“At no point in the conversation did Asad ask about the appointment of a U.S. ambassador to Syria or economic sanctions, which suggests to us that he is doing everything possible to avoid the appearance of being the supplicant”

Which is consistent with Syria’s denials of the many right wing opinion pieces and news stories that used to be published the past few years after President Assad met with any American. European, or Saudi delegation. We always read them quoting some unnamed source close to the visiting delegation saying something like “The Syrian President pleaded with us to help stop the Hariri investigation … he is worried he or people close to him will be indicted”

Syria does not ask visitors for favors.

Another top ten spot for Syria

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/bangladesh/travel-tips-and-articles/76216

I think this interview tells us a lot about president Assad personality,his thinking and convictions, and his intentions as far as the future

I do not know, but i feel not confortable with all this story of wikileaks: all the relevations seems going to one direction and we have no revelations about Israel and its policies. We have revelations on Saudi (and other arab countries) against Iran just after they found common ground on several issues (like someone is tring to break this new unity) .. we have revelations against Turkey (and links with Al Qaida) just when Turkey is breaking is strategic relations with Israel … we do not have any ‘revelations’ on Israel, on their attack on Gaza, on the turkish boat etc (is not strange that ambassadors did not write nothing about these issues?) .. The only we have is in favor os them: the good guys tried to coordinate with Egypt and Jordan befor to attack Gaza, but the bad arab guys did not want so the poor guys had to attack by themselfs.
sorry, but all of this smells bad to me …
my feeling is that behind this operation there is at least an huge filtering of information.
And at the end, until now i did not find any real sensitive information revealed … especially the last revelations seems a gossip magazine revelations…
anyone has a different idea on the matter?

ALIEN IN SYRIA

You raise several interesting questions. I am adding some of the points that come to mind.

The first and most relevant question that we all must ask is; from whom does Wikileaks get all this information? Or who would be the most logical provider(s) of such information (?) and lastly who benefits and who comes out looking bad from such information?

Since most of the information Wikileaks has made public concerns primarely American actions then the primary source must be the US Department of State or other US Federal Agencies or lastly the one organization presently being prosecuted in US courts for spying and that can only mean AIPAC.

A friend with long experience in such activities suggested that it could be all three. Aside from all conjectures the question still remains why is it still taking place and for what purpose and to whose benefit.

John Kerry: Let’s give Syria the Golan Heights

Rick Moran
The Wikileaks doc dump has had the unintended effect of revealing some of the true feelings of American policy makers regarding Israel, our Middle East allies, and the peace process.

For instance, one eye opening document reveals John Kerry’s eagerness to give Syria the Golan Heights back to Syria while throwing in East Jerusalem for the Palestinians. Josh Rogin:

On a February trip to the Middle East, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman John Kerry (D-MA) told Qatari leaders that the Golan Heights should be returned to Syria, that a Palestinian capital should be established in East Jerusalem as part of the Arab-Israeli peace process, and that he was “shocked” by what he saw on a visit to Gaza.
Kerry discussed the Israeli-Palestinian peace process in a visit to Qatar during separate meetings with Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani and the Emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa, as revealed by the disclosure of diplomatic cables by the website WikiLeaks.

The emir told Kerry to focus on Syria as the path toward resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Kerry agreed with the emir that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is a man who wants change but pointed out that his arming of Hezbollah and interference in Lebanese politics were unhelpful. Kerry said that Assad “needs to make a bolder move and take risks” for peace, and that he should be “more statesman-like.” Kerry also agreed with the emir that the Golan Heights should be given back to Syria at some point.

“The Chairman added that Netanyahu also needs to compromise and work the return of the Golan Heights into a formula for peace,” the diplomatic cable reported.

There’s a very good reason Israel is reluctant to part with the Golan Heights; they command a superior firing position for Syrian artillery. The reason they were taken in the first place was because of Syria’s nasty habit of opening fire from the Golan without warning on innocent Israelis going about their daily lives. Until Bibi has a negotiating partner in Syria he can trust, the Golan Heights will stay where they are.

And East Jerusalem? I suppose Kerry can readily dismiss longstanding US policy on the need to maintain an undivided Jerusalem as capitol of Israel but who’s paying attention?

We are – now that the truth of this man’s betrayals are in the open.

Alex et al.

Has Any of you come a cross the following story?

http://www.voltairenet.org/article167553.html

Any merit to it at all?

