VZCZCXYZ0006
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDM #0419/01 1270614
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 070614Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3414
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 6775
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 4504
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 3124
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 7648
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 1722
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 5058
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 1265
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL//CCPA//
INFO RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 7389

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 000419 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR PA, NEA/ARN, INR/IC/CD, INR/R/MR:STHIBEAULT AND 
JMCCARTER, VOA NEWS CA, NEA/PPD:CBOURGEOIS, AZAIBACK, AND 
AFERNANDEZ, IIP/G/NEA-SA MDAVIDSON 
WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC 
CENTCOM FOR CCPA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KMDR PREL KPAO OPRC SY
SUBJECT:  Asad, Syria/Palestinians, Winograd Report, Iraq, Lebanon 
(5/1-2) 
 
¶1.  Summary:  Syrian papers on May 2 featured President Asad's visit 
to Der Ezzor province on May 1 to inspect development projects.  He 
addressed a crowd of citizens and officials, saying that "this time 
the enemies are playing the card of discord among sects in the 
region."  He added that what is happening now is "a conflict between 
the possibilities for victory and the failure of the US project in 
the region," adding that "the results so far are not in favor of 
this project."  He said that "to the east there is the resistance in 
Iraq, to the west there is the resistance in Lebanon and to the 
south there is the resistance of the Palestinian people, and we, in 
Syria, are not in the middle;  we are at the heart of all these 
events."  "Syria, the Arab region and the Middle East are going 
through a dangerous period.  Destructive colonial projects are 
seeking to divide and reshape our region," Asad said.  "Now, we see 
these projects failing, particularly that of the Greater Middle 
East.... Nevertheless we must not underestimate our enemies, who are 
playing their last hand, that of sedition and division.... Every 
Syrian citizen supports the Iraqi people who are resisting the 
American occupation," Asad said. 
 
Papers on May 2 reported Minister of Information Bilal's meeting on 
May 1 with Palestinian Information Minister Mostafa Barghouthi on 
the sidelines of "the International Conference of the Islamic and 
Arab Media to Support the Palestinian People."  The ministers 
discussed the possibility of coordination between Syrian and 
Palestinian ministries of information to convey the true image on 
the Arab-Israeli conflict. Palestinian Information Minister 
Bargouthi hailed Syrian positions, which support the struggle of 
Palestinians in the face of the Israeli occupation.  Later, Minister 
Bilal held a meeting with a delegation from Hizbollah and directors 
of a number of Lebanese media institutions, in which they conferred 
on aspects of cooperation on political programs.  During the 
meeting, Minister Bilal stressed the importance of boosting and 
developing cooperation between Syrian and Lebanese media and 
exchanging experiences to enhance media performance in both 
countries. 
 
End of summary. 
 
¶2.  Selected Headlines: 
 
"President Asad inspects developmental projects in Der Ezzor 
province and addresses masses:  A powerful state has no existence 
without strong people.... There is no fear for the future of a 
homeland that possesses people like the great Syrian Arab people" 
(Government-owned Tishreen, 5/1) 
 
"'The 3rd International Conference of Arab and Islamic Media to 
Support the Palestinian People' was inaugurated in Damascus.  VP 
Shara:  The deliberate confusion between resistance and terrorism 
secures political cover for terrorism and contributes to 
strengthening it worldwide.  Information Minister Bilal:  Syria 
stands with its face to the wind.  Palestinian Minister of 
Information Barghouthi:  We will not accept partial and transitional 
solutions" 
(Government-owned Al-Thawra, 5/1) 
 
"Information Minister Bilal meets Palestinian Information Minister 
Barghouthi.  Bilal:  Syria wants to support steadfastness of the 
Palestinian people" (Government-owned Tishreen, 5/2) 
 
"FM Mouallem meets a German parliamentary delegation and reiterates 
the importance of Europe's role in pushing peace process forward" 
(Government-owned Al-Thawra, 5/1) 
 
"UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon:  I look forward to continuing 
contacts and joint efforts with Syria on Middle East peace" 
(Government-owned Al-Thawra, 5/1) 
 
"Syria and UNHCR ink agreement on offering medical aid to Iraqi 
refugees in Syria" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 5/1) 
 
"Winograd rebukes the Israeli government and army leaders.  The 
White House hastens to save Olmert" (Government-owned Tishreen, 
5/1) 
 
"Bloody days continue in Iraq.  50 countries announce participation 
in the Iraq's Neighboring Countries Conference in Sharm al-Sheikh" 
(Government-owned Tishreen, 5/2) 
 
"Pelosi signs the bill on withdrawal from Iraq and Bush uses the 
veto" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 5/2) 
 
"General Michel Aoun hints that the opposition might turn into 
resistance and calls for early election right away.  Aoun:  Lebanon 
will not accept orders from foreign embassies on presidential 
elections" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 5/2) 
 
¶3.  Editorial Block Quotes: 
 
-------------- 
 
"What's Next?" 
 
-------------- 
 
Ghazi al-Dada, a columnist in government-owned Tishreen, commented 
(5/1):  "Eliyahu Winograd, Chairman of the investigation commission 
on the Israeli war on Lebanon, read out the details of the awaited 
report.... 'Olmert is responsible for the utter failure to assess 
the situation, manage the war, and clearly and carefully set out its 
objectives.  Grave mistakes were made.'   This is how Winograd saw 
the reasons and the circumstances of the defeat.  In his reaction, 
Olmert promised to 'draw conclusions and correct the mistakes.' 
"Most likely, drawing the conclusions and correcting the mistakes 
will be done through some military adventure or new crimes the 
politically shaken Olmert will commit against Palestinians.  One can 
feel this from his statement that he 'does not want escalation with 
Palestinians but he might be forced to do this.' It is as if he is 
justifying in advance the crimes he is planning to commit, crimes 
for which Israel always finds excuses.  Some informed circles have 
indeed said that Olmert, under the pressure of the Winograd 
Commission, might find himself strongly pushed to engage in some 
adventure, perhaps to change the mood of the Israeli public and 
divert its attention from the report's repercussions. 
 
