Cablegate: Damascus Media Reaction: Post-War Maneuvering, Mepp,

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OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDM #4974 2901255
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 171255Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2072
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 6319
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 4134
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 2718
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 7321
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 1336
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 4700
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 0915
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL//CCPA//
INFO RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 7051

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 004974

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: Post-war Maneuvering, MEPP,
Palestinian developments, (10/13 -10/16)
1. Summary: The Syrian press covered (October 13 - 16) the
following topics:

President Assad met with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel
Moratinos on Sunday. Papers quoted Moratinos as saying that "Syria
is part of the solution rather than the problem."

President Assad held an Iftar on Sunday at which he gave a speech to
Syrian clerics, calling on them to confront the distortion which
Islam is encountering, through dialogue and wisdom.

In a meeting with the head of the Political Department of the
Palestinian Liberation Organization, Farouq Qadoumi, President Assad
stressed the importance of Palestinian national unity and the
continuation of inter-Palestinian dialogue to achieve the ultimate
goals of the Palestinian people, mainly ending the Israeli
occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state with
Jerusalem as its capital.

President Assad also met with Egypt's Intelligence Chief, Omar
Suleiman, who delivered a letter from Mubarak dealing with
"bilateral relations and developments in the region."

Papers also covered a meeting between the Palestinian Minister of
Interior and his Syrian counterpart, who renewed Syria's support for
Palestinian national unity.

End of summary.

2. Selected Headlines:
President Assad to clerics: The responsibilities which Syria holds
is an honor for her (government-owned Tishreen, October 16, 2006)

President Assad reviews with Moratinos the situation in the region,
Syrian-Spanish relations and the European vision regarding launching
the peace process (government-owned Tishreen, October 15, 2006)

President Assad receives a letter from President Mubarak about
bilateral relations (government-owned Tishreen, October 16, 2006)

Moratinos: Syria is part of the solution; no peace without her
(government-owned al-Baath, October 16, 2006)

President Assad reiterates to Qadoumi the importance of resuming
dialogue and enhancing Palestinian national unity (government-owned
Tishreen, October 16, 2006)

3. Editorial Block Quotes:

--------------------------------------------- ---
"Bush's Comma"

--------------------------------------------- ---
"So long as the US Administration uses this discourse, and so long
as President Bush considers what is going on now in Iraq as a mere
comma in Iraqi history, the series of setbacks and curses shall
haunt the current US Administration until its last day in office,
and shall hit its members with something worse than Gulf War Disease
after they leave office.

"How can a human being believe...that the lives of 650,000 Iraqis
are a mere comma, when Iraqi history is written. Mr. President,
when, then, is life valuable?

"The problem of President Bush's Administration, with itself and its
people, is that it does not want to admit the faults that it has
committed and is planning to commit in the Arab region, especially
regarding Iraqis and Palestinians.... Blair's Government, a US ally,
has started to learn from what has happened and is preparing itself
to correct its mistakes, as its Military Chief said a couple of days
ago. Still, this change will not save Blair's government from
setbacks and curses, which will continue to follow it until its last
minute."

Corbin

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