US embassy cable - 05AMMAN7372

UNCLAS AMMAN 007372 
 
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 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
 
TAGS: KMDR JO 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON SYRIA 
 
                        Summary 
 
-- Lead stories in all papers today, September 14, 
carry reports on the oil price hikes in the world 
market and its effects on Jordan.  Another lead story 
focuses on King Abdullah's activities and remarks on 
the sidelines of his participation in the World Summit 
in New York.  All papers highlight President Bush's 
"warning" to Syria that it will be increasingly 
isolated if it fails to control its borders with Iraq. 
 
                 Editorial Commentary 
 
-- "Damascus and the tightening cordons of isolation 
and siege" 
 
Daily columnist Urayb Rintawi writes on the op-ed page 
of center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour 
(09/14):  "The noose around the Syrian leadership's 
neck is tightening..  On one hand, Meles has taken his 
first steps towards the making of another `Lockerbie 
scenario' in Syria, since information indicates that 
he suspects the involvement of four Syrian generals in 
the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister 
Hariri.  On the other hand, Iraqi-American statements 
that condemn Syria and threaten its regime are on the 
rise . and Damascus seems to be the preoccupation of 
Washington and its Iraqi allies.  A third issue is the 
ongoing stories from the Syrian opposition about the 
deteriorating status of the regime, from talk of 
arrests that include high level army and security 
officers to rumors of an imminent military coup..  The 
point is that Syria's situation is very intricate and 
complicated..  Before Hariri's assassination, we used 
to say that the major dangers that face Syria come 
from the inside, and that the regime needs to start 
making concessions for the benefit of its own people, 
as opposed to foreigners.  Today, however, and after 
the assassination and the repercussions of the Iraqi 
situation, the volume of concessions that the regime 
is required to make have become heavier than Syria's 
structure can withstand.  Meles' idea is snowballing 
and Washington, being wounded from Baghdad and New 
Orleans, may be more ferocious in the days to come." 
 
-- "Enough of the destructive lies" 
 
Chief Editor Taher Udwan writes on the back-page of 
independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al Arab Al Yawm 
(09/14):  "The U.S. administration's lie-producing 
factories insist on producing and marketing their lies 
in the Middle East in a sickly manner that only serves 
to expand the circle of terrorism, murder, and wars. 
This is an expression of this administration's 
bankruptcy and the policies lacking in morality out of 
Afghanistan, through Iraq and to New Orleans.  The 
most recent lies are those threats made by the U.S. 
Ambassador to Iraq against Syria, during which he 
hinted at the military option.  This indicates that 
the Bush administration may resort to expanding the 
circle of war from Talafr to Syria amidst pressures 
from the Iraqi resistance and from the feeling of 
helplessness in achieving a clear victory at a time 
when criticism escalates against Bush following 
Hurricane Katrina and calls for withdrawing the U.S. 
troops from Iraq.  It is easy to blame others.  This 
is the policy of the Bush administration..  We had 
hoped that the U.S. Ambassador would learn from Colin 
Powell's regret after having fallen victim to 
deception over the invasion of Iraq, and to think of 
how to rid the United States of its role as an 
occupying and destructive force in Iraq and of how to 
turn this role into a force that corrects mistakes, 
wipes away the effects of the destructive lies and 
restores peace and stability to the bereft country. 
But it seems that the U.S. Ambassador is keen on 
managing wars from Afghanistan to Iraq and now he is 
looking for another war with Syria. 
HALE