US embassy cable - 03AMMAN6394

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 006394 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARN, NEA/PA, NEA/AIA, INR/NESA, R/MR, 
I/GNEA, B/BXN, B/BRN, NEA/PPD, NEA/IPA FOR ALTERMAN 
USAID/ANE/MEA 
LONDON FOR GOLDRICH 
PARIS FOR O'FRIEL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KMDR JO 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON ISRAELI RAID ON SYRIA 
 
 
Summary 
 
The lead story in all papers today, October 6, as well 
as commentaries focus on the Israeli raid on Syria in 
retaliation for the operation in Haifa. All papers 
reported Arab and International condemnation of this 
attack. According to the dailies, Jordanian Foreign 
Minister Muasher said that Jordan considers the attack 
a "serious escalation" and expressed his pessimism 
about the current situation. Arabic daily Al-Dustour 
cites an unidentified official in Washington as saying 
that Syria has been warned against standing on the 
wrong side of the war on terrorism. Another story in 
all papers highlights the King's meeting with a 
delegation from the British Royal Academy for Defense 
Studies, during which he called for an end to violence 
in the Palestinian territories and a quick transfer of 
power to the Iraqis. All papers announce the formation 
of a new parliamentary bloc called "the Homeland for 
Reform" bloc, which includes 25 parliamentarians from 
two parliamentary blocs - "the Homeland" bloc and "the 
Reformers" bloc. This is the first integration of 
blocs of its kind in the history of Parliament. 
 
Editorial Commentary on Israeli Raid on Syria 
 
-- "Is It A Shuffling of Cards or A Change in the 
Rules of the Game?" 
 
Commenting on the Israeli raid on Syria, semi- 
official, influential Arabic daily Al-Rai (10/06) 
asks: "Did Sharon's government act upon its own whims 
when it transferred the battle to Damascus? Is 
Washington not aware of this qualitative move towards 
escalation, which Jordan considers a serious 
escalation that will push the entire region into a 
continuous whirlpool of violence?" 
 
The paper adds: "The flexing of muscles on the part of 
Sharon's government does not reflect any extraordinary 
powers. On the contrary, it reflects a clear state of 
political failure, behind which stands a government 
that still wagers on the option of using force despite 
the dismal failure of this option over the past three 
years, which only led to more violence and hatred . . 
It seems that the road map will also fail unless 
extremism and violence are bridled and the Palestinian 
and Israeli parties are forced to carry out their 
commitments under the responsibility of the UN 
Security Council and the Quartet." 
 
Maintaining that Israel's raid on Syria, which is the 
first in two decades, is an Israeli message with many 
connotations and potentials, Al-Rai concludes: "This 
demonstrates a failure on the part of the strong 
Israeli military arsenal to end the conflict, which 
calls for an Israeli self-evaluation that would lead 
to the arena of negotiations and political solutions 
and away from the options of using force and security- 
related measures." 
 
-- "Israel Escalates Tension .. On A Regional Level" 
 
Center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour 
(10/06) editorializes: "Observers fear that Tel Aviv 
will use Washington's mild reaction (to the raid) and 
that of other Western capitals to continue its policy 
of escalation. Indeed, a call for self-restraint is 
not enough to bridle this sudden Israeli outburst and 
saying that Israel has the right to defend its 
citizens in nothing but a green light for Israeli 
aggression." 
 
Al-Dustour concludes: "As we have said before, 
violence breeds violence and the whirlpool of war and 
aggression that was started by the extremist right 
wing government in Israel will only expand the area of 
the conflict and threaten regional security and 
stability . . . This calls for extreme caution and 
vigilance as well as greater international 
intervention to bridle the Israeli escalation before 
it is too late." 
 
-- "The Raid on Damascus and the New Rules of the 
Game" 
 
Daily columnist Abu Yazan writes on the op-ed page of 
center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour 
(10/06): "It is very likely that the Syrian-Arab 
reaction to the raid will not go beyond a condemnation 
or a denunciation. At the very most, the Arab 
community will resort to the UN Security Council, 
seeking a resolution that criticizes the raid and 
condemns Palestinian and Lebanese terrorist factions 
or a statement from the Council that would call for 
self-restraint and respect for signed agreements and 
for providing the right climate to resume the peace 
process." 
 
Abu Yazan concludes: "If this happens, Israel will be 
encouraged to carry out more such operations and 
perhaps of a larger scale. Only then would Tel Aviv 
really succeed in changing the rules of a game that 
has lasted for thirty years . . . It is too early to 
predict the new rules of this game and how will the 
parties concerned deal with them." 
GNEHM