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Viewing cable 05DAMASCUS6600, Damascus Media Reaction: GCC Summit, IIC, Iraq,

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
05DAMASCUS6600 2005-12-20 16:03 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Damascus
VZCZCXYZ0013
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDM #6600/01 3541603
ZNR UUUUU ZZH (544)
O 201603Z DEC 05
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6269
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 5672
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 3577
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 2031
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 6820
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 0656
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 4172
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 0407
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL//CCPA//
INFO RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 6558
UNCLAS DAMASCUS 006600 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR PA, NEA/ARN, INR/IC/CD, INR/S:STHIBEAULT 
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: GCC Summit, IIC, Iraq, 
Palestinian Territories 12/20) 
 
1. Summary: Syrian papers today reported the final 
communique of the Gulf Cooperation Council(GCC) summit that 
underlined commitment to the security and stability of Syria 
and Lebanon, adding that Syria had cooperated with the 
international investigation into the assassination of former 
Premier Rafik al-Hariri. The GCC summit expressed relief at 
Syria's cooperation with German prosecutor Mehlis and at 
Syria's position regarding UNSC resolution 1644. 
 
All papers featured a statement by Mohammed Khaleifa, Media 
Advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab 
Emirates, stressing that the ICC report into the 
assassination of al-Hariri is "a failure because it is based 
on false testimony, so the commission must restart the 
investigation from point zero." Khaliefa said that "the 
fabrication of false witnesses has failed," asserting that 
"the head of the commission has become aware of Syria's 
innocence." He added, "Because the commission has failed to 
find a definite accusation against Syria, the US will not be 
able to achieve its schemes against Syria." He pointed out 
that it is obvious that the commission is working according 
to a pre-arranged agenda to accuse Syria. 
 
Government-owned Tishreen carried an op-ed by Dr. Buthaina 
Sha'ban, Syrian Minister of Expatriates, commenting on a 
recent article by Secretary of State Condaleeza Rice 
published in "The Washington Post" on freedom and democracy. 
Dr. Sha'ban stressed that "freedom and democracy can be 
achieved only through justice, equality, ending of 
occupation, and participation of the entire world in the 
fight against terrorism based on internationally defined 
principles and strategies." 
 
2. Selected Headlines: 
 
"The GCC summit calls for ridding the Middle East of WMD and 
expresses relief at Syria's cooperation with the IIC" 
(Government-owned Al-Thawra, 12/20) 
 
"The GCC summit underscores the importance of the security 
and sovereignty of Syria and Lebanon" (Government-owned Al- 
Ba'th, 12/20) 
 
"The United Arab Emirates: The IIC report is a failure. 
Fabrication of false witnesses has failed" (Government-owned 
Al-Ba'th, 12/20) 
 
"Jordanian papers condemn the vicious exploitation of the 
assassination crimes: Mehlis targeted Syria with fake 
testimony" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 12/20) 
"Iranian Vice-President arrives in Damascus" (Government- 
owned Tishreen, 12/20) 
"The Amal Movement reiterates its determination to maintain 
distinguished relations with Syria. The Moslem Scholars 
Gathering holds Israeli agents responsible for explosions in 
Lebanon" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 12/20) 
 
"Lahoud expresses solidarity with the boycotting ministers. 
Al-Saniora brandishes UNSC resolution 1559. The Muslim 
Scholars Gathering: Destroying Lebanese reconciliation is a 
violation of the Taif Accord" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 
12/20) 
 
"Bush acknowledges difficulty of the war on Iraq and the 
mistakes of US intelligence and calls on Americans not to 
surrender to despair" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 12/20) 
 
"A US marine is killed in Baghdad. The military operation in 
Al-Anbar is resumed. The Unified Iraqi Coalition leads in 
preliminary elections results" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 
12/20) 
 
"13 Israeli raids on Gaza. The Palestinian Authority: A 
deliberate escalation to block elections" (Government-owned 
Al-Thawra, 12/20) 
 
