VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDM #3626/01 2051235
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 241235Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0527
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 6128
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 3971
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 2511
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 7169
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 1158
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 4544
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 0763
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL//CCPA//
INFO RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 6902

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 003626 
 
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: Israel/Lebanon, Palestinian 
Territories, Iraq (7/24) 
 
 
¶1.  Summary: Syrian papers continued to report on the tense 
situation in South Lebanon. All papers featured a statement by 
Dr. Mohsen Bilal, Minister of Information, to Spanish daily "ABC" 
that "Syria will not sit tight if Israeli ground troops enter 
Lebanon and approach Syria. If Israel invades Lebanon on the 
ground and comes near us, threatening our national security, 
Syria will not sit tight." Bilal criticized the US Secretary of 
State's announcement that the US rejects a cease-fire, saying, 
"It is an unjustified act by the US not to work for a cease-fire, 
waiting for Israel to completely destroy Lebanon and evacuate the 
Lebanese people." Bilal added, "Israel would not be the only 
player in the region. Syria has always worked for a just and 
comprehensive peace that secures Israeli withdrawal from all 
occupied territories, including the occupied Golan, and the 
establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem 
as its capital." He depicted as "extremely cordial" the recent 
talks he held in Spain with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel 
Moratinos. "Those talks focused on the dangerous situation 
resulting from the hideous Israeli aggression against Lebanon and 
the need for an immediate cease-fire and prisoner swap," Bilal 
said. "Spain and Syria are working hard for a cease-fire; Syria 
is ready to cooperate with Spanish efforts in this regard." 
Syrian papers also reported that Foreign Minister Walid al- 
Mouallem received Horst Fraytagh, Commissioner of the Near East 
and Middle East at the German Foreign Ministry. Mouallem said 
that "Syria backs international efforts to reach a just and 
comprehensive settlement of the Arab-Israeli struggle on the 
basis of UN Security Council resolutions and the land-for-peace 
formula." The commissioner expressed Germany's deep concern about 
the dangerous developments in the region, saying that Germany is 
working hard to bring about a cease-fire and a comprehensive 
settlement. 
Syrian Foreign Minister Mouallem also received a phone call from 
Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim, Foreign Minister of Brazil, who 
expressed Brazil's deep concern over the recent dangerous 
developments in the region, confirming full solidarity with Syria 
and Lebanon and thanking Syria for facilitating the evacuation of 
Brazilian nationals from Lebanon. 
End of summary. 
 
¶2.  Selected Headlines: 
 
"In a statement to Spanish Daily "ABC," Information Minister 
Bilal reiterates Syria's support of a cease-fire and prisoner 
swap in Lebanon: Syria will not stand by with arms folded if 
Israeli ground troops enter Lebanon and approach Syria" 
(Government-owned Tishreen, 7/24) 
 
"Foreign Minister al-Mouallem receives a phone call from 
Brazilian Foreign Minister  Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim  and 
clarifies to German envoy Horst Fraytagh: Syria supports a cease- 
fire and giving a chance for diplomatic efforts" (Government- 
owned Tishreen, 7/24) 
 
"Israel paves the way for the US project. The Olmert government 
acknowledges inability to curb national resistance and threatens 
to launch a long-range war to destroy the infrastructure. More 
than a hundred missiles fired at occupied northern Palestine" 
(Government-owned Tishreen, 7/24) 
 
"A general strike is observed in Palestine protesting the visit 
of US Secretary of State Condaleeza Rice. The national resistance 
continues firing missiles at Israel in response to Israeli 
massacres" (Government-owned Tishreen, 7/24) 
 
"Hundreds of Iraqis killed or injured in Baghdad and Kirkuk" 
(Government-owned Tishreen, 7/24) 
 
"The US army encourages torture of Iraqi prisoners" (Government- 
owned Al-Thawra, 7/24) 
 
¶3.  Editorial Block Quotes: 
 
--------------------------------- 
 
"The Secrets behind Rice's Visit" 
 
 
--------------------------------- 
 
Ahmad Dawwa, an editorialist in government-owned Al-Thawra, 
commented (7/24): "The American support for Lebanon and its 
government became clear before the arrival of US Secretary of 
State Condoleezza Rice to the region. This support is taking the 
form of laser-guided bombs presented to Israel to allow it to 
destroy what its military machine has so far been unable to 
flatten throughout Lebanon. 
 
"This is beyond imagination: While Israeli planes and artillery 
are spreading destruction, death, and horror across Lebanon, 
using US weapons and leaning on US support, Rice is talking 
about support for Al-Saniora's young democratic government in 
Lebanon. It is as if those who are martyred and displaced and 
those who see their homes burned had nothing to do with 
Lebanon! 
 
"Naturally, Rice's upcoming visit comes not to pressure Israel 
into stopping its aggression or finding a political solution, 
but to impose Israeli conditions on Lebanon. The US support for 
continuing aggression is a blatant expression of the Bush 
administration's interest in and concern about Lebanon's 
democracy and future. 
 
"To know the real secrets behind Rice's visit, we should think 
of the Israeli assessments of the results of the aggression on 
Lebanon. These assessments generally assert that none of the 
military and political objectives that Israel hoped to achieve 
from this dirty war has been achieved. This risks a government 
crisis in Israel. The American intervention, therefore, was 
essential to cover the Israeli failure by escalating the 
international and regional pressure on the Lebanese resistance 
and recruiting parties in Lebanon to accuse the resistance of 
destroying the country and incite the public against it. But it 
appears that the Bush administration has not learned the lessons 
of the past. It insists on accumulating its failures in the 
region. 
 
