VZCZCXRO9374
PP RUEHAG RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHDM #0219/01 0911835
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 311835Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4788
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 5506

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DAMASCUS 000219 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/31/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PREL SY
SUBJECT: ARAB LEAGUE SUMMIT 2008: ALL HAT, NO CATTLE 
 
REF: A. DAMASCUS 210 
     ¶B. DAMASCUS 198 
     ¶C. CAIRO 641 
     ¶D. CAIRO 580 
 
Classified By: CDA Michael Corbin, American Embassy Damascus, Reason 1. 
4 b and d. 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: Proclaiming the March 29-30 Arab League 
Summit an "historic event," the Syrian government trumpeted 
its ability to overcome alleged U.S. efforts to torpedo the 
proceedings while trying to avoid open controversy over the 
lack of any progress in Lebanon.  Eleven heads of state 
presented speeches, attended closed door secessions, and 
witnessed AL SecGen Amre Moussa read the "Damascus 
Declaration," a statement describing the deeply divided state 
of Arab relations and the overriding need for unity to solve 
problems in Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, Somalia, and Sudan. 
Moussa and Syrian FM Moullem joked in the summit's concluding 
press conference about Syria's willingness to engage in 
Lebanon, even as delegations left Damascus unclear about what 
the AL's next steps would be.  Libyan leader Moammar 
Qadaffi's colorful speech raised eyebrows and elicited 
chuckles among attendees and Syrians watching the proceedings 
on TV.  But Qaddafi's candor on the internal and external 
problems facing the Arab world was seen as an accurate 
depiction of the lack of unity among Arab states.  In the 
end, the absence of nearly half of League member heads of 
state, particularly those of Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, 
underscored Arab disharmony and the AL's lack of purpose. 
End Summary 
 
----------------------- 
Syrians Declare Victory 
----------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) March 31 headlines of Syrian papers and media 
broadcasts declared victory over alleged U.S. efforts to 
sabotage this year's Arab League Summit.  Long stories about 
Bashar al-Asad's sturdy spine and wise vision permeated the 
airwaves, as Syrians returned to normal routines that had 
been interrupted by the presence of thousands of heavily 
armed security forces deployed in and around the Syrian 
capital. 
 
¶3.  (C)  Most of our contacts acknowledged that the absence 
of 11 heads of Arab state deeply undercut the Syrian regime's 
attempt to assert its image as a leader of the Arab world. 
At the same time, one contact compared this summit to 
previous Arab League gatherings by noting "the bar for the 
success of any Arab League Summit is low." Even staunchly 
nationalistic sources such as Riad Abrash expressed a sense 
of relief the summit had passed.  Summing up the main 
reactions we've heard, a taxi driver told us in an 
unsolicited reaction that "The summit did not fix anything 
but it did not make things worse.  Thank God it is over." 
 
---------------------- 
Anything of Substance? 
---------------------- 
 
¶4.  (C) Press contacts painted to us a picture of exhausted 
delegations who labored long hours in the lead up to the 
closing session.  In addition to a 25-minute presentation 
during the summit's final plenary by AL SecGen Amre Moussa, 
the summit produced a 150-page document of "resolutions" that 
was released after the event's conclusion.  Syrian contacts 
in general reacted positively to President Asad's 
introductory intervention and his management of the 
proceedings, with many expressing relief that he observed 
decorum and did not set aside his text in favor of an 
emotional, off-the-cuff diatribe as he had done on previous 
occasions.  Asad focused in detail on Israeli actions, the 
need to address divisions in the Arab world, and Syria's 
willingness to work with other countries to help support a 
consensus agreement in Lebanon. 
 
¶5. (C)  Lebanon:  According to Western press contacts who 
attended the proceedings, there appeared to be some visibly 
negative reactions to statements by Bashar and FM Muallem 
that they would continue to ignore "calls for Syria to 
intervene in Lebanon."  An Egyptian Embassy contact said a 
number of Arab delegations made a point of calling out Bashar 
during the closed head of state dinner on March 29 on Syria's 
role in the current crisis.  Moussa's call for the election 
of a consensus president reflected the sense of most of the 
Arab officials present, according to one Syrian journalist. 
Muallem, however, was not about to be outmaneuvered and 
repeatedly stressed Syria's interpretation of the Arab 
League's "package deal" that made Michel Suleiman's election 
 
DAMASCUS 00000219  002 OF 003 
 
 
conditional on agreement on a cabinet and a new election law. 
 