Dragoman,

The story was linked here earlier this week by Ghat Albird. I am not able to decide how credible it is. Can others tell us more about the sources?

Alien in Syria,

I also wondered why is it that the same consistently hilarious public Israeli “diplomacy” under the guidance of Israel’s top diplomat (and ex Moldovan bouncer) would appear to be so professional and so constructive when we go through all the leaks.

I would say some serious filtering took place. Because of the above and because as you mentioned, most of what was revealed was either common knowledge or widely accepted. They made sure they did not reveal serious secrets and they did not do anything to harm Israel’s reputation.

Alien Alex,

Some in the Israeli media asked the same question, Why so little about Israel.
From what I heard on the IDF radio (quotes from a WikiLeaks “producer”), there’s much more to come in the coming days, plenty of it about Israel. Let’s wait and see.
.

I believe that even before SC started a full thread on the leaks (or is it onions?), i mentioned that there was not much revelations in them and summed up most of what all are talking about.

As in many cases, i would like to divert the attention a little bit to a couple of points that I felt are noteworthy. First, I am impressed with the concise style of the reporting in each of the cables i have read so far (more than 20). They are well presented and make one feel that they were present in the meeting. This is very essential in diplomacy and I believe that notwithstanding potential filtering, staff at US embassies, who were probably mid-level career diplomats did an outstanding job reporting on these meetings in manner that leaves no room for more than one interpretation of what took place during these meetings. For that, I would say Kudos US civil servants and state department career diplomats. Most important of these cables are those called scensetters (briefing before a meeting). For anyone in international relationships, these scenesetters are rather crucial, they are where the high level diplomats know what to say to the person they are supposed to meet and where they get background information that allows them not to be blindsided by their interlocutors. On the average, these also were reasonably done in structure and mid-level diplomats showed an outstanding training in organizing the structure of these routine, but important documents.

Where the cables failed, however, was on analysis. There was little or no real analysis in most of these cables. To me this is a very alarming trend. Somehow, these capable diplomats are taught to do the routine part of the job rather well, but fail to provide the value of intelligence. When I read the 2005 cable on Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, I tried to think of the policy maker who has to make decisions based on the analysis presented and found that the analysis was rather poor. The fact that were presented were a random collection of hearsays without one being able to form a coherent picture of the analysis target, or of the potential motivations of those providing the seemingly insider information.

The most striking failure is that with respect to the blind acceptance of the requests by Arab despots for the elimination of Iran’s nuclear program and perhaps of Iran. These poor analysts proved that they have no clue about the psychology of asymmetric international relationships, or for that matter any asymmetric dependency relationships, where the dependent party (sometime person), tend to tell the stronger person what they believe the stronger one wants to hear. We see it in the workplace, in homes, and in political discourse, especially in despotic environments. The diplomats wants to convince themselves that they are operating on equal footing when dealing with Arab despots, but they fail to realize the incredible psychology of the relationship. Anyone with an alcoholic friend should know something about that.

The contrast between the meetings with the chiefs of Israeli intelligence and that with the Egyptian chief of intelligence was a most striking example of the Asymmetric dialog. The Israelis were making demands and starting from the premise that they are the stronger party of the relationship while the american visitors, no matter how high, were constantly trying to demonstrate loyalty and provide assurances. Mr. Suleiman on the other hand, was the one providing assurances of compliance with the US and Israel strategy and telling his visiting general, (i.e., boss) what he thought the general wanted to hear about Hamas, Hizbullah, Iran, and Syria. Frankly, I almost threw up in disgust reading that cable.

On a second thought, these cables are scandalous, even if filtered. It just takes some reading between the lines and some out of the box, or call it, Off the Wall, thinking.

Kudos for american mid-level diplomats for being rather outstanding bureaucrats, but unfortunately, rather limited on creative thinking.

Norman and All

Moron (i.e., Moran) writes

And East Jerusalem? I suppose Kerry can readily dismiss longstanding US policy on the need to maintain an undivided Jerusalem as capitol of Israel but who’s paying attention?

Someone should tell this Moron Moran to read history, here is an unclassified circular form the Jewish Library. The lying bastard needs to be challenged. Long time US policy in Jerusalem has no place for a “undivided capital of Israel”. This is an AIPAC lie that should be stopped. There has yet to be an official declaration of that. Even with the AIPAC unbelievable bullying, the general trend in US policy circles is that Jerusalem status is a matter of negotiation. While hoping that Israel will be able to strong-arm the Palestinians into subjugation, they still have not made that change. The moron Moran is a lying weasel.

