Damascus Media Reaction: Asad's Speech, Syria/Germany,

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 004023

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: Asad's Speech, Syria/Germany,
Syria/OIC, Israel/Lebanon (8/16)



1. Summary: Syrian papers today reported President Asad's
address at the Fourth General Conference of the Syrian
Journalists Union. President Asad delivered what the media
described as his strongest attack ever on the Lebanese anti-


Syrian parliamentary majority, Arab governments, Israel and the
United States. He leveled sharp criticism at Israel, saying
that peace in the Middle East would remain elusive for the
foreseeable future. "Their 'New Middle East', based on
subjugation and humiliation, and denial of rights and identity,
has turned into an illusion," Asad said, in reference to
Washington's goal of helping to shape what it calls a new,
democratic Middle East. "It is evident after six years of this
(US) administration that there is no peace and there will be
none in the foreseeable future," he said. Asad added that
Israel must return the Arab land it has occupied since 1967, or
face more insecurity, delegating the final confrontation with
Israel to coming generations. "The Israeli leadership ... is at
an historic crossroads. Either it moves toward peace and gives
back rights, or faces constant instability until an (Arab)
generation comes and puts an end to the issue". The Syrian
President said that Lebanon's anti-Syrian parliamentary majority
is responsible for Israel's war on Lebanon and accused it of
inciting strife in the country by asking Hizbollah to lay down
its arms. "Saving the present Israeli government is among the
tasks of these (March 14) forces. After the failure of this
war, these forces want...to provoke strife in Lebanon by trying
to disarm the resistance," Asad added. He said that the March
14 forces "barely waited for the blood to dry before they
started speaking of removing the arms of the resistance. But
they have failed, and their fall is not far off." "They are the
ones who bear responsibility for the war and the destruction,"
Asad charged in his hard-hitting speech. The Syrian leader, in
his first major public address since Israel launched its
offensive against Lebanon on July 12, said that America's plan
for a "new Middle East" has collapsed after Hezbollah's
successes in fighting against Israel. He said the region had
changed "because of the achievements of the resistance." Asad
also lashed out at Arab regimes, without naming them, who have
criticized Hizbollah for kidnapping two Israeli soldiers and
starting the war. Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan--all allies of
the United States--criticized Hezbollah's actions at the start
of the conflict. "We do not ask anyone to fight with us or for
us; but he should at least not adopt the enemy's views," Asad
said. He accused Israel of using Hezbollah's capture of two
soldiers as a pretext for launching its massive assaults, adding
that the Jewish state does not want peace. "Peace would involve
Israel returning occupied lands to their owners and restoring
their rights," he said. "The peace process has failed. It has
failed since its inception," he said.

Papers also featured a statement by the Syrian Foreign Ministry
that German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier's visit to
Damascus, which was scheduled to take place on Tuesday, was
canceled at his request because of divergent views between the
two sides on the assessment of Security Council Resolution 1701
and its repercussions on Lebanon, and on the current developments
in the region, especially in Lebanon, as a result of the Israeli
aggression on it.

Papers also reported that President Asad reviewed the situation
in the region with a delegation from the Organization of the
Islamic Conference (OIC) headed by Malaysian Foreign Minister
Hamed al-Bar. Discussion also focused on UNSC Resolution 1701,
regarding the cessation of aggressive actions in South Lebanon
and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all Lebanese
territories beyond the blue line. Talks during the meeting also
dealt with ramifications of the Israeli aggression on Lebanon
and means of supporting Lebanon, as well as the OIC role in
solving issues of the region.

End of summary.


2. Selected Headlines:

"President Asad addresses the Fourth Conference of the
Journalists Union: We have to transform military victory of the

resistance into political victory. The May 17th team has failed
to undermine the resistance. The aggression was a defeat for
Israel and its allies. The US and Israel don't seek peace"
(Government-owned Tishreen, 8/16)
"Information Minister Bilal: President Asad represented the
impulse of the Arab street and expressed the dignity of the Arab
people" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 8/16)

"President Asad reviews repercussions of the Israeli aggression
against Lebanon and means of supporting Lebanon with an OIC
delegation" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 8/16)

"Foreign Ministry source: Cancellation of the visit of German
Foreign Minister Mr. Steinmeier was due to different points of
view regarding the assessment of UNSC Resolution 1701. Foreign
Minister Mouallem discusses the situation in Lebanon and the
necessity of establishing a just and comprehensive peace in the
region with the Norwegian Foreign Minister." (Government-owned
Tishreen, 8/16)

