Cablegate: Damascus Media Reaction: Peace Process, Lebanon, Iraq,

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UNCLAS DAMASCUS 005358

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: Peace Process, Lebanon, Iraq,
Palestinian Territories (12/1-3)

1. Summary: Syrian papers on Dec. 3 featured a Dec. 2 press
statement by Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi in Rome stressing
the importance of dialogue and cooperation with Syria to solve the
region's issues and establish stability. Mr. Prodi warned against
the partitioning of Iraq, saying that there are intensive
international efforts to avoid that, particularly by the UN, the EU,
NATO and Iraq's neighboring countries.
Papers also reported Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's
interview with London-based al-Sharq al-Awsat, published on Dec. 2,
reiterating the importance of the roles of Iran and Syria in the
Middle East. Lavrov said that problems of the region ought to be
solved within one strategy, with participation of all countries in
the region, stressing that Iran and Syria have a role in the attempt
to revive the peace process on all tracks in the Arab-Israeli
conflict.

Papers also featured a lecture delivered by Deputy Foreign Minister
Faisal Miqdad on Dec. 2, confirming Syria's support of the political
process and of reconciliation in Iraq. Miqdad noted that Syria
opposed the US invasion of Iraq and supported efforts to enable all
Iraqis to maintain national unity.

On the Lebanese scene, papers reported a huge demonstration in
Beirut on Dec. 1 demanding the resignation of the current government
and formation of a national unity government. Al-Thawrah on Dec. 1
gives prominence to Lebanese developments, headlining its front-page
report as follows: "The Time Has Come: Lebanon Rises Up". The paper
highlighted statements by Hasan Nasrallah, SecGen of Hizbollah, and
other opposition leaders, calling for participation in the
anti-government protests and blaming the governing coalition for the
political crisis in Lebanon.

End of summary.

2. Selected Headlines:

"Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi and Russian Foreign Minister
Sergey Lavrov reiterate the importance of dialogue and cooperation
with Syria to solve the region's issues and to cement stability in
it" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 12/3)

"Imad Mustafa, Syria's Ambassador in Washington: We don't seek to
reach a deal with the US, but to help Iraqis" (Government-owned
Al-Thawra, 12/3)

"Deputy Foreign Minister, Faisal Miqdad: We respect choices of the
Lebanese people to form a national unity government"
(Government-owned Al-Thawra, 12/3)

"Lebanese sit-in continues until a new Lebanon is born. National
parties warn against depending on foreign support. President Lahoud
criticizes US and French intervention in Lebanon. Resigned FM
Salloukh calls on Arab brothers to avoid unilateral positions. Arab
League SecGen Amr Mousa in Beirut today" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th,
12/3)

"All Lebanon in Beirut: An open sit-in starts, demanding formation
of a new government and ending foreign tutelage. Aoun, Leader of
the Free Patriotic Movement: The government has to resign soon.
The ruling team has made corruption its destiny. Former Lebanese PM
al-Hoss: Its decision is up to the USA administration. Former PM
Karami: We are working to rescue Lebanon. Hizbollah Chairman: It
is a big confrontation. MPs and personalities: We will witness
emergence of an Arab Lebanon. Former Minister Wahab: Two-thirds of
Lebanon agreed on the departure of the al-Saniora government"
(Government-owned Tishreen, 12/2)

"The Time Has Come: Lebanon Rises Up. Nassrallah: It is a
peaceful and open sit-in in central Beirut. Lahoud: The desired
change is coming. Hashem: It is the end of the ruling majority.
Franjiyeh: A historical day to save the people. Wakim: To keep
civil peace. Arslan: To topple the corrupt authority"
(Government-owned Al-Thawra, 12/1)

"A secret US-Israeli operation room in Lebanon to supervise

assassinations" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 12/1)

"UN SecGen Kofi Anan condemns Israeli violations of Lebanese
airspace" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 12/3)

"Syria's Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs calls on World
Organizations to protect Syrian workers in Lebanon"
(Government-owned Al-Thawra, 12/3)

"Two US soldiers killed in al-Anbar. Scores of Iraqi casualties in
explosions of three booby-trapped cars in Baghdad" (Government-owned
Al-Ba'th, 12/3)

"PLO Chairman Abbas stops talks on forming a national unity
government and looks for alternatives. Israeli occupation rejects
truce in the West Bank and kills a Palestinian in Hebron"
(Government-owned Tishreen, 12/2)