Here is the 1966 Cable.

This telegram permits the U.S. Ambassador to Israel to accept an invitation to the opening of the new Knesset (Israeli parliament) building in the western-section Jerusalem . The U.S. Government requests that this invitation not be spotlighted and reiterates its policy that Jerusalem is not the capital of Israel and it should be an internationalized city.

Circular Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Israel/1/

Washington, August 22, 1966, 10:53 p.m.

33056. Ref: Depcirtel 2464, June 15./2/

1. Dept authorizes Ambassador Barbour to accept anticipated formal Israeli Government invitation to attend inauguration ceremonies new Knesset building Jerusalem August 29-31.

2. We consider this inauguration one-time affair that is not to be regarded as precedent or pattern for future nor as representing any change in USG policy on status of Jerusalem. USG continues to support 1948 UN General Assembly resolution that provided for international status Jerusalem under UN administration, and does not recognize Jerusalem as de jure capital of Israel. We trust attendance of official Americans at Knesset opening will not be spotlighted. These points being made to Israeli Embassy here and should be reiterated by Embassy to GOI at appropriate time.

3. Department is informing British, Canadian, German, Belgian and Italian Embassies here since they previously queried us on US position. Embassy Paris may draw on above at its discretion in speaking to GOF.

Rusk

/1/Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 15-2 ISR. Confidential. Drafted by Wolle on August 17; cleared by Symmes and Hare and in substance by UK Country Director J. Harold Shullaw, Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Spanish Sahara, and Tunisia Country Director John F. Root, Edward W. Schaefer of AFNE, and Kinsolving; and approved and initialed by Rusk. Repeated to Algiers, Amman, Baghdad, Beirut, Bonn, Cairo, Damascus, Jerusalem, Jidda, Khartoum, Kuwait, London, Ottawa, Paris, Rabat, Rome, Tripoli, and Tunis and pouched to Taiz.

/2/Circular telegram 2464, June 15, summarizes a conversation that day between Lebanese Ambassador El Ahdab and Davies, in which El Ahdab expressed concern over the possible attendance by Ambassador Barbour at the ceremonial opening of the new Knesset in Jerusalem. (Ibid.)

Source: “Circular Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Israel” in Smith, Louis J. (Ed.). Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, V. 20, Arab-Israeli Dispute 1967-1968. DC: GPO, 2001.

OTW ,

Thank you , they keep repeating a lie until people think it is a fact

OTW,

Fascinating analysis you gave in comment 10 above, thank you. I wish I had the time to read some of those cables. I hope to do that in the coming days.

I wonder about the question of analysis, whether perhaps the State Department directed their mid-level diplomats NOT to analyze, but instead to only provide “the facts”, and let the higher levels reach their conclusions.

As for the leaks vis-a-vis Israel, as Amir pointed out, there is both surprise in Israel (the general public and the media was sure there’d be more, and not very favorable stuff), and anticipation that more’s coming.

Analysis I’ve heard so far by respectable diplomats (such as Dr. Alon Liel) has been that these leaks are, at best, affirmations of the general trends that we are already well aware of. They are archival, and have little policy-changing value. What do you think?

And lastly, regarding your point about Jerusalem, you’re absolutely right, and that can easily be demonstrated by the fact that Jerusalem is the only capital in the world that has no embassies! (The American Embassy is, like all the rest, in Tel-Aviv). No need for cables from 1966… 🙂

My friends Shai and Amir, happy Hanukkah to you and your families.

Off the Wall, Shai

I wish diplomats who are stationed in those embassies would send more analysis back to state department. They probably have much better exposure and understanding of the nuances behind the superficial cold information that they have been reporting.

Thanks Shai

Please do read at least some of the cables, i would be interested in knowing if you see some validity to my argument.

I do agree with Dr. Liel’s analysis. From my first reading, the cable struck me as archival. The scenario you proposed in terms of mid-level diplomats being told not to analyze is very valid. Except that there were some attempts at analysis, and they were rather mediocre. Perhaps this is why these capable managers were asked not to try to analyze.