"A US report unveils Israeli losses in the war against Lebanon:
343 Israelis were killed, 617 injured and 164 Merkava tanks
destroyed. American pilots participated in the war" (Government-
owned Al-Thawra, 8/16)

"New US troops dispatched to Iraq. Scores of fatalities and
injuries during various attacks in Iraq" (Government-owned Al-
Thawra, 8/16)

"More than 8 Palestinians injured during an Israeli assault
against Gaza" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 8/16)


3. Editorial Block Quotes:

--------------

"Don't Try to Hide Victory"

--------------

Umar Jaftali, an editorialist in government-owned Tishreen,
wrote (8/16): "Although the terrorist Israeli aggression
against Lebanon has stopped, there is nothing on the ground to
suggest that the occupation of Lebanese territories has ended or
that the Israeli-American conspiracy against Lebanon has
stopped....

"Lebanon offered many martyrs in the war; the real compensation
for these martyrs will be that the victory of the national
resistance over the enemy of Lebanon and the nation not be
wasted....

"The enemy was forced to stop the fight as a result of the heavy
losses that its forces and settlements suffered. It did not
stop until an American-international effort to defeat Lebanon
from within began, as it was impossible to defeat it militarily.
Hence, it can be said that those who try to hide the glow of the
Resistance victory help implement what suits Israel, especially
since Resolution 1701 absolved it of the consequences of the
aggression on Lebanon...."

--------------

"Post-Aggression Address"

--------------

Isam Dari, an editorialist in government-owned Tishreen, wrote
(8/16): "Some Lebanese continue to adopt the same hostile
approach toward Hizbollah, despite the party's steadfastness,
confrontation, and heroism that inflicted a military and
political defeat on Israel and the United States and established
new facts in the region....

"What happened calls for a new Lebanese political discourse and

a new Arab political and media address. It is inconceivable and
unfair to continue with the wretched old discourse that is based
on ready and impotent arguments like 'the eye cannot resist the
awl' and 'we must bow to the storm.' And it is inconceivable
that we today find a team seeking -- in order to serve its own
interests and in implementation of the will of others -- to stab
the Resistance in the back after it achieved victory for Lebanon
and the Arabs. Perhaps this is the first time in the history of
wars and nations that the victor is asked to raise the white
flag and lay down the weapon that protected Lebanon from
treacherous aggression and from serious colonial plans...."

--------------

"Last Minute Bets"

--------------

Ali Qasim, an editorialist in government-owned Al-Thawra, said
(8/16): "The Israeli army suffered a military defeat that will
leave its impact on the position of the Israeli government, as
voices have begun to rise, demanding investigations into both
the political and military performance....

"There is confusion and blunder in the Israeli positions and
attempts to find excuses to cover the failure.... The frenzied
political attempts that some international parties are making to
turn the whole situation to Israel's favor will fail, just as
the military action failed, despite the covert scenarios and
plans to conclude a deal here and a semi-agreement there....

"Some people are playing roles that converge with the desire of
known international parties to steal the victory that the
Resistance achieved. These people do not realize that the
victory that the blood and heroism of the Resistance fighters
achieved will remain too strong to be harmed."

--------------

"Leave Us Alone"

--------------

As'ad Abbud, an editorialist in government-owned Al-Thawra,
wrote (8/16): "Hizbollah's victory showed the Arab peoples the
huge potential they have and their ability to defeat Israel and
regain their rights. But what prevents Arabs from doing this is
the official Arab order, which is distancing our potential from
the battle, and offering cover for the aggression....

"The Arab order deceived us for long years and showed us as
backward peoples with limited resources, qualified only for
bargaining and surrender, not for combat and confrontation....

"Arab peoples must unleash their potential in the long
confrontation, where their first adversary will be the official
Arab order itself...."

--------------

"A New Middle East in Arab Eyes"

--------------

Dr. Faysal Kulthum, Head of the Strategic Studies and Research
Center, wrote in Al-Ba'th (8/16): "The war against Lebanon was
part of an Israeli-Western plan prepared in advance to create a
new Middle East against the will of the peoples of the
region....

There is a conflict between two visions: The American-Western-
Israeli vision and that of its allies and followers from among
the Arab regimes, on the one hand, and the vision of the Arab
and Islamic peoples, whose identity and future are targeted,
including the resistance movements in Lebanon, Palestine, and
Iraq and the countries that have chosen resistance, such as

Syria, Iran, and some Arab countries, in addition to the free
peoples of the world, on the other.... The Israeli campaign
against Lebanon has failed.... A new Middle East is indeed being
born, but it is the Middle East that the peoples of the region,
not the Americans, wish to see...."
Corbin