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O 271330Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1222
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 6227
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 4063
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INFO RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 6988

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 004202 
 
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/Iran, Syria/Italy, 
Syria/Iraq, Syria/Portugal, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestinian 
Territories (8/25-27) 
 
 
¶1.  Summary:  Syrian papers reported that President Asad received 
a message from Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad on 
developments in the region and bilateral relations, conveyed by 
 
Iranian Assistant Foreign Minister Mohammad Reza Baqeri.  Baqeri 
also met with Vice President Shara and Foreign Minister Mouallem, 
with whom he discussed the latest developments in the Iranian 
nuclear file and ongoing contacts on this subject between Iran 
and both the United Nations and the European Union  and the 
position of Iran as expressed in its response to the European 
proposals.  Talks also dealt with developments in the region and 
the repercussions of the recent Israeli aggression against 
Lebanon. 
 
Government-owned Tishreen on (8/26) featured a press statement to 
the EuroNews Satellite channel by Italian PM Romano Prodi 
confirming the effectiveness of Syria's role in realizing peace 
and stability in the region.  Prodi restated the need to involve 
Syria in building peace and stability in the Middle East, 
asserting that "dialogue with Syria is a significant part of 
building peace."  Prodi said that Hizbollah could be disarmed 
easily, but within the framework of a political solution for the 
whole region. 
On Syrian/Iraqi relations, papers reported a statement to the 
Qatari newspaper "al-Watan" by Mahmoud Mashhadani, Speaker of the 
Iraqi Parliament, praising Syria's firm positions regarding Arab 
issues, and lauding President Asad's defense of Arab rights. 
Mashhadani also underlined the impossibility of achieving 
democracy under occupation, describing such democracy as "false, 
incomplete and premature." 
On Syrian-Lebanese relations, papers featured a statement by the 
Syrian Ministry of Electricity denying that it had stopped 
providing Lebanon with electricity, describing such news as an 
absolutely baseless attempt to destroy brotherly relations 
between the two countries. 
 
Papers on (8/26) reported that Information Minister Bilal 
held talks with Luis Amado, Portuguese Minister of Foreign 
Affairs, on the Israeli aggression against Lebanon.  In a press 
statement to the Spanish newspaper "El-Periodico," Minister 
Bilal stressed that the Israeli aggression against Lebanon 
constitutes organized state terrorism, pointing out that 
resisting occupation is a legitimate right acknowledged by all 
international and divine laws.  He underlined that Israel must 
withdraw from the occupied Golan to the June 4, 1967, line and 
from the rest of the occupied Lebanese and Palestinian 
territories and recognize the Palestinian people's right to 
establish an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital. 
Dr. Bilal said that "the era of the Israeli blitzkrieg is over, 
and it is time today for victorious resistance against Israel." 
 
End of summary. 
 
¶2.  Selected Headlines: 
 
"President Asad receives a message from President Ahmadinejad on 
the situation in the region and bilateral relations, and 
discusses developments in Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon with 
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Baqeri" (Government-owned 
Tishreen, 8/27) 
 
"Vice President Shara and Foreign Minister al-Mouallem discuss 
developments in the Iranian nuclear file with Baqeri, reiterating 
the importance of boosting coordination to serve stability in the 
region" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 8/27) 
 
"Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mashhadani:  Syria is Iraq's gate;  it 
is impossible to establish democracy under occupation" 
(Government-owned Al-Thawra, 8/27) 
 
"Israeli warplanes continue violation of Lebanon's airspace.  UN 
SecGen Annan arrives in Beirut tomorrow to discuss UNIFIL 
deployment.  Amal Movement and Hizbollah:  Facts of victory 
cannot be ignored" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 8/27) 
 
"Annan confirms:  Disarming Hizbollah is an intra-Lebanese issue. 
 
 
 
Resolution 1701 does not call for deployment of UNIFIL forces 
along Syrian-Lebanese border.  Israeli violations continue.... 
Repercussions of defeat threaten Olmert's government.  Belgium: 
The US Administration has lost credibility" (Government-owned 
Tishreen, 8/26) 
 
"Information Minister in Portugal:  He who calls to deploy 
international forces between Syria and Lebanon does not seek the 
two countries' benefit" (Government-owned Tishreen, 8/26) 
 
"Syria has not stopped providing Lebanon with electricity.... 
What happened was just a technical failure" (Government-owned 
Tishreen, 8/26) 
 
"Four British labor party activities resign.... British MP 
Starkey declares:  We do not support Blair's policy on regional 
issues" (Government-owned Tishreen, 8/26) 
 
"Italian PM Prodi:  Syrian has an important and active role in 
achieving peace and stability in the region" (Government-owned 
Tishreen, 8/26) 
"Syrian Information Minister Bilal confers with Queen Sofia of 
Spain and Portuguese Foreign Minister Amado.  Bilal:  The era of 
Israeli blitzkrieg is over;  it is now time for victorious 
resistance against Israel.  Amado:  We will convey the Syrian 
position to the European Union Foreign Ministers' meeting" 
(Government-owned Al-Thawra, 8/25) 
"Israeli Chief of Staff Halutz acknowledges failure.  Israeli 
Prime Minister Olmert is obliged to form an investigation 
committee.  Italian Foreign Minister D'Alima:  Resolution 1701 
doesn't refer to troop deployment along the Syrian-Lebanese 
border.  Former Lebanese Prime Minister Hoss criticizes the 
French Position:  Inspecting planes in Jordan is an insult to the 
Lebanese" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 8/25) 
"The Arab Group at the Security Council will demand UNSC meeting 
to discuss the Arab-Israeli struggle next month" (Government- 
owned Al-Thawra, 8/25) 
"Two Palestinians martyred in Gaza.  Palestinian Deputy Prime 
Minister al-Shaer refuses to attend an occupation trial" 
(Government-owned Al-Thawra, 8/25) 
"Two US soldiers killed in Baghdad.  Turkish MP:  US forces are 
using chemical and biological weapons in Iraq" (Government-owned 
Al-Thawra, 8/25) 
¶3.  Editorial Block Quotes: 
 