Years ago, a multi-lingual friend was hired by an embassy primarily to read the influential local press (really all of it, not like Sarah Palins’s all of it) and to prepare a daily briefing for the ambassador. Now this is routine and mundane, but what struck me most was that the Enlightened Ambassador was keen on knowing whether the headline matched the article in tone, especially if the editorial had anything to do with the said headline. If that was the case, he would then order a review of all articles in other newspapers related to the same story. While I do not want to attribute his success only to this issue, but this Ambassador struck me as someone with unique intelligence and a strange way of learning about his host country. He was the longest-serving ambassador in that post, and when leaving it he received highest honors from both his own and his host nations. Citations, according to my friend include an unprecedented service in improving the relationship between the two countries. I am still trying to decipher his logic, but it seems to make sense, and knowing myself, it does so perhaps on the sole reason that it was strange and weird (kind of off the wall once more 🙂 )

The 1966 cable is significant in the sense that even when Jerusalem was physically divided before 1967, the US policy has been that it should be an international city. This is rather informative. Whether one agrees with it or not.

Alex,

Many thanks for the warm wishes.

OTW,

Indeed the more successful diplomats are likely those who want to get as wide a picture as possible of the nation they’re serving in. I imagine reading and comparing various newspapers is also very helpful in better understanding and mapping out the real picture, the important issues (as seen by the general public), the key players, etc. The ambassador you mentioned undoubtedly knew far more about his host nation, than others who preferred the KISS modus operandi.

Btw, regarding Jerusalem, I believe recent American administrations have accepted that in the short term, the city will probably have to be divided, and that E. Jerusalem will have to become the Palestinian capital. In the long term, I do believe Jerusalem should be an international city serving, in fact, the three major monotheistic religions, and the entire world that follows them.

(I didn’t mean to suggest the 1966 cable was insignificant. I meant it as a joke…)

To ALEX and OTW. You all mught find this interesting too.

Zbigniew Brzezinski: Who is Really Leaking to Wikileaks?
01 Dicembre 2010

Zbigniew Brzezinski doesn’t think all the leaked information coming out of Wikileaks is a result of Army PFC Bradley Manning, as a matter of fact he suspects a FOREIGN intelligence service may be providing the more embarrassing leaks. In a PBS interview with Judy Woodruff.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Dr. Brzezinski, what do you think the fallout is going to be?
ZBIGNIEW BRZEZINSKI, former adviser, U.S. National Security: …

The real issue is, who is feeding Wikipedia on this issue — Wiki — Wiki — WikiLeaks on this issue? They’re getting a lot of information which seems trivial, inconsequential, but some of it seems surprisingly pointed.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, what are you referring to?

ZBIGNIEW BRZEZINSKI: Well, for example, there are references to a report by our officials that some Chinese leaders favor a reunified Korea under South Korea.

This is clearly designed to embarrass the Chinese and our relationship with them. The very pointed references to Arab leaders could have as their objective undermining their political credibility at home, because this kind of public identification of their hostility towards Iran could actually play against them at home…

JUDY WOODRUFF: And what is it — what are you worried about with regard to the knowledge that…

ZBIGNIEW BRZEZINSKI: It’s not a question of worry. It’s, rather, a question of whether WikiLeaks are being manipulated by interested parties that want to either complicate our relationship with other governments or want to undermine some governments, because some of these items that are being emphasized and have surfaced are very pointed.

And I wonder whether, in fact, there aren’t some operations internationally, intelligence services, that are feeding stuff to WikiLeaks, because it is a unique opportunity to embarrass us, to embarrass our position, but also to undermine our relations with particular governments.

For example, leaving aside the personal gossip about Sarkozy or Berlusconi or Putin, the business about the Turks is clearly calculated in terms of its potential impact on disrupting the American-Turkish relationship.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Just criticizing the people around…

ZBIGNIEW BRZEZINSKI: And the top leaders, Erdogan and Davutoglu and so forth, are using some really, really, very sharp language.

JUDY WOODRUFF: But this is 250 — it’s a quarter-of-a-million documents.

ZBIGNIEW BRZEZINSKI: Precisely.

JUDY WOODRUFF: How easy would it be to seed this to make sure that it was slanted a certain way?

ZBIGNIEW BRZEZINSKI: Seeding — seeding it is very easy.

I have no doubt that WikiLeaks is getting a lot of the stuff from sort of relatively unimportant sources, like the one that perhaps is identified on the air. But it may be getting stuff at the same time from interested intelligence parties who want to manipulate the process and achieve certain very specific objectives.

It should be noted that while ZB suspects foreign elements behind some of the leaks, it could very well be internal U.S. elements unhappy with the direction the President is taking things. Wikileaks may have both domestic and foreign sources. There could very well be more than one playing this game.