"One cannot blame the US for its hostile position toward Lebanon 
and the region. Its political and military power is dedicated to 
Israel's interests. What causes outrage and astonishment, 
however, is the defeatism of some Arab parties and their 
willingness to facilitate Rice's mission and, consequently, find 
a solution to the Israeli predicament at the expense of the 
Lebanese people. 
 
"The political battle is not less important than the military 
battle. Those Arabs who, through their statements, have provided 
cover for the war, must realize this fact.... They are not 
required to support the resistance, as this is an unattainable 
dream. But they should, at least, remain neutral in order to 
preserve the security and stability of the region." 
 
---------------------- 
 
"We Hope it Is Untrue" 
 
---------------------- 
 
Izz-al-Din al-Darwish, an editorialist in government-owned 
Tishreen, commented (7/24): "It is not surprising that the 
United States is more enthusiastic about the war on Lebanon than 
Olmert's government itself is.... What is surprising is the 
reports that some Lebanese parties participating in the 
government, as well as many Arab countries, are not willing to 
see the Israeli aggression end at this time; they want the 
aggression to continue until the final elimination of the 
Lebanese national resistance.... 
 
"We hope that these reports are not true.... It has become 
crystal clear that the aim of the Israeli attacks against 
Lebanon is to kill Lebanese people and destroy their 
infrastructure, not to obtain the release of the two captured 
soldiers...." 
 
 
------------------ 
 
"Rice's Roughness" 
 
------------------ 
 
Maha Sultan, a commentator in government-owned Tishreen, wrote 
(7/24): "Condoleezza Rice's statements on the Lebanese crisis 
lacked any human feelings toward the suffering of the Lebanese 
people under Israel's massacres and terrorism.... 
 
"Rice's statements on the eve of her visit to the region promise 
the Lebanese people that the massacre will continue and promise 
the region a new map Washington entrusted Israel to draw with 
blood and fire.... Rice's statements lack the minimum level of 
diplomacy.... 
 
"The United States no longer needs to be diplomatic in the way 
it handles the region because the countries of the region have 
reached such a level of cowardice and defeatism that they can 
only take orders and fully comply with them...." 
 
---------------------------------------- 
 
"Partnership of Illusion and Aggression" 
 
---------------------------------------- 
 
Ali Nasrallah, an editorialist in government-owned Al-Thawra, 
wrote (7/24): "The partnership between Washington and Tel Aviv 
in the aggression against Lebanon is evident in US statements 
and media reports.... 
 
"This partnership proves that the open war on Lebanon was a 
premeditated plan that was awaiting the zero hour for 
implementation, to realize strategic objectives in Lebanon.... 
The capture of the two Israeli soldiers was used only as a 
pretext to implement the plan, which seeks to compensate for the 
US failure in Iraq...." 
 
------------------------------------ 
 
"Israeli Aggression against Lebanon" 
 
------------------------------------ 
 
Dr. Sa'id Musallam, a columnist in government-owned Al-Thawra, 
maintained (7/24): "Israel will not be able to achieve any of 
the objectives of its military campaign in Lebanon.... Israel 
will not be able, in any way, to crush the Lebanese resistance, 
because this resistance is not stationed in specific positions, 
nor is it a faction without a popular base. The resistance is a 
people, a land, and a creed. And above all, it is the plan of 
the nation's awakening and challenge to its enemy in the battle 
for existence.... 
 
"Israel will be forced to admit defeat.... Israel cannot invade 
Lebanese territory. If it does, it will return defeated, pulling 
out thousands of bodies. The international community will 
intervene and take measures and adopt resolutions forcing the 
resistance to allow Israel to pull the bodies of its soldiers 
out of the battlefield...." 
 
------------------------- 
 
"No to Terje Roed-Larsen" 
 
------------------------- 
 
Imad Fawzi al-Shu'aybi, a Syrian strategic analyst, wrote an op- 
ed in government-owned Al-Ba'th on (7/24) saying: "Syria has 
refused to receive Terje Roed-Larsen, member of the delegation 
that the United Nations sent to the region to discuss the 
Lebanese crisis.... 
 
"Contrary to some Western claims, Syria did not refuse to 
receive the entire delegation, but put a veto on Roed-Larsen, 
which resulted in the delegation canceling the visit.... Syria 
has the right, as a sovereign state, to receive whomever it 
wants and to reject whomever it wants.... 
 
"Roed-Larsen is persona non grata in Syria because in his 
missions in the region as envoy of the UN secretary general he 
always wanted to serve Israel at the expense of Syria, Lebanon, 
and the Palestinians.... Roed-Larsen is the engineer of 
Resolution 1559 and the one who claimed in his reports to the 
Security Council that Syria continued to interfere in Lebanese 
affairs after the withdrawal of the Syrian army from Lebanon, 
and who called for the demarcation of the border between Syria 
and Lebanon and for the establishment of diplomatic relations 
between the two countries. 
 
"He is not a mediator. He cannot be a mediator. He does not meet 
the conditions that a mediator must meet. He is a party par 
excellence. The message that Syria sent when it refused to 
receive him is clear, because he cannot be a mediator: We will 
not receive an Israeli! Send somebody else, or let the 
delegation come without him.... Syria's role in the region 
cannot be ignored...." 
 
Seche