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OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDM #4091/01 2331139
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 211139Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1085
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 6204
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 4045
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 4616
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 0833
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL//CCPA//
INFO RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 6972

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 004091 
 
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/Qatar, Syria/Egypt, 
Lebanon, Syria/Iran, Iraq, Palestinian Territories (8/21) 
 
 
¶1.  Summary:  All Syrian papers today reported that Shaykh Hamad 
Bin-Khalifah Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, will pay a working visit to 
Syria today during which he will hold talks with President Asad 
that will focus on bilateral relations and current developments 
in the region. 
Papers also featured a statement by Syria's Information Minister, 
Dr. Muhsen Bilal, to the Egyptian Middle East News Agency MENA on 
Sunday, in which he depicted Syrian-Egyptian relations as 
"strategic and based on a strong fraternal base."  Bilal said 
that "consultations between Syria and Egypt have not stopped", 
pointing out the fraternal ties linking President Asad and 
President Mubarak and their regular meetings in Damascus and 
Cairo.  "What President Asad said at the Journalists' conference 
about Arab stances towards the aggression against Lebanon was 
within the framework of constructive criticism of Arab brothers 
within one Arab family for not adopting more decisive stances to 
halt the 33-day Israeli aggression on Lebanon," Bilal indicated. 
"Differences in political viewpoints would never affect the deep- 
rooted relations between the two brotherly peoples and 
countries."  The Minister expressed astonishment at articles 
published in some Egyptian newspapers, confirming that they do 
not serve joint interests or fraternal ties between the two 
countries. 
Papers reported a TV interview broadcast by Al-Jazeera on August 
20 with Lebanese MP Michel Aoun, Head of the "Change and Reform 
Block" at the Lebanese Parliament, during which Aoun confirmed 
that resistance is the only choice for facing the Israeli enemy, 
and that the country will "either win together or loose 
together."  "Hizbollah is not an armed group but is the whole 
people, who have chosen resistance."  Aoun said that those who 
are spreading rumors about the resistance are in fact trying to 
frighten the Lebanese people.  "For sure they did not expect that 
the resistance would defeat the Israeli enemy despite full U.S. 
support for Israel," he said.  Mr. Aoun pointed out the 
importance of saving the victory which has unified all the 
Lebanese.  "It's astonishing that some Lebanese neglect the 
Israeli massacres against civilians in Lebanon and hold Hezbollah 
responsible for the Israeli aggression against their country; 
the aggression was definitely premeditated," he added.  He said 
Israel committed violations of the cease-fire by bombarding 
Lebanese areas, stressing that this "shows the Israeli intention 
to continue its aggression against Lebanon." "If the United 
Nations keeps silent about Israeli practices, then it will be 
considered its partner in assassinating Lebanon," Aoun warned. 
He expressed fear that Israel might commit more violations and 
aggression to make the Lebanese army's mission in the South a 
failure. 
 
Papers reported that Syria's Grand Mufti Ahmad Bader Eddin 
Hassoun arrived in Tehran to take part in the 19th International 
Conference of Islamic Unity.  Hassoun reiterated the importance 
of Islamic countries taking a united stance, in light of the 
challenges that the region and the Islamic world are facing, 
particularly the continued US-Israeli aggression against it. 
Upon his arrival in Tehran, the Mufti hailed the importance of 
the 19th International Conference of Islamic Unity, which is 
being held at a critical stage, requiring unity of all Muslims 
and dialogue with others.  He stressed the significance of 
Syria's role as a center of human civilizations and a site where 
all Islamic and religious spectrums meet.  More than 150 Islamic 
personalities from all over the world are participating in the 
three-day conference to discuss many issues related to the latest 
accelerating regional developments following the victory of the 
Lebanese Resistance, and the necessity for Islamic countries to 
close ranks to face expected challenges to  Islamic unity. 
 
End of summary. 
 
¶2.  Selected Headlines: 
 
"President Asad holds talks with Emir of Qatar in Damascus today" 
(Government-owned Al-Thawra, 8/21) 
 
"Information Minister Bilal:  Different points of view will never 
affect Syrian-Egyptian relations" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 
8/21) 
 
 
"Israel violates UN Resolution 1701.  President Lahoud:  The 
violation is caused by American support.  Aoun:  Hizbollah is the 
whole people, who have chosen the Resistance.  Arab Foreign 
Ministers hail the resistance and refer the peace file to the 
UNSC" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 8/21) 
 
"Lahoud emphasizes neutrality of countries nominated for 
participation in the expanded UNFIL forces:  Time is 
inappropriate to discuss the arms of the resistance;  deployment 
of the Lebanese army depends on stopping violations of the cease- 
fire" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 8/21) 
 
"Two Palestinians martyred in Nablus and Rafah.  Israeli 
authorities arrest Secretary of the Palestinian Legislative 
Council" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 8/21) 
 
"International Socialists call for dialogue with Hamas and 
Hizbollah" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 8/21) 
 