Source > Economic Policy

“A Syrian Perspective” by Ambassador Imad Moustapha.
http://bitterlemons-api.org/inside.php?id=11

The picture of a reasonable, thoughtful Syrian president that emerges from this interview stands in marked contrast to the caricature that one finds all too often in our media.

The Saudi ‘documentary’ ‘Murder in Beirut’ by Charlie Smith, Christopher Mitchell/ORTV includes a number of shots of the first page of a purported UN tribunal/investigation document. The text is very similar to the Follath/Der Spiegel article.
Interestingly, the author still uses the Mehlis estimate regarding the amount of explosives (“1000 kg”). Since June 2006 the estimate was increased to “at least 1,200 kg” (Third UN report) and then to “closer to 1,800 kg than to 1,200 kg” (Forth UN report in September 2006). At the same time, the text contains information about the Mitsubishi Canter van that was only disclosed in July 2007:
“The van was then shipped to the United Arab Emirates and transported to a showroom close to Tripoli in northern Lebanon in December 2004, where it was sold. The Commission has recently acquired information regarding the sale of the van to individuals who could be involved in the final preparation of the van for the attack on Rafik Hariri.” (§24, Eighth UN report, July 2007).
However, if reports by Al-Akhbar are correct, that information had already been acquired in April 2006 by the Lebanese investigation (interestingly, the first to suggest that the van was bought in Tripoli was Faisal Akbar in January 2006 in his later retracted testimony).

This leads us to three possibilities:

The document is
1. not genuine;
2. just sloppy regarding the amount of explosives;
3. genuine and was written between April 2006 and June 2006.
According to CBC, Wissam Eid’s report was filed “in the first months of 2006”. However, the air of certainty that apparently pervades the text does not seem to correspond to a report that just relies on circumstantial evidence:

“Lebanon/Hizballah Behind Hariri’s Assassination

In the weeks prior to the Harir (sic) murder, a number of Hizballah operational cells closely followed the movements of the former Prime Minister, collected accurate information on his movements and waited for the best opportunity to assassinate him. According to accumulated information, this activity was carried out by a compartmented unit in Hizballah headed by Selim Ayyash (alias Haj Selim).

… (PHOTO “A” ATTACHED), who is a senior operative with a rich ‘operational’ past, is from the Nabatiya area in South Lebanon, was born on 10 November 1963 and is currently living in the Shiite area of south Beirut. He is the commander of the classified unit that deals in secret and compartmented activity in the Lebanese arena. He is married to Fatima al-Hajj and they have three children.

… was the commander of the assassination squad. He was apparently responsible for procuring a white Mitsubishi Canter in late January 2005, far from Beirut, and in a way that precluded him from being identified as the procurer of the vehicle. Hizballah demolition unit specialists, who have a great deal of experience in preparing car bombs, turned the vehicle into a car bomb and armed it with 1,000 kg of varied explosives (TNT, C4, RDX).

The unit headed by … was in 2005 directly subordinate to the military commander of Hizballah, Imad Mughniyah. The connection between …

Eyad (DOB: 20 April 1960) (PHOTO “B” ATTACHED) a former operative of Hizballah’s external operations apparatus and in 2005, “.

The names are mostly blanked out, but remain visible in some of the shots. A few lines of a second page are also discernible through the paper (unclear/guessed words are marked with a “?”):

“Eyad was?
minutely? involved in all aspects and stages? of the operation. Selim”

further down:

“was present? at the Parliament building. This enabled Ayyash then to precisely time the explosion”

further down:

“Samir Kassir?” “(2? June? 2005)” “George Hawi (21”

“2005)?. In each case there were cell phones – later identified as tied to”

further down:

“town? of Rumin?” “PHOTO”
“Ghamlush?”

“training? in Iran prior to the assassination”.

The similarities to Follath’s article are striking:

“He is believed to be Abd al-Majid Ghamlush, from the town of Rumin, a Hezbollah member who had completed training course in Iran. (…)

Ghamlush’s recklessness led investigators to the man they now suspect was the mastermind of the terrorist attack: Hajj Salim, 45. A southern Lebanese from Nabatiyah, Salim is considered to be the commander of the “military” wing of Hezbollah and lives in South Beirut, a Shiite stronghold. Salim’s secret “Special Operational Unit” reports directly to Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, 48.

Imad Mughniyah (…) ran the unit until Feb. 12, 2008 (…).

