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FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2553
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RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 4205
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UNCLAS DAMASCUS 005358 
 
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:  Peace Process, Lebanon, Iraq, 
Palestinian Territories (12/1-3) 
 
 
¶1.  Summary:  Syrian papers on Dec. 3 featured a Dec. 2 press 
statement by Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi in Rome stressing 
the importance of dialogue and cooperation with Syria to solve the 
region's issues and establish stability.  Mr. Prodi warned against 
the partitioning of Iraq, saying that there are intensive 
international efforts to avoid that, particularly by the UN, the EU, 
NATO and Iraq's neighboring countries. 
Papers also reported Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's 
interview with London-based al-Sharq al-Awsat, published on Dec. 2, 
reiterating the importance of the roles of Iran and Syria in the 
Middle East.  Lavrov said that problems of the region ought to be 
solved within one strategy, with participation of all countries in 
the region, stressing that Iran and Syria have a role in the attempt 
to revive the peace process on all tracks in the Arab-Israeli 
conflict. 
 
Papers also featured a lecture delivered by Deputy Foreign Minister 
Faisal Miqdad on Dec. 2, confirming Syria's support of the political 
process and of reconciliation in Iraq.  Miqdad noted that Syria 
opposed the US invasion of Iraq and supported efforts to enable all 
Iraqis to maintain national unity. 
 
On the Lebanese scene, papers reported a huge demonstration in 
Beirut on Dec. 1 demanding the resignation of the current government 
and formation of a national unity government.  Al-Thawrah on Dec. 1 
gives prominence to Lebanese developments, headlining its front-page 
report as follows: "The Time Has Come: Lebanon Rises Up".  The paper 
highlighted statements by Hasan Nasrallah, SecGen of Hizbollah, and 
other opposition leaders, calling for participation in the 
anti-government protests and blaming the governing coalition for the 
political crisis in Lebanon. 
 
End of summary. 
 
¶2.  Selected Headlines: 
 
"Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi and Russian Foreign Minister 
Sergey Lavrov reiterate the importance of dialogue and cooperation 
with Syria to solve the region's issues and to cement stability in 
it" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 12/3) 
 
"Imad Mustafa, Syria's Ambassador in Washington:  We don't seek to 
reach a deal with the US, but to help Iraqis" (Government-owned 
Al-Thawra, 12/3) 
 
"Deputy Foreign Minister, Faisal Miqdad:  We respect choices of the 
Lebanese people to form a national unity government" 
(Government-owned Al-Thawra, 12/3) 
 
"Lebanese sit-in continues until a new Lebanon is born.  National 
parties warn against depending on foreign support. President Lahoud 
criticizes US and French intervention in Lebanon.  Resigned FM 
Salloukh calls on Arab brothers to avoid unilateral positions.  Arab 
League SecGen Amr Mousa in Beirut today" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 
12/3) 
 
"All Lebanon in Beirut:  An open sit-in starts, demanding formation 
of a new government and ending foreign tutelage.  Aoun, Leader of 
the Free Patriotic Movement:  The government has to resign soon. 
The ruling team has made corruption its destiny.  Former Lebanese PM 
al-Hoss:  Its decision is up to the USA administration.  Former PM 
Karami:  We are working to rescue Lebanon.  Hizbollah Chairman:  It 
is a big confrontation.  MPs and personalities:  We will witness 
emergence of an Arab Lebanon.  Former Minister Wahab:  Two-thirds of 
Lebanon agreed on the departure of the al-Saniora government" 
(Government-owned Tishreen, 12/2) 
 
"The Time Has Come:  Lebanon Rises Up.  Nassrallah:  It is a 
peaceful and open sit-in in central Beirut.  Lahoud:  The desired 
change is coming.  Hashem:  It is the end of the ruling majority. 
Franjiyeh:  A historical day to save the people.  Wakim:  To keep 
civil peace.  Arslan:  To topple the corrupt authority" 
(Government-owned Al-Thawra, 12/1) 
 
"A secret US-Israeli operation room in Lebanon to supervise 
 
assassinations" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 12/1) 
 
"UN SecGen Kofi Anan condemns Israeli violations of Lebanese 
airspace" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 12/3) 
 
"Syria's Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs calls on World 
Organizations to protect Syrian workers in Lebanon" 
(Government-owned Al-Thawra, 12/3) 
 
"Two US soldiers killed in al-Anbar.  Scores of Iraqi casualties in 
explosions of three booby-trapped cars in Baghdad" (Government-owned 
Al-Ba'th, 12/3) 
 
"PLO Chairman Abbas stops talks on forming a national unity 
government and looks for alternatives.  Israeli occupation rejects 
truce in the West Bank and kills a Palestinian in Hebron" 
(Government-owned Tishreen, 12/2) 
 
