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FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2286
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RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 4150
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INFO RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 7066

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 005160 
 
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: Lebanon, Peace Process, Iraq, 
Palestinian Territories (11/01) 
 
 
¶1.  Summary:  The main focus in Syrian papers today was Lebanon. 
Papers featured reports on the confiscation of a 'suspicious' parcel 
by customs at Beirut International Airport containing silencers for 
military pistols.  The parcel, dispatched from the UK through "Liban 
Post" Lebanon's postal service, was reportedly addressed to a 
diplomat at the US Embassy in Beirut identified as Mark Savageau. 
Papers also cited reports about the arrest of a new Mossad agent by 
the name of Faisal Mkalled. News reports said that he was recruited 
by Israel to spy on Hizbollah and smuggle arms to Lebanon. 
Papers also reported the Al-Manar TV interview on Tuesday, October 
31,of the leader of Hizbollah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, in which he 
accused the Lebanese Parliament's majority of having planned for a 
larger UN peacekeeping force in the South for a long time, adding 
that Israel's summer offensive helped achieve that goal.  Nasrallah 
said a Lebanese government official called him in the first days of 
the war and told him that it was going to be a long one if the 
resistance did not abide by three conditions:  Hizbollah's approval 
of the deployment of multinational forces under Chapter 7 of the UN 
Charter, the group's disarmament, and the unconditional release of 
the two Israeli soldiers captured on July 12.  "We were threatened; 
he told us that the government would hold us responsible for the 
continuation of the war," said Nasrallah, refusing to identify the 
government official.   He added, however, that Israel and its allies 
could not defeat the resistance, "nor will it ever be able to." 
Nasrallah said the majority was seeking to transform the United 
Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) into one that would deploy 
across the country rather than in the South only, with jurisdiction 
under Chapter 7, which authorizes the use of force to halt any 
threatened breaches of the peace.  He argued that before the 
July-August war, US policy was failing to gain control of Lebanon. 
He added that the US launched the war to save Israel and disarm the 
resistance.  He also accused the "ruling majority" of instigating 
domestic tension to meet US agendas. 
End of Summary. 
 
¶2.  Selected Headlines: 
 
"Spanish Foreign Minister Moratinos calls for an international 
conference on peace in Middle East as the only way out of the 
current impasse" (Government-owned Tishreen, 11/01) 
 
"Nasrallah confirms to A-Manar TV:  The national resistance is in 
good condition:  The project of the February 14 Group is an 
American-Israeli one.... We have rejected its defeatist conditions" 
(Government-owned Tishreen, 11/01) 
 
"Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace continue.  Lebanese calls 
to form new national unity government.  Lahoud responds to 
Al-Saniora harshly:  You are violating the constitution;  your media 
is insolent;  we seek a real, non-politicized international 
tribunal;  why are you manipulating facts?" (Government-owned 
Tishreen, 11/01) 
 
"Security sources unveil Mossad agent Faisal Mkalled, who was 
recruited by Israel to spy on Hizbollah and smuggle arms to Lebanon" 
(Government-owned Tishreen, 11/01) 
 
"More than three Palestinians martyred in Israeli invasion of Gaza. 
US Secretary of State considers the imminent Israeli aggression 
against the Gaza Strip to be self-defense" (Government-owned 
Tishreen, 11/01) 
 
"An American expert advises the Bush administration to withdraw from 
Iraq within 18 months" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 11/01) 
 
"Iraqi President Talabani calls for maintaining foreign forces in 
Iraq until Iraqi forces are ready to assure security" 
(Government-owned Tishreen, 11/01) 
 
¶3.  Editorial Block Quotes: 
 
----------------- 
 
"An Absent Role" 
----------------- 
Umar Jaftali, an editorialist in government-owned Tishreen, 
 
commented (11/01):   "Why isn't Europe, despite its political and 
economic weight and its traditional relations with the countries of 
the Middle East, playing a role in resolving the region's issues? 
"Europe is supposed to know where its real interests lie and to play 
a role different from the non-objective American role toward issues 
of the region, primarily the Arab-Israeli conflict and Israeli's 
occupation of Arab lands and refusal to comply with UN 
resolutions.... 
"Stability in the region is important for Europe and its partnership 
with the countries of the region.... Europe is closer to the issues 
and aspirations of the region.  The weak European role appears 
incomprehensible to the peoples and countries of the region, 
particularly Syria, which has always called for an effective 
European role, not only in the peace process, but also in all 
aspects of cooperation that might develop into a genuine 
partnership...." 
------------------- 
"Season of Defeats" 
------------------- 
Ali Qasim, a commentator in government-owned Al-Thawra, wrote 
(11/01):  "It is the season of defeats for US plans and ambitions, 
from the failure of the war on Iraq, to the disappointment at home, 
to the new situation in Afghanistan, and to developments in the 
Korean and Iranian nuclear files, without forgetting the resounding 
military failure in Lebanon, a failure that Lebanon is getting ready 
to turn also into a political failure.... 
"US opinion polls, which show the Democrats in the lead by 10 
points, confirm the US Administration's defeat.... US officials have 
stopped talking about the promised New Middle East and the Iraqi 
model of democracy....  While Americans might punish the 
administration by voting for the rival Democratic Party, other 
peoples of the world have a different accountability process...." 
-------------- 
"An Inventory" 
 
-------------- 
Isam Dari, an editorialist in government-owned Tishreen, wrote 
(11/01):  "What has the US Administration achieved for Americans and 
the rest of the world? 
"The US Administration admits that terrorism inside the United 
States has increased rather than decreased in the past six years. 
Moreover, US policies, which are built on racist, sectarian, ethnic, 
and mythical bases, have raised fears and chauvinism at home. 
"The racist practices against Americans of Arab and Islamic origin 
have become one of the characteristics of American society today. 
The terrorist and provocative practices against these Arab and 
Muslim Americans have increased.  They have been subjected to 
blackmail, pursuit, arrest, and surveillance by American security 
agencies.... 
"On the international level, we see the destruction of Afghanistan 
and Iraq, and American human right violations against the Iraqi and 
Afghan people.... 
"The Bush administration blessed Israel's terrorism against the 
Palestinians and played a dirty and criminal role during the Israeli 
aggression against Lebanon.... 
"The Bush administration is a strong candidate for first place in 
crime and terrorism.  This makes it an enemy of nations, and it 
therefore deserves to appear in war crimes courts." 
------------------------- 
"Bush and the Iraqi Test" 
------------------------- 
Ghazi al-Dada, an op-ed writer in government-owned Tishreen, 
commented (11/01):  "The sin of the war on Iraq, and its 
repercussions, have been disastrous for President Bush, his 
administration, and his Republican Party.  All of them are now 
searching for ways to extricate themselves from the Iraqi swamp at 
the lowest possible cost.... 
"Aside from the repercussions in the American arena of the 
occupation of Iraq, Iraq remains much more than a bargaining chip in 
the American political bourse.  Iraqis need to make big, sincere 
efforts to overcome the aftermath of the occupation of their 
country.  They must stick resolutely to their unity and territorial 
integrity, especially since Iraq is seriously threatened with 
partition into mini-states governed more by differences and disputes 
than by unity and cordiality.  Will Iraqis be able to foil these 
malicious plans that lie in wait for them?" 
Corbin