"Hassoun in Tehran:  The Islamic world must be united in the face 
of challenges" (Government-owned Tishreen, 8/21) 
 
"Twenty Iraqis killed, 300 injured in terrorist attacks in 
Baghdad despite strict security measures" (Government-owned 
Tishreen, 8/21) 
 
¶3.  Editorial Block Quotes: 
 
--------------------------------------- 
 
"Stop the Hypocrisy and Croaking" 
 
--------------------------------------- 
 
Izz-al-Din al-Darwish, an editorialist in government-owned 
Tishreen, wrote (8/21):  "The March 14 group in Lebanon could 
not hide the political and psychological shock it suffered as a 
result of the sweeping victory that the Lebanese national 
Resistance achieved over the Israeli aggression.... This group 
wagered on a swift Israeli victory that would end the Resistance 
and give it a chance to implement its plans of subservience to 
Israel and the United States.... 
 
"Leaders of this group cannot deny this fact, as their 
statements in the first days of the war clearly laid the blame 
on Hizbollah.  Signs of nervousness, despair, and frustration 
were clear on the faces of the two heads of the March 14 group 
[in reference to Saad al-Hariri and Walid Junblatt] in their 
press conferences on August 17.  One of them [Al-Hariri] 
hurriedly summoned the workers in his establishments, including 
members of Parliament, to give a speech that was reckless in 
word and meaning and not convincing to a single member of the 
audience.  The other [Junblatt] tried hard to present himself as 
a statesman knowledgeable of the ins and outs of things, but he 
remained as he actually is, and as everyone knows him:  small in 
size, weight, and stature.... 
 
"President Bush, who does not know the names and locations of 
many world capitals, knows their names by heart and mentions 
these names in his speeches and press conferences without 
stuttering.  He never stops praising what they have achieved and 
what they want to achieve.  Israelis, for their part, do not 
hide their concern for them.  They refer to them as definite 
allies.  They did not disturb them even with the noise of 
airplanes throughout the days of the aggression.... 
 
"How could the allies of the Americans and the Israelis be 
concerned about Lebanon and its resistance....?" 
 
---------------------- 
 
"Reactions to Victory" 
 
---------------------- 
 
Sa'dallah Barakat, a commentator in government-owned Al-Ba'th, 
wrote (8/21):  "Those in Lebanon who wagered on Israel's success 
in defeating and disarming Hizbollah have lost their bet.  Those 
people went too far from the position of the Lebanese people and 
their nationalist leaders, ignoring the fact that the Israeli 
danger remains looming and that Israel does not respect global 
legitimacy or its resolutions unless they fully serve its 
interests.... 
 
"July 12, the day on which Hizbollah captured the two Israeli 
soldiers, marked the end of the era of the specter of Israel's 
hegemony in the region and its neighborhood and the beginning of 
a new age of Arab victories." 
 
---------------------------- 
 
"Beatifying Israel's Defeat" 
 
---------------------------- 
 
Maha Sultan, an editor at government-owned Tishreen, wrote 
(8/21):  "President Bush said that Lebanon and the world need 
time to understand Hizbollah's defeat.... Bush appears to be the 
one who needs a long time -- certainly longer than the time left 
for him in office -- to understand not only Israel's defeat but 
also the defeat of his administration in the region and the fall 
of its plans to draw a new Middle East.... 
 
"Bush has so far failed to beautify Israel's defeat.  His talk 
about the promotion of democracy and the combat of terrorism has 
become sterile for the simple reason that Bush refuses to 
realize that the equation in the region has changed, and that 
what sets the new rules in the region is will -- the will to 
resist and to live in dignity -- not the weapons with which 
Israel is fully armed.  This was underscored by the war between 
Israel and the Lebanese Resistance.  But Bush cannot accept 
this, and he insists on the old equation in his approach to the 
region and its peoples...." 
 
--------------------------- 
 
"Bush Is Not Yet Convinced" 
 
--------------------------- 
 
Muhyi-al-Din al-Muhammad, a columnist in government-owned 
Tishreen, wrote (8/21):  "The US Administration, which dreams of 
a new Middle East baptized with the blood of innocent children, 
women, and the elderly, still does not believe that Israel was 
defeated in Lebanon.... President Bush's comments on the result 
of the Lebanon war reflect disappointment.... The US 
Administration believed that the excessive use of force, the 
American support for Israel, and the slackening in the call for 
a cease-fire would be sufficient to crush the Lebanese 
Resistance or to crush the will of the Lebanese people.... 
 
"The US Administration could not tolerate the defeat of Israel 
and the defeat of the American plan for a new Middle East in 
which traitors, plotters, and political traders thrived and the 
Resistance men lay down their weapons and raised the flags of 
surrender.... 
 
"The US Administration is entitled to its dreams, but it 
certainly cannot grant Israel a victory it did not achieve or 
inflict on the victorious resistance a defeat that Israel 
suffered...." 
 
Corbin