"Italian forces complete withdrawal from Iraq. A US soldier killed
in Baghdad. Clashes in Baghdad and al-Samawa" (Government-owned
Tishreen, 12/2)

"The Baker-Hamilton report on Iraq will be issued on Wednesday"
(Government-owned Tishreen, (12/2)

3. Editorial Block Quotes:

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

"Beirut's Message"

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

Isam Dari, a commentator in government-owned Tishreen, commented
(12/2): "The huge popular protest in downtown Beirut is a message
to the Lebanese government and the world that the Lebanese people
are united in their demand for a national unity government that
brings people together, not moves them apart, a government that
works for the sake of Lebanon and the Lebanese and their national
interests without foreign interference, which, regrettably, is now
practiced in broad daylight....

"That was the message. Will the government team respond to it and
to its demand, or is it determined to lead Lebanon into the
unknown...?

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

"Do Not Ask about the Mission"

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

Hanan Hamad, a commentator in government-owned Tishreen, wrote
(12/2): "It is no longer enough that former US Secretary of State
Colin Powell regrets presenting his famous report to the UN Security
Council, which paved the way for the occupation of Iraq under the
pretext that it possessed WMD, or that former US President Jimmy
Carter says the war on Iraq was one of the gravest mistakes that
President George Bush has made and is still making. It is no longer
enough that James Baker, the chief of American diplomacy in the
administration of George Bush Senior, with all the political
experience and shrewdness he enjoys, rushes to bring the son out of
his crisis....

"All this is not enough to save President Bush from his predicament
as long as he himself is willing to sink deeper, with much ignorance
and stupidity that push one to hit the bottom of the abyss. He is
leaving the region while it is likely to explode in more than one
location, stressing that he will not withdraw from Iraq before
'accomplishing the mission,' a mission that appeared impossible to
the American forces....

"Bush leaves the region without announcing his strategy in Iraq and
without heeding Baker's advice. In an attempt, perhaps, to sweeten
the taste of this advice in the mouth of Bush, who refuses to take
the dose of medicine, Baker rushed to leak news about holding an

international conference on Iraq in which Syria and Iran
participate, instead of clearly seeking the help of the two
important regional countries. Not only did Bush disobey the advice
on Iraq, but he also left behind a stack of files that are likely to
explode through the blessing of the Palestinian rift, by supporting
one party against another to thwart the effort to form a Palestinian
national unity government...."
----------------------

"The Tampera Document"

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

Ahmad Hamadah, a columnist in government-owned Al-Thawrah, commented
(12/1): "The Euro-Med ministerial conference in Finland scored a
positive position as it called, in its final statement, for
achieving a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East based on
UN resolutions....

"If such European calls are always met with Israel's rejection, why
don't the influential European parties take practical steps to force
Israel to comply with UN resolutions...?

"There must be an end to threats posed by Israel's terrorist
practices and occupation of Arab territories.... The positive
positions that began to appear need intensive efforts to activate
them and enable them to play a role in building true peace in the
region...."

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

"A Mysterious Mission"

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

Adnan Ali, a commentator in government-owned Al-Thawra, wrote
(12/1): "US President George Bush's statements describing what is
happening in Iraq as a conflict between extremists and moderates
reflect simplistic thinking, indicating, perhaps, that the US
Administration, despite all the setbacks and criticism it faces at
home and abroad over the miserable failure of its Iraq policy, has
not yet drawn the right conclusions, and that it is still using the
same argument to justify this failure.... Bush says that his country
will not withdraw its forces from Iraq before the mission has been
accomplished....

"What mission is Bush talking about? The US Administration, slapped
by the hard facts on the ground, has often given different answers
to this question, from promoting democracy in Iraq and the region to
merely securing a non-humiliating departure from this quagmire....

"After the US failures in Iraq, a feeling has began to sneak even
into the corridors of the decision-makers in Washington that there
is a need for help from the neighboring countries to restore
stability in Iraq, especially from Syria and Iran, which have
extended a helping hand to Iraq to enable it to overcome its current
plight, which everyone agrees is purely American-made. There is
fear, however, that Washington may work to foil these good efforts
under the pressure of the remaining hotheads in the Bush
administration and the pressure of the Israeli lobby, which wants
Iraq to serve as a model of the disintegration of the region and the
fragmentation of its peoples."

Corbin

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