------------------------------------- 
 
"Their Dreams Are Defeated" 
 
-------------------------------------- 
 
Muhammad Ali Buza, an editorialist in government-owned Al- 
Thawra, wrote (8/25):  "Israel continues its threats and 
violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon.... 
 
"Israel does not appear to have learned the lesson of its 
hostile war against Lebanon and its failure to realize any of 
its objectives.... Israeli and American comments on the results 
of the Lebanon war and calls for holding Israeli political and 
military leaders accountable for their disastrous adventure in 
Lebanon show the magnitude of the defeat that the American- 
Zionist plan suffered. 
 
"Despite this defeat, Israel and the United States are still 
behaving with the logic of the winner who can dictate 
conditions.  It is no longer easy to intimidate and humiliate 
nations and confiscate their will through brute force, as the 
price would be too high for Washington and Tel Aviv. Despite 
American and Israeli domination of the world and its decisions, 
no one can imagine how a terrorist entity like Israel can 
coexist with others or be accepted as part of the region's 
geography...." 
 
--------------------- 
 
 
"Meant For Deception" 
 
--------------------- 
 
Ahmad Hamadah, an editorialist in government-owned Al-Thawra, 
wrote (8/25):  "The conflicting statements by Israeli and 
American officials regarding peace in the region send 
conflicting messages that analysts and observers must work hard 
to decipher and analyze. 
 
"As soon as Israel's vicious, aggressive war on Lebanon stopped, 
a number of statements and public positions calling for return 
to the peace process and for the opening of negotiations with 
Syria emerged.  But at the same time a number of opposing 
statements were made calling for preparation for a new round of 
war against Lebanon to achieve the objectives that the first 
round failed to achieve. 
 
"What is the secret behind this clear and declared contradiction 
in the political and media positions of Israeli officials and 
their neoconservative backers in Washington? 
 
"The answer to this important question does not require much 
thought.  Based on the Israeli maneuvers and the deception that 
Syria knows well from its previous negotiations with Israel, the 
first thing that one can conclude from such statements is that 
there is a malicious Israeli attempt to dismantle the strong 
relationship between the Resistance and Syria.... 
 
"What is more important than all this, however, is that Syria 
understands such maneuvers full well, just as it realizes that 
true stability in the region basically requires Israel's 
withdrawal from all the occupied Arab territories to the June 4, 
1967 line.  Without this, the alleged peace will remain 
elusive." 
 
------------------------------------ 
 
"The Secret of Silence and Ferocity" 
 
------------------------------------ 
 
 
Isam Dari, an editorialist in government-owned Tishreen, wrote 
(8/26):  "We do not know why a Lebanese faction and part of the 
international community remain silent about the repeated Israeli 
violations of Resolution 1701 and, indeed, about Israel's 
failure to comply with that resolution.... 
 
"The Israeli forces have not withdrawn from South Lebanon as 
stipulated by the resolution.... Israelis are launching military 
operations deep into Lebanon on the pretext of preventing the 
smuggling of weapons for Hizbollah, although this falls under 
the jurisdiction of the Lebanese Army.... 
 
"The Lebanese faction that launched a strong attack on Hizbollah 
because it abducted two Israeli soldiers did nothing when Israel 
committed various acts of piracy and kidnapped Lebanese 
citizens.... 
 
"This team is mortgaged to the Israeli plan, and its fate is 
linked to its fate.  We are, therefore, not surprised with all 
this viciousness, anger, and nervousness, especially after the 
American plan began to stumble and the Resistance foiled the 
expectations of those who rebelled against Lebanon and its 
Arabism...." 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
"Price of Ambiguity of UNSC Resolution 1701" 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
Razan Imran, an op-ed writer in government-owned Tishreen, wrote 
8/25):  "The United States wants the international force that 
 
 
will be deployed in Lebanon to be part of its war on terrorism, 
disarming Hizbollah and wresting the victory and any chance for 
future victories from Lebanon and granting all this to 
Israel.... 
France, for its part, agrees that the international force should 
disarm Hizbollah, but not necessarily through a new Security 
Council resolution.... While Paris gives itself the right to 
send 200 soldiers only, on the pretext that it fears attacks on 
its soldiers as happened in 1983, it also gives itself the right 
to demand the deployment of thousands of international troops -- 
not French -- to isolate Lebanon from Syria, on the pretext of 
preventing arms supplies to Hizbollah.... 
 
"They want the resistance, and consequently Lebanon, to pay the 
price of the ambiguity in Resolution 1701.  This is a 
translation of Bush's remark that 'Hizbollah will realize later 
that it has lost'...." 
 
Corbin