 
¶6.  (C)  AL Peace Initiative:  After Syrian efforts to weaken 
support for 2002 Arab League peace initiative, Arab 
delegations rallied around an AL-brokered proposal to call 
for an evaluation of the Arab peace strategy and to assess 
Israeli behavior.  Whether the AL will actually meet to 
conduct such an assessment is anyone's guess, according to an 
Egyptian contact.  But the Syrians were definitely interested 
in trying to call attention to "Israeli aggression, 
settlement expansion, and the siege in Gaza" and were able to 
do so without much opposition, he said. 
 
¶7.  (C)  Palestinian Issues:  Though Moussa's statement 
supported the Yemeni initiative, the absence of Yemeni 
President Saleh left many wondering whether the agreement to 
resume dialogue between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority 
would go forward.  A Palestinian contact told us that Abu 
Mazen left with no intention of giving ground without Hamas 
acceptance of preconditions set out in the draft Yemeni 
agreement -- most notably, renunciation of violence, 
acceptance of previous peace agreements, early elections, and 
restoration of the status quo ante in Gaza.  Many here read a 
March 30 interview by Hamas Politburo Chief Khaled Meshal, in 
which he declared Gilad Shalit alive and well, as a Syrian 
effort to reinforce Syria's support for Hamas. 
 
¶8. (C)  Iraq:  The air of cordiality that had presided over 
the two day event was broken briefly in the waning minutes of 
the summit when Iraq attempted to register a reservation on 
the final wording of the Damascus Declaration.  A line which 
had been included on previous summit resolutions, one 
explicitly condemning terrorist operations in Iraq, had been 
omitted.  The final resolution echoed previous declarations 
calls for full sovereignty, quick ending of the foreign 
presence, national reconciliation and the secession of 
hostilities between Iraqis. 
 
¶9.  (C)  Iran:  FM Mottaki's uneventful attendance appeared 
to cause some stress among Arab leaders and even with the 
Syrian hosts.  Turkish Embassy contacts told us FM Muallem's 
body language around Mottaki was unmistakably stiff and that 
the two did not seem to be getting along.  (Note:  We still 
haven't heard whether Mottaki had any active role behind the 
scenes.) 
 
¶10.  (C) Final Documents:  In response to the name of 
Moussa's statement the "Damascus Declaration," locals are 
joking that Moussa and delegate leaders might suffer the same 
fate of Syrian dissidents and members of Syria's Damascus 
Declaration opposition movement and end up in prison.  The 
prevailing view of local contacts and foreign press was that 
Moussa's statement was "depressing."   Marked by a 150-page 
document of summit "resolutions," the summit outcome was 
described by one local reporter as being like an omnibus 
spending bill - each delegation having inserted their own 
"pet projects" without any oversight resulting in an 
ineffective and incoherent product. 
 
----------- 
"Arab Unity" 
----------- 
 
¶11. (C) While cordiality reigned over most of the summit 
compared to the infamous public sniping and walkouts of 
recent summits, there were some cracks in the armor, 
particularly in the summit's closed sessions.  According to 
open source reporting, the only entertainment of the summit 
came when Libyan leader Moammar Qadaffi both shocked and 
amused the delegations when he mocked and chided fellow Arab 
leaders for their disunity and inaction in his opening 
statement.  Qadaffi's words, "we are enemies of 
ourselves...we all hate each other...our intelligence and 
security organs are conspiring against each other...our blood 
and our language may be one, but there is nothing that can 
unite us" seemed to resonate with the public at large as 
several contacts commented that of all the people to speak at 
the summit, he "surprisingly" made the most coherent 
argument, according to many Syrians with whom we spoke about 
the summit. 
 
¶12.  (C)  Comment:  FM Muallem summed up the SARG line best 
by saying "the fact that it happened made it a success." 
Stung by the absence of high-level reps from Saudi Arabia and 
Egypt, Syrian MFA sources were telling local press contacts 
that they would be reaching out to several countries who had 
indicated a desire to send high-level delegations but 
refrained from doing so because of Saudi and/or U.S. 
pressure.  In the meantime, we're hearing that AL SecGen 
 
DAMASCUS 00000219  003 OF 003 
 
 
Moussa may be traveling soon to Lebanon to see if there is 
any more room for maneuver.  But we see no concession coming 
from Syria in the near future. 
 
CORBIN