"Italian forces complete withdrawal from Iraq.  A US soldier killed 
in Baghdad.  Clashes in Baghdad and al-Samawa" (Government-owned 
Tishreen, 12/2) 
 
"The Baker-Hamilton report on Iraq will be issued on Wednesday" 
(Government-owned Tishreen, (12/2) 
 
¶3.  Editorial Block Quotes: 
 
------------------ 
 
"Beirut's Message" 
 
------------------ 
 
Isam Dari, a commentator in government-owned Tishreen, commented 
(12/2):  "The huge popular protest in downtown Beirut is a message 
to the Lebanese government and the world that the Lebanese people 
are united in their demand for a national unity government that 
brings people together, not moves them apart, a government that 
works for the sake of Lebanon and the Lebanese and their national 
interests without foreign interference, which, regrettably, is now 
practiced in broad daylight.... 
 
"That was the message.  Will the government team respond to it and 
to its demand, or is it determined to lead Lebanon into the 
unknown...? 
 
------------------------------ 
 
"Do Not Ask about the Mission" 
 
------------------------------ 
 
Hanan Hamad, a commentator in government-owned Tishreen, wrote 
(12/2):  "It is no longer enough that former US Secretary of State 
Colin Powell regrets presenting his famous report to the UN Security 
Council, which paved the way for the occupation of Iraq under the 
pretext that it possessed WMD, or that former US President Jimmy 
Carter says the war on Iraq was one of the gravest mistakes that 
President George Bush has made and is still making.  It is no longer 
enough that James Baker, the chief of American diplomacy in the 
administration of George Bush Senior, with all the political 
experience and shrewdness he enjoys, rushes to bring the son out of 
his crisis.... 
 
"All this is not enough to save President Bush from his predicament 
as long as he himself is willing to sink deeper, with much ignorance 
and stupidity that push one to hit the bottom of the abyss.  He is 
leaving the region while it is likely to explode in more than one 
location, stressing that he will not withdraw from Iraq before 
'accomplishing the mission,' a mission that appeared impossible to 
the American forces.... 
 
"Bush leaves the region without announcing his strategy in Iraq and 
without heeding Baker's advice.  In an attempt, perhaps, to sweeten 
the taste of this advice in the mouth of Bush, who refuses to take 
the dose of medicine, Baker rushed to leak news about holding an 
 
international conference on Iraq in which Syria and Iran 
participate, instead of clearly seeking the help of the two 
important regional countries.  Not only did Bush disobey the advice 
on Iraq, but he also left behind a stack of files that are likely to 
explode through the blessing of the Palestinian rift, by supporting 
one party against another to thwart the effort to form a Palestinian 
national unity government...." 
---------------------- 
 
"The Tampera Document" 
 
---------------------- 
 
Ahmad Hamadah, a columnist in government-owned Al-Thawrah, commented 
(12/1):  "The Euro-Med ministerial conference in Finland scored a 
positive position as it called, in its final statement, for 
achieving a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East based on 
UN resolutions.... 
 
"If such European calls are always met with Israel's rejection, why 
don't the influential European parties take practical steps to force 
Israel to comply with UN resolutions...? 
 
"There must be an end to threats posed by Israel's terrorist 
practices and occupation of Arab territories.... The positive 
positions that began to appear need intensive efforts to activate 
them and enable them to play a role in building true peace in the 
region...." 
 
---------------------- 
 
"A Mysterious Mission" 
 
---------------------- 
 
Adnan Ali, a commentator in government-owned Al-Thawra, wrote 
(12/1):  "US President George Bush's statements  describing what is 
happening in Iraq as a conflict between extremists and moderates 
reflect simplistic thinking, indicating, perhaps, that the US 
Administration, despite all the setbacks and criticism it faces at 
home and abroad over the miserable failure of its Iraq policy, has 
not yet drawn the right conclusions, and that it is still using the 
same argument to justify this failure.... Bush says that his country 
will not withdraw its forces from Iraq before the mission has been 
accomplished.... 
 
"What mission is Bush talking about?  The US Administration, slapped 
by the hard facts on the ground, has often given different answers 
to this question, from promoting democracy in Iraq and the region to 
merely securing a non-humiliating departure from this quagmire.... 
 
"After the US failures in Iraq, a feeling has began to sneak even 
into the corridors of the decision-makers in Washington that there 
is a need for help from the neighboring countries to restore 
stability in Iraq, especially from Syria and Iran, which have 
extended a helping hand to Iraq to enable it to overcome its current 
plight, which everyone agrees is purely American-made.  There is 
fear, however, that Washington may work to foil these good efforts 
under the pressure of the remaining hotheads in the Bush 
administration and the pressure of the Israeli lobby, which wants 
Iraq to serve as a model of the disintegration of the region and the 
fragmentation of its peoples." 
 
Corbin