VZCZCXYZ0026
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDMA #0315 0881453
ZNR UUUUU ZZH ZUI RUEWMCE0719 0881445
P 291453Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0000
INFO ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
ZEN/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC
RUCQSAB/USSOCOM INTEL MACDILL AFB FL

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 000315 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA/ELA; NSC FOR MARCHESE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EIND PREL SY
SUBJECT: BLAST FROM THE SYRIAN PAST: A VISIT TO THE 
REGIONAL HUB OF DAR'A 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY:  EMBOFFS VISITED THE BORDER CITY OF DAR'A IN 
SOUTHERN SYRIA ON MARCH 26, OBSERVING THAT WHILE IT APPEARED 
TO BE A BUSTLING -- IF SOMEWHAT FORLORN -- REGIONAL CENTER, 
IT WAS SUBSTANTIALLY LESS DEVELOPED THAN THE MAJOR COMMERCIAL 
CENTERS OF DAMASCUS AND ALEPPO.  THE CITY ALSO EXUDED A 
CONSERVATIVE ATMOSPHERE AND FEW SIGNS OF ECONOMIC OR SOCIAL 
REFORM.  NEVERTHELESS, THE ELECTION SEASON HAS SPREAD TO 
DARA, WITH VISIBLE SIGNS OF CAMPAIGN PREPARATIONS FOR THE 
UPCOMING PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS.  ONE INTERESTING ITEM FROM 
THE TRIP WAS OUR ABILITY TO DEBUNK A MYTH THAT A SUNNI MOSQUE 
HAD BEEN CONVERTED INTO A SHI'A MOSQUE (PART OF FEARS OF 
IRANIAN INFLUENCE) - IN FACT, THE OPPOSITE WAS TRUE - THE 
MOSQUE HAD ACTUALLY BEEN SHI'A AND HAD RECENTLY BEEN 
CONVERTED INTO A SUNNI MOSQUE. END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) BEHIND THE TIMES: DAR'A IS THE CAPITAL OF THE HORAN 
VALLEY GOVERNATE, 60 MILES TO THE SOUTH OF DAMASCUS AND 6 
MILES FROM THE JORDANIAN BORDER.  IT HAS A POPULATION OF 
APPROXIMATELY 800,000 (ABOUT 75 PERCENT SUNNI MUSLIM AND 25 
PERCENT CHRISTIAN WITH SMALL SHI'A MINORITIES).  THE CITY OF 
DAR'A APPEARS AT FIRST GLANCE TO BE A BUSTLING REGIONAL 
CENTER AND BORDER TOWN, WITH WELL-STOCKED SHELVES AND 
SEEMINGLY WELL-USED INTERNET CAFES SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE 
CENTER OF THE CITY.  NEVERTHELESS, THE CITY LAGS BEHIND 
DAMASCUS ON SEVERAL LEVELS.  THE ROADS AND BUILDINGS IN TOWN 
WERE SHODDILY CONSTRUCTED, AND THERE WAS LITTLE EVIDENCE OF 
NEW CONSTRUCTION OR DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.  THE MOST GRANDIOSE 
BUILDING IN TOWN WAS THE REAL ESTATE BANK, BUT MOST OTHER 
BANKS, INCLUDING THE COMMERCIAL BANK OF SYRIA, AND GOVERNMENT 
BUILDINGS, AS WELL AS THE BA'ATH PARTY HEADQUARTERS, HAD SEEN 
BETTER DAYS (NOTE: AS AN INDICATOR THAT IT LAGS BEHIND OTHER 
URBAN AREAS IN SYRIA, NO PRIVATE BANKS CURRENTLY OPERATE IN 
DAR'A. END NOTE).  THERE WERE ALSO SEEMINGLY MORE INDIVIDUALS 
BEGGING ON THE STREET THAN IN DAMASCUS, ESPECIALLY BEDOUINS. 
MOREOVER, THE TOWN ALSO APPEARED QUITE CONSERVATIVE, WITH 
VIRTUALLY EVERY WOMAN (EXCEPT IN THE SMALL CHRISTIAN SECTION) 
WEARING HEAD COVERINGS (OR HIJAB). 
 
¶3. (SBU) SARG CLAIMS OF TOURISM INVESTMENT NOT EVIDENT: 
DAR'A IS PRIMARILY AN AGRICULTURAL GOVERNATE, AND EMBOFFS DID 
OBSERVE LARGE FARMING TRACTS USING MODERN AGRICULTURAL 
TECHNOLOGIES DURING THEIR VISIT (NOTE: PRIMARY CROPS INCLUDE 
WHEAT, BARLEY, LENTILS, TOBACCO, OLIVES, GRAPES, AND 
VEGETABLES. END NOTE).  NEVERTHELESS, THE SARG HAS BEEN 
TOUTING DAR'A'S TOURISM POTENTIAL AND THE MINISTRY OF TOURISM 
HAS LISTED 14 PROPOSED TOURISM INVESTMENT PROJECTS ) NONE OF 
WHICH WERE EVIDENT ON-THE-GROUND.  THE DAR'A TOURIST OFFICE 
ITSELF WAS SMALL, AND ABLE TO OFFER LITTLE MORE THAN A FEW 
COMPUTERS FOR INTERNET AND A MAP OF THE CITY LACKING ANY 
CLARITY OF DETAIL.  ONE OF THE MOST HEAVILY PUBLICIZED 
PROJECTS ) THE REDEVELOPMENT OF THE &HIJAZ8 RAILWAY (A 
PROJECT BELONGING TO PRESIDENT ASAD'S FIRST COUSIN RAMI 
MAHKLOUF)- WAS NEWS TO THOSE AT THE TOURISM OFFICE, AND THE 
CARETAKERS OF THE DILAPIDATED RAILWAY STATION SAID THAT THEY 
WERE ONLY VAGUELY AWARE OF SUCH A PLAN.  A VISIT TO THE MOST 
SIGNIFICANT RUINS IN DAR'A, A MOSQUE FROM THE UMAYYAD PERIOD 
AND THE RUINS OF A ROMAN AMPHITHEATER, REVEALED A LARGELY 
UNMARKED SITE IN A HEAVY STATE OF DISREPAIR. THERE WAS NO 
EVIDENCE OF ANY OTHER TOURISTS, AND AN INDIVIDUAL FROM THE 
NEIGHBORHOOD EXPRESSED SOME AMUSEMENT THAT THAT WE WERE 
VISITING THE SITE. 
 