3. Editorial Block Quotes: 
"The Message of UNSC Resolution 1644" 
Muhammed Khair al-Jamali, an editorialist in government- 
owned Al-Thawra, commented (12/20): "The US State Department 
spokesman's commented on Resolution 1644, saying: If the 
Syrian government believes the world will turn its eyes away 
from the investigation and stop searching for the killers of 
Al-Hariri, then it is wrong.... 
"Does this American comment mean that Syria was satisfied 
with the Security Council resolution while the US 
Administration and the original drafters of the resolution 
were not? Both conclusions are correct. The resolution did 
not contain sanctions or threaten to use them as Washington 
wanted and applied pressure to achieve. Nor did the 
resolution support the call to expand the international 
investigation commission's mission to include other recent 
assassinations in Lebanon.... 
"But the United States was dissatisfied not only because the 
resolution came out as it did, but also because a number of 
countries rejected the original draft, which was meant to 
politicize the investigation. 
"China, Russia, Algeria, and Brazil rejected the original 
draft resolution because it had political objectives out of 
harmony with the provisions of the UN Charter.... Through 
Resolution 1644, China, Russia, Algeria, and Brazil broke 
the American-Western control on the United Nations and its 
Security Council.... If Russia and China continue to 
cooperate with Arabs and the Third World countries against 
the American-Western monopoly of the United Nations, the 
United States will no longer be able to use the 
international organization and the Security Council as an 
instrument to pressure the world and tailor it to its own 
model and interests." 
"US Democracy and Israeli Interests" 
Ali Nasrallah, an editorialist in government-owned Al- 
Thawra, wrote (12/20): "The US House of Representatives' 
decision on HAMAS' participation in the Palestinian 
elections is a flagrant interference in the affairs and 
options of the countries of the region under the slogan of 
spreading democracy.... 
"The United States no longer feels ashamed to use pressure 
and political blackmail in its foreign policy. However, the 
American decision against HAMAS and the PA is not 
surprising, as it reflects the US Administration's known 
bias toward and full adoption of Israel's extremist and anti- 
peace positions. 
"The United States' eagerness to safeguard Israel's security 
and protect its interests is undoubtedly the basic factor in 
the US policy, which conflicts with international laws and 
resolutions and the UN Charter. But its interference in 
Palestinian affairs in this way, under the guise of 
democracy and the war on terror, is blackmail, a serious 
disregard for all principles, and an attempt to abolish the 
Palestinian people's right to resistance, self- 
determination, and the building of their democratic system, 
in which HAMAS is a basic pillar, as the movement enjoys 
broad popular support, as appeared clearly in the victory it 
achieved in the recent municipal elections." 
 
"How Can We Save Today's World?" 
 
Buthaina Sha'ban, Minister of Expatriates, wrote (12/19): 
"I have read with great interest Ms. Condaleeza Rice's 
article that was published in The Washington Post on 11 
December 2005 under the title 'The Promise of Democratic 
Peace: Why Promoting Freedom Is the Only Realistic Path to 
Security'.... 
 
"In her article she summarized US policy as seeking 'to end 
tyranny and dictatorship in the world by changing the nature 
of regimes, and creating well-governed democratic states 
that can meet the needs of their citizens and conduct 
themselves responsibly in the international system. That is, 
the US Administration believes that the danger comes from 
the states that do not have good regimes. 
 
"Ms. Rice's article coincided with the wide media coverage 
of the scandal of secret prisons set up by the US 
intelligence service in several European and Asian states 
and what that means in practice, namely, that the 
authorities of the most powerful democratic state are 
arresting and torturing suspects in those prisons that are 
located outside the jurisdiction of [American] law.  I was 
surprised by Ms Rice's justification of the existence of 
such a policy of arrests and torture -- and perhaps death 
under torture -- by saying it contributed to saving the 
lives of Europeans, without commenting on those who were 
arrested and tortured and who may have been innocent and 
fallen victim merely for coming under suspicion, often as a 
result of having an Arab or Muslim name or a dark 
Mediterranean complexion.... 
"It can be said that Ms. Rice's premises will not lead to 
the world to which everyone aspires, for many reasons:  Good 
and evil have existed since the beginning of creation. 
Therefore it is not realistic or logical for the United 
States to undertake the task of eliminating evil from the 
world and cleanse it of that evil, and terrorism is absolute 
evil.... 
"The strategy of achieving 'democratic peace' has ignored a 
fundamental and vital matter for mankind since its birth, 
namely, the rejection of the principle of foreign occupation 
of the territory of others. Such occupation constitutes the 
worst form of degradation of human dignity and the 
aspirations of people to freedom. How then can democratic 
peace be built in the Middle East when the Israeli 
occupation is stifling the Arabs in Palestine, the Golan 
Heights, and southern Lebanon....? 
"It is necessary to focus on the principle of justice and 
the human right to equal human dignity.  There is no doubt 
that that does not exist at all today, in the light of the 
financing of media campaigns that disseminate misleading 
news, and in the light of shelving documents that condemn 
the policies of aggression, war crimes, and state terrorism. 
"The mistaken and dangerous concept on which the policies of 
a superpower have been built is that the Middle East has 
produced an ideology of hatred, while that region is in fact 
a model of a longstanding historical coexistence among the 
followers of the divine religions.... 
"Undoubtedly, the emergence of a few individuals who feel 
great anger as a result of the lack of justice and dignity 
and express such anger in unacceptable criminal ways does 
not mean there are no alternatives for putting matters right 
if the will and intention exist, and does not mean that the 
peoples of the region do not resist terrorism and 
injustice.  However, injustice is the solid basis on which 
terror and terrorists flourish." 
Johnson-Casares