INITIAL REACTIONS TO THE IKHTIYAR AND JAMA'A'S

C O N F I D E N T I A L DAMASCUS 004045

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NEA/ELA
NSC FOR SINGH
TREASURY FOR GLASER/LEBENSON
EB/ESC/TFS FOR SALOOM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/16/2016
TAGS: ECON ETTC SY SANC
SUBJECT: INITIAL REACTIONS TO THE IKHTIYAR AND JAMA'A'S
DESIGNATIONS

REF: A. DAMASCUS 276


B. DAMASCUS 605

Classified By: CDA Michael Corbin for reasons 1.5 b/d


1. (U) On 16 August, the quasi-independent Syrian news web
site, Champress, ran an article on the Treasury Department's
designation of Hisham Ikhtiyar, director of the Ba'ath Party
Regional Command's National Security Bureau, and Jama,a
Jama,a, former commander of Syrian Military Intelligence's
headquarters in Beruit, for financial sanctions under E.O.

13338. The state-controlled local print media had no
coverage of the designations, and the regional papers that
did have articles on the subject were not available locally
today. In spite of the SARG's apparent censorship, a
surprising number of Syrians were nearly immediately aware of
the designations thanks to the Champress and on-line versions
of regional newspapers. Though not causing the local buzz or
speculative reaction that the January 2006 designation of
President Bashar Asad,s brother-in-law, Asif Shawkat, did
(ref A),Syrians who follow the news closely are quietly
discussing the designations.


2. (C) Imad Ghreiwati, president of the Damascus Chambers of
Industry and local Ford dealer, commented to us that the
designations had gotten his attention. He clearly indicated
Jama'a's designation was justified by saying simply he
"understood" the reasons. Ghreiwati questioned at length why
Ikhtiyar had been designated stating that he judged
Ikhtiyar,s current position as modest, and one of
coordination and consultation, not policy formulation or
execution. Other business contacts echoed Ghreiwati,s
questioning of Ikhtiyar's designation. The business
community's apparent ability to overlook the leading role
played by Ikhtiyar in such recent regressive SARG actions as
its crackdown on civil society and restriction of diplomatic
contacts and movement, highlights the higher value the
community affords Ikhtiyar's reported reputation for relative
honesty and lack of finacial corruption.


3. (C) A number of business contacts saw the designations as
a US response to President Asad,s confrontational August 15
speech. Contacts commented that the designations were a weak
answer to Asad having challenged the US earlier the same day.
Interestingly, those most convinced the designations were a
USG reaction were also those most alarmed by Asad's
aggressive rhetoric. Those among our contacts most inclined
to conspiracy theories, however, asserted that the
designations were one more proof that the USG had secretly
cut a deal with Asad ) the reasoning being, the US had to do
something in response to Asad,s confrontational speech and
by choosing a financial sanction that they judge to have
little real consequence, the US was in fact registering no
opposition to Asad continuing his aggressive stance.


4. (C) Comment. All-in-all, our initial judgment of the
Ikhtiyar and Jama'a designations is that they were viewed as
topical by Syrians ) a timely USG response to actions taken
by this regime, e.g. Asad,s challenging speech. Secondly,
these designations had some resonance, as they registered at
a minimum with the business community. So far, Syrian
reactions have focused on corruption, particularly in
Lebanon, which we continue to believe should be the focus of
our PD rollouts (ref B).
CORBIN