Asad, Syria/Palestinians, Winograd Report, Iraq, Lebanon

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:

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"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...."

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"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..."
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"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