VZCZCXYZ0030
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDM #0838/01 2281150
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 161150Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4048
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 7047
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 4729
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 3395
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 7858
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 1964
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 5290
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 1484
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL//CCPA//
INFO RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 7579

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 000838 
 
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:  Syria/Israel, Syria/Argentina, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestinian 
Territories (8/16) 
 
 
¶1.  Summary:  Syrian papers on August 16 featured a statement by 
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak saying on August 15 that "Israel 
is not interested in war with Syria, and Israel believes that Syria 
does not want war either," adding that "war shouldn't erupt, 
therefore."  Barak made the statement while visiting the Golan 
Height. 
 
Papers also reported that a session of political consultations was 
held on August 15 between Deputy Foreign Minister, Faisal Miqdad and 
his Argentinean counterpart, Roberto Garcia Moritan, within the 
framework of the signed cooperation between the two countries. 
During the meeting, the two sides reviewed bilateral relations and 
means to develop them.  The two sides exchanged opinions on the 
current developments in the Middle East, particularly those 
connected with stalemated peace process in the Middle East. 
 
As for developments in Iraq, papers reported that Iraq witnessed on 
August 14 the worst bloody attacks since 2003 when four 
booby-trapped trucks exploded in the Iraqi northern governorate of 
Ninawa, killing more than 200 and injuring hundreds of Iraqis. 
Papers cited a statement by the Arab League on August 15 condemning 
the bloody explosions.  "The best way to end violence in Iraq is to 
go ahead steadily in the process of national concordance and 
reconciliation among Iraqis," the AL statement said. 
 
End of summary. 
 
¶2.  Selected Headlines: 
 
"Subsequent to a visit to occupied Golan, Barak: Neither Israel, nor 
Syria want war" (Independent     al-Watan, 8/16) 
 
"Information Minister Bilal and Deputy Foreign Minister Miqdad 
discuss bilateral relations and Arab-Latin American cooperation with 
a delegation from the Argentinean Foreign Ministry" 
(Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 8/16) 
 
"Terrorism strikes in Mosul: 400 Iraqis killed and injured in four 
suicide bombings. President Bush hopeless: I don't have enough time" 
(Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 8/16) 
 
"Lebanese opposition: Targeting the army serves Western parties" 
(Government-owned Al-Thawra, 8/16) 
 
"Nicholas Burns in Israel to sign an agreement on 30 billion 
US$-worth of US military aid.  Juliani: Establishing a Palestinian 
statehood is not in the US interest" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 
8/16) 
 
¶3.  Editorial Block Quotes: 
 
------------------------------ 
"Victory and Making of Defeat" 
------------------------------ 
 
Isam Dari, Chief Editor of government-owned Tishreen, wrote (8/16): 
"On the first anniversary of the great victory that the heroes of 
the resistance in Lebanon achieved, Arabs and the oppressed on earth 
have the right to raise their heads high and boast that a small 
group defeated a formidable arrogant force in something like a 
miracle.... 
 
"The result of the Lebanon war last year was a miserable defeat for 
the United States, which waged the aggression through Israel, its 
exclusive agent in the region.... 
 
"A year ago, the feet of the stalwart resistance buried the 'new' 
Middle East of Bush, Rice, Cheney, and Olmert in the mud of the 
south and gave birth to a resisting new Middle East, proving that 
this Arab land and this Arab people are the new form of the new Arab 
East.... 
 
"Arabs and Muslims and all those who yearn for freedom, dignity, and 
sovereignty celebrate the first anniversary of the victory while 
 
they are more determined to stick to the resistance option, which, 
as the experiences of May 2000 and July-August 2006 prove, is the 
more correct and most effective option for those who seek 
freedom.... 
 
"Is it not strange that some Arabs and Lebanese turned the victory 
into defeat while the Israelis themselves, on the highest level, 
admitted and are still admitting defeat? 
 
"Those Arabs wanted the resistance approach to be defeated, not only 
in Lebanon but also in the whole region.  That is why they were 
saddened by the defeat of Israel and the fall of the new Middle 
East.... 
 
"We believe that the Arab people, a year after the victory, know now 
who defends right, justice, and freedom and who stands against Arab 
interests and works to distort the victory and turn it into defeat. 
But none of the world laboratories and none of the international 
conspiracies will be able to turn a victory into a defeat or a 
setback.  The defeat makers will receive nothing but defeat and 
humiliation." 
 
--------------------- 
"The Convoy Proceeds" 
--------------------- 
 
Khalid al-Ashhab, an editorialist in government-owned Al-Thawra, 
wrote (8/16):  "There were some pitiful Lebanese hirelings and 
discordant voices that tried to belittle or turn against the victory 
that the Lebanese resistance achieved one year ago.... 
 
"They were always small, offered for sale and hire. But today they 
are smaller, too small for anyone to turn attention to them or for 
the memory to bring them back even for a moment.  The situation of 
those who hired them is no better.  Both, the hired and the 
recruiter, are trying hard to evade and move out of the way of the 
broom that is everyday sweeping them an inch or a meter toward the 
garbage dump...." 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
"UN Security Council Resolution 1770 Confirms Failure" 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
Muhriz al-Ali, a commentator in government-owned Al-Thawra, worte 
(8/16): "Security Council Resolution 1770, which expands the role of 
the United Nations in Iraq, proves that US plans to bring back 
security and stability to this country have failed, and that the 
security approach alone is not enough to bring Iraq out of the state 
of chaos that turned it into a quagmire of death and 
destruction.... 
 
"The United States is in a state of confusion and blunder as a 
result of its crisis in Iraq.... President Bush's talk about 
progress in Iraq is meant to mislead the American and international 
public.... 
 
"The problem in Iraq is not only a security problem, but also a 
political problem resulting from occupation.... 
 
"The United Nations must remove the causes of the problem and help 
Iraqis achieve national accord to save Iraq and maintain the unity 
of the Iraqi people and territory.... Otherwise, the role of the 
United Nations will complement the role of the occupation 
forces...." 
 
---------------------------- 
"A Daily Scene of Injustice" 
---------------------------- 
 
Omar Jaftali, an editorialist in government-owned Tishreen, wrote 
(8/16):  "Despite the increasing talk about peace and the 
Palestinian-Israeli meetings and contacts, nothing has changed on 
the Palestinian ground.... Israeli incursions, arrests, killings, 
destruction, and frenzied Judaization operations, especially in 
Jerusalem continue.... 
 
"What Israel is doing in the Palestinian territories will remain a 
blot of shame in the record of the United States, which supports 
injustice and aggression.... 
 
"It is regrettable that despite all this, some people still believe 
that the Bush administration will work for peace and that its call 
for a peace conference in the fall is a source of hope." 
 
Corbin