"But what's next?  Regardless of the repercussions of Winograd's 
interim report, or even his final report in July, the impact will 
remain confined to the domestic Israeli scene.  The report will 
change nothing of Israel's intrinsic criminal nature, regardless of 
who is ruling Israel.  Israel as a whole will remain a big gang 
doing only what gangs do.... 
 
"But perhaps the only positive point for the Arabs in the Winograd 
Commission's report is that the Israeli defeat in the war on Lebanon 
will be officially documented, providing tangible and concrete 
evidence that the legendary image that surrounded the Israeli army 
for decades has been smashed and that handling Israel from a 
position of power and equality is not impossible." 
 
-------------------------------- 
 
"Rush in the Opposite Direction" 
 
-------------------------------- 
 
Ali Qasim, an editorialist in government-owned Al-Thawra, wrote 
(5/1):  "Former CIA Director George Tenet stepped up his accusations 
against the US Administration over the war on Iraq.... 
 
"Now that the war on Iraq has proven to be a miserable failure, it 
is natural for US officials to trade accusations and try to distance 
themselves from the war.... 
 
"Many of the US officials who participated in preparations for the 
war or who fabricated lies were hoping for an easy and quick victory 
so that they could then rush to attribute the success to their 
ideas, contributions, or initiatives.  But as the scope of the 
expected defeat in Iraq becomes clear and the signs of its 
disastrous consequences begin to emerge, we will soon see a rush in 
the opposite direction, toward shirking responsibility and denying 
 
any role for this official or that in the war.... 
 
"The noose is getting tighter around President Bush and Vice 
President Cheney.... The president might find himself forced to 
abandon his deputy...." 
 
--------------------- 
"Pending US decision" 
 
--------------------- 
 
Izz-al-Din Darwish, a columnist in government-owned Tishreen, 
commented (5/1):  "The US administration, which planned the war on 
Iraq, fabricated its pretexts, and then launched it, still insists 
on underestimating the minds of people through its allegation that 
Iraqi democracy is proceeding in the right correction, that it 
deserves such Iraqi sacrifices and that victory is coming! 
 
"What is this talk which even insane persons do not accept?  It is 
worth mentioning in this regard that the powers that be in the White 
House, which have misled the US administration and President Bush in 
particular, have from the beginning held Syria responsible for what 
is happening in Iraq.  This is also talk that even insane persons do 
not accept. 
 
"The commander of the US forces in Iraq deserves thanks because he 
was compelled to 'spill the beans' when he praised Syrian efforts in 
controlling the border with Iraq.  This is considered the first 
praise of this caliber by the Pentagon for Syria since the start of 
the Bush era, although it is not clear whether a clear change has 
occurred in the position of the US administration and its outlook on 
the war on Iraq and the outcomes of that war. 
 
What is certain about the Iraqi topic from beginning to end is that 
the administration of the neoconservatives has done its dastardly 
deed in Iraq and that Iraq is the major loser, followed by Syria, 
which has hosted without prior warning or preparation over 1.5 
million Iraqi refugees--something that big powers with their huge 
resources cannot handle.  And yet there has been no complaint from 
Syria in this regard, which it considers a duty toward its Iraqi 
brethren and a reminder to the Americans of the heavy burden it has 
shouldered...." 
 
--------------------------- 
 
"The Real Source of Threat" 
 
--------------------------- 
 
Muhammad Khayr al-Jammali, an editorialist in government-owned 
Al-Thawra, wrote (5/1):  "US Vice President Dick Cheney said that 
Democrats do not appreciate the real threat the United States is 
facing....  This is a new lie to be added to the lies of the Iraq 
war.... 
 
"What threat is Cheney talking about, when all justifications and 
excuses for the war have collapsed and proven to be nothing more 
than a system of lies promoted in accordance with a carefully 
thought out plan whose only aim was to unleash the policy of force 
and implement the neoconservatives' strategy of imposing hegemony 
and control on the world, beginning with the strategically located 
and oil-rich Middle East? 
 
"This new lie will be short-lived, as the majority of the American 
people now realize that the actual threat to their country today 
lies in the policy that led the United States to a position of 
conflict and contradiction with the whole world and pushed it 
towards a war with very heavy losses on the moral and material 
levels..." 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
"Realism and Flexibility, Concepts and Falsifications" 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
Akram Makkinna, a political analyst in government-owned Al-Ba'th, 
worte (5/1):  "There are some in the Arab arena calling for 
abandonment of some Arab rights under pretexts like 'realism' and 
'the need to bend to the storm'.... 
 
"The need to adjust to international changes does not mean that we 
must disregard or not work for our national and pan-Arab principles. 
 Nor does it mean that we take the easy option of surrender, full 
subservience, and abandonment of independent decisions.... Political 
rationalism does not mean relinquishing rights and principles.... 
 
"It is surprising that some are calling for lowering the ceiling of 
the Arab peace plan that the Riyadh summit reaffirmed, the plan that 
represents the minimum Arab rights.  Promoting the realism of 
concessions is as dangerous as the Western-Zionist plans that target 
the Arab nation's identity, land, and resources.  It is natural to 
confront such calls, especially after the Arab resistance in Iraq, 
Palestine, and Lebanon proved that the road to regaining the rights 
is clear and unambiguous." 
 
Corbin