¶4. (SBU) CONSERVATIVE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE: ALTHOUGH DARA IS 
A GARRISON TOWN, THE RATIO OF UNIFORMED MILITARY AND 
MUKHABARAT (INTELLIGENCE) TO THE POPULATION AT-LARGE APPEARED 
SMALLER THAN WHAT IS EVIDENT IN DAMASCUS. EMBOFFS DID NOT 
NOTICE ANY SECURITY DETAIL FOLLOWING THEM.  NEVERTHELESS, THE 
SARG'S CONTROL OF EVERYDAY LIFE WAS CLEARLY PRESENT, WITH 
GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS LOCATED VIRTUALLY EVERY BLOCK BOASTING 
LARGE PHOTOS OF HAFEZ AL-ASAD ) HIS PHOTO WAS MUCH MORE 
PROMINENTLY DISPLAYED THAN THE VERY FEW NOTICEABLE HIZBALLAH 
SIGNS, AND EVEN MUCH MORE FREQUENT THAN PHOTOS OF BASHAR 
AL-ASAD(NOTE: IT WAS NOTEWORTHY THAT THERE WERE VERY FEW 
PICTURES OF BASHAR. END NOTE).  THE CITY WAS PREPARING FOR 
THE UPCOMING PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS, WITH THE SYRIAN FLAG 
ROLLED OUT ACROSS THE CITY AND NUMEROUS SIGNS SUPPORTING 
DIFFERENT CANDIDATES.  (COMMENT: THE FANFARE OF "MODERN 
ELECTION" PROPAGANDA WAS HARD TO BUY, GIVEN, FOR EXAMPLE, THE 
FIFTEEN MEN BUSY AT WORK PREPARING COURT FORMS ON ANTIQUATED 
TYPEWRITERS OUTSIDE THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE FOR 
NERVOUS-LOOKING SYRIANS WAITING TO CONFRONT THE SARG 
BUREAUCRACY. END COMMENT). 
 
¶5.  (SBU) DEBUNKING A &SHI'AIZATION8 RUMOR:  STORIES OF 
IRANIAN, AND MORE GENERALLY, SHI'A INFLUENCE, GROWING IN 
 
 
TOWNS ACROSS SYRIA, INCLUDING AL-RAQQAH, IDLEB, AND DAR'A, 
ARE HEARD WITH INCREASING FREQUENCY IN DAMASCUS.  DURING 
THEIR VISIT, EMBOFFS INVESTIGATED THE VALIDITY OF ONE OF THE 
MORE COMMONLY HEARD STORIES THAT THE SUNNI IBN ALI EBI TALIB 
MOSQUE IN DAR'A HAD BEEN TAKEN OVER BY SHI'A ELEMENTS UNDER 
THE LEADERSHIP OF THE RECENTLY CONVERTED COUSIN OF RUSTOM 
GHAZALI, PREVIOUS CHIEF OF SYRIAN MILITARY INTELLIGENCE IN 
LEBANON.  EMBOFFS VISIT TO THE MOSQUE IN QUESTION ACTUALLY 
PROVED THE OPPOSITE.  THE MOSQUE HAD ACTUALLY BEEN A SHIA 
MOSQUE, BUT HAD RECENTLY BEEN CONVERTED INTO A SUNNI MOSQUE. 
ALTHOUGH THERE DID NOT SEEM TO BE ANY PARTICULAR RESENTMENT 
FROM THOSE WITH WHOM WE TALKED REGARDING THE SMALL SHI'A 
MINORITY IN DAR'A, THE SUNNI MAN WHO EXPLAINED THE MOSQUE'S 
BACKGROUND DID SMIRK AS HE RECOUNTED HOW THE SHI'A HAD TO 
RELOCATE TO ANOTHER MOSQUE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF TOWN. 
 
¶6. (SBU) COMMENT: THE SARG SPENDS CONSIDERABLE ENERGY 
PROMOTING ITS INCREMENTAL EFFORTS AT ECONOMIC REFORM, YET 
THERE WAS LITTLE EVIDENCE OF NEW ECONOMIC ACTIVITY IN DAR'A. 
IN FACT, THE VISIT REMINDED US OF THE STARK ECONOMIC AND 
SOCIAL REALITIES THAT MANY SYRIANS FACE DAILY, ALL THE 
STARKER FOR SYRIANS OUT IN THE PROVINCES. OUR VISIT TO DAR'A 
ALSO PUT TO BED ONE VERSION OF THE MANY URBAN LEGENDS USED TO 
REINFORCE CONCERN ABOUT SPREADING IRANIAN INFLUENCE - THERE 
WAS NO SHIA TAKEOVER OF A SUNNI MOSQUE IN DARA. 
CORBIN