mish'al expressed appreciation 
for President Asad's position and efforts to ensure the rights 
of the Palestinian people and achieve their national unity. He 
stressed that HAMAS is determined to continue with the inter- 
Palestinian dialogue on the basis of the Palestinian prisoners' 
document and to block every attempt to harm Palestinian national 
unity. 
 
End of summary. 
 
¶2.  Selected Headlines: 
 
"Under the patronage of President Asad, the 2nd session of the 
Syrian-UAE Economic Forum opens in Damascus. President Asad 
reviews with participants in the Syrian-UAE Economic Forum and 
former German Chancellor Schroeder prospects for investment in 
Syria and the necessity of achieving security and stability in 
the region to encourage economic growth. Deputy Prime Minister 
for Economic Affairs, Dardari: Syrian economy has achieved 
important success. Schroeder: Syria is integrating into the 
global economy and German investments will increase. Head of the 
Economic Department in Sharja, al-Qasemi: We are interested in 
investment in Syria. Al-Abbar, Head of the Board of UAE Immar 
Company: The Immar Company has not asked the Syrian government 
for any guarantees before launching investment in Syria. 
Kuzbari, Member of the Administration Council of the Syrian 
Business Council in Dubai, calls for modification of Investment 
Law No. 10 of 1991. Shallah, Chairman of Syrian Chambers of 
Commerce, calls on expatriates to invest in Syria. The Syrian-UAE 
Committee wraps up its activities and calls for eliminating 
obstacles and for implementation of agreements" (Government-owned 
Tishreen, 6/11) 
 
"President Asad discusses regional developments, issues of common 
concern and mutual coordination in all fields with King Hamad of 
Bahrain. President Asad and King Hamad emphasize concern about 
maintaining Iraq's independence and supporting the Palestinian 
people" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 6/9) 
 
"A message from President Asad to the Argentinean President 
conveyed by Deputy FM Faisal al-Miqdad: Syria appreciates 
Argentina's support of Arab rights" (Government-owned Tishreen, 
6/10) 
 
"Under the patronage of President Asad, activities of the second 
Syrian-Emirates Economic Forum kick off today" (Government-owned 
Tishreen, 6/10) 
 
"Syria denies asking the EU to mediate for resumption of peace 
negotiations on the Syrian track" (Government-owned Tishreen, 
6/10) 
 
"Deputy Foreign Minister Miqdad lectures at the Argentinean 
Foreign Relations Institute. The amount of pressure on Syria 
indicates its important and pivotal role in the region; 
Washington's policy is marked by double standards and short- 
sightedness" (Government-owned Tishreen, 6/10) 
 
"Foreign minister Mouallem discusses current developments with 
Hamas leader Khaled Mish'al: Syria is keen for Palestinian 
national unity" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 6/9) 
 
"A long terrorist day. Israel shells picnickers on a beach in the 
northern Gaza Strip. Ten killed, 40 wounded. President of the 
Palestinian National Authority Abbas demands UN Security Council 
intervention" (Government-owned Tishreen, 6/10) 
 
"Syria denounces the Israeli massacre in Gaza and calls for 
enhancing Palestinian national unity" (Government-owned Tishreen, 
6/11) 
 
"Palestinians bury their martyrs and call for an end to brutal 
Israeli practices" (Government-owned Tishreen, 6/11) 
"US troops launch 40 raids.  Iraqi PM Al-Maliki: The Iraqi 
government has become more dynamic after Al-Zarqawi's death" 
(Government-owned Tishreen, 6/10) 
 
"Brammertz, Head of the UN investigation Commission into the 
assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Al-Hariri, turns 
in his report to UN Chief Annan: Syrian cooperation is positive 
and fully satisfactory" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 6/11) 
 
¶3.  Editorial Block Quotes: 
 
--------------------------------- 
 
"Dangers and A Required Position" 
 
--------------------------------- 
 
Isam Dari, an editorialist in government-owned Tishreen, wrote 
on (6/10): "The visit to Syria by Bahraini King Hamad Bin 
Khalifah Al Thani and the visits by senior Syrian officials to 
Arab countries are part of Arab efforts to achieve Arab 
solidarity and develop common Arab action. Arabs realize the 
threats that the Arab nation is facing, especially since the 
enemy no longer hides its intentions and hostility toward the 
Arabs. All Arabs agree that Iraq must remain a united country 
and that the Palestinian people must regain their rights in 
full.... 
 
"The Arab situation is undoubtedly difficult and complicated, 
requiring the highest level of solidarity, cohesion, and 
cooperation in all areas to confront dangers and challenges. All 
Arabs are in the same boat and no one of them should tamper with 
this boat or shirk the pan-Arab responsibility under the feeble 
excuse that he is not threatened or targeted. Israel's security 
zone covers all Arab countries and some neighboring countries, 
and Tel Aviv leaders have the 'right' to launch aggression 
against any Arab country if it merely says that such country 
poses a threat to its security and existence...." 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
"Al-Zarqawi's Bubble Will Not Last for Long" 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
Hanan Hamad, a commentator in government-owned Tishreen, wrote 
(6/10): "By killing Al-Zarqawi with half a ton of explosives 
dropped by an American bomber on a hideout where he and six 
others, including a woman and child, were staying, President 
Bush and his administration officials might have succeeded in 
diverting attention from the crisis of the President's control 
over the administration. But the breath-catching period will not 
be long, and the series of scandals will reemerge one after the 
other when Al-Zarqawi's bubble breaks, a bubble that the 
American media inflated before and after his death to hide the 
occupation's responsibility for everything that has been 
happening in Iraq since the first American soldier set foot on 
Iraqi soil. The occupation has turned Iraq into an arena for 
violence and chaos. The legitimate resistance operations against 
the foreign presence were distorted when they were confused with 
the crimes that terrorists and instigators of sectarian violence 
and sedition committed within a plan that the planners of the 
American policy did not deny, a plan that they promoted under 
the name of 'creative chaos,' which, they believed, would help 
them realize their imperial 'Greater Middle East' project.... 
 
"When the clamor over the Al-Zarqawi death, which President Bush 
described as an object of pride for the American people, 
subsides, the spotlight will certainly return to its natural 
object: the violations of the occupation and its soldiers. The 
joy over the false victory will fade and the criticism of US 
domestic and foreign policies will continue to come from every 
 
direction. The officials of the administration and those who are 
promoting its policies will return to the defense barricades, 
threatening international law and conventions with despotism of 
American power. We will again hear threats like those that US 
Ambassador John Bolton made on the eve of Al-Zarqawi's death, 
when he threatened to stop funding the United Nations because 
Deputy Secretary General Mark Malloch dared to criticize US 
policy and say that Washington seeks to use the international 
organization as a diplomatic instrument and at the same time 
fails to defend it. 
 
"The US Administration will return to defend secret and flying 
prisons, torture, and violation of the Geneva conventions, and 
to disdain the international reports that condemn its 
violations. It will defend the war crimes that its soldiers 
commit daily and systematically in Iraq by circumventing 
international agreements without any embarrassment or 
hesitation. And, naturally, the occupation will maintain its 
true image, and all attempts to beautify it will fail, no matter 
how skillful they may be. But the only victims of all this are 
the peoples, security, and stability of this region." 
 
--------------------------- 
 
"Does War Have Any Ethics?" 
 
--------------------------- 
 
Muhammad Ali Buzah, an editorialist in government-owned Al- 
Thawra, commented (6/9): "All the noise in the United States 
about the ethics of the Iraq war following the revelations of 
the Haditha massacre was unable to absorb the wave of anger and 
ease the state of tension that prevail in the region and the 
Iraqi and international arenas, or to lessen the growing hatred 
toward US policy, which adopts confrontation and clash with the 
world as its doctrine.... 
 
"We doubt that the investigations into the massacre will harm 
senior military officials or introduce changes in American 
policy.... The US Administration turned Iraq, just like 
Palestine and Afghanistan, into fields of experiment and grounds 
for death and violation of human dignity. And like its spoiled 
baby, Israel, it exercised its sadism and democracy with 
brutality and rancorous racism.... 
 
"The only way for Washington to save face is to rush to set a 
timetable for withdrawal from Iraq and leave the people of this 
country, along with the peoples of Palestine, Afghanistan, and 
many others, free to determine their future and destiny without 
foreign interference and rebuild what the dirty American-Zionist 
war has destroyed.... Also, Washington must deal with all 
aspects of aggression, coercion, occupation, and genocidal and 
cowardly killing of civilians as war crimes that cannot be 
forgiven or go unpunished." 
 
-------------------- 
 
"Useless Controversy" 
 
-------------------- 
 
Adnan Ali, a commentator in government-owned Al-Thawra, wrote 
(6/9): "The controversy in the Palestinian territories over the 
prisoners' document is useless because it will have no direct 
political impact on the Palestinian situation, especially the 
proposed negotiations with Israel.... 
 
"The Palestinian debate, which has reached the point of physical 
conflict, over the recognition of Israel is taking place at a 
time when Israel has finalized its unilateral disengagement plan 
and is preparing to implement it publicly.... Israel, in fact, 
does not need HAMAS's recognition. Israel itself does not 
respect the agreements it signed with the Palestinians. This is 
a major trick the Palestinians need to overcome, and they must 
focus on building Palestinian national unity based on the 
domestic Palestinian agenda, not on foreign suggestions and 
 
dictates...." 
Johnson-Casares