The deeper the investigators in Beirut penetrated into the case, the clearer the picture became, according to the SPIEGEL source. They have apparently discovered which Hezbollah member obtained the small Mitsubishi truck used in the attack. They have also been able to trace the origins of the explosives, more than 1,000 kilograms of TNT, C4 and hexogen.

(…) And, once again, there was evidence of involvement by the Hezbollah commando unit, just as there has been in each of more than a dozen attacks against prominent Lebanese in the last four years.”

(m. emph.)

Note that Follath uses the correct(ed?) estimate of “more than 1,000 kilograms” of explosives.

Alex,

Thank you for your kind words my friend !!

Shai Alex,

My 2 cents: (1) Israeli politicians are very very *very* careful when speaking. When speaking with anybody..!! If they talk, they\’ll do it with the highest authority possible (the president, the secretary of state) in a 4 eyes conversation, and with no written notes. This is a typical “Sharonian” way of doing business, which the rest of Israeli politicians adopted. (2) The Israeli press is good. Many of WikiLeaks revelations, especially those regarding the Arab leaders, and what they say behind closed doors, have been published in various Israeli media outlets. (3) The Israeli press is thorough. There\’s not much you can hide from them. This brings me to (1), why Israeli politicians are paranoiac. Shai ?
.

Alex,

Here is some history about Hanukkah (aka the “Festival of Lights”) for those who may be interested:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah

Amir,

Happy Hannukah to you and your family.

Israeli politicians aren’t really paranoid, their public is. And the reason is, because fear sells well, and paranoia is the 2-for-1 deal.

We’ve heard plenty of Intelligence Heads speak in the past few years about the fact that Syria is sincere about Peace with Israel (as best as they can estimate, and it is their duty to estimate). But when was the last time you heard a politician say this? If an MK says something like that, he/she can forget about being re-elected. Because people in our country have gotten used to the Security-Threat (the existential one of course), and only unrealistic “liberal lefties” (recently aka “anti-zionists”) would dare suggest otherwise.

Paranoia in Israel has been, for the past 62 years, very deeply rooted, and very well funded. It is up to us, the few “crazy ones”, to bring some sense and courage back to our people and to their future. They deserve it.

Akbar, just saw you come in. Happy Hannukah to you too, and to your family.

Shai, Amir , What do you think of this ,

wdbj7.com/la-fg-wikileaks-syria-20101202,0,5511680.story

wdbj7.com
Syria’s Assad seems to suggest backing for Hamas negotiable, leaked cables say
But even as President Bashar Assad appeared willing to reduce ties with the Palestinian militant group ruling the Gaza Strip, he brushed off pressure to alter the dynamics of his friendship with Iran.
By Meris Lutz, Los Angeles Times

December 2, 2010

Reporting from Beirut

Advertisement

Syrian President Bashar Assad described Hamas as an “uninvited guest” in his country in confidential conversations with American lawmakers, and appeared to suggest he would be willing to give up the alliance in exchange for incentives, according to several documents contained in the trove of leaked diplomatic cables posted online by the website WikiLeaks.

But even as Assad appeared willing to downgrade ties with the Palestinian militant group that rules the Gaza Strip, he brushed off pressure to change the dynamics of his friendship with Iran. He argued against his government putting pressure on Tehran over its nuclear program in exchange for a peace deal between Syria and Israel.

“Too many cooks spoil the meal,” he is quoted saying in a January 2010 cable.

The leaked cables shed new light on international efforts to forge a Syrian-Israeli peace accord and on private meetings involving the leader of Syria’s secretive government.

Assad shows himself in the leaked correspondence to be a shrewd negotiator. He told the American delegation visiting Damascus that he could help secure the Iraqi border against the flow of foreign fighters into Syria’s neighbor. But he said he wouldn’t do it “for free,” asking the U.S. to lift sanctions that banned the sale of commercial airplanes and their parts to Syria.

“In the U.S., you like to shoot [terrorists],” he said. “Suffocating their networks is far more effective.”

Diplomats and analysts view Syrian cooperation as crucial to ensuring the security of Iraq, Lebanon and Israel as well as isolating Iran.

Although Syria has forged strategic alliances with ideologically driven, Iranian-backed movements such as Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah and Hamas, Damascus continues to view the rise of political Islam as one of its primary internal threats. Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal has resided in Damascus since 2001, but such a blunt assessment of the group by Assad hasn’t been made public before.

“Hamas is Muslim Brotherhood, but we have to deal with the reality of their presence,” Assad told another group of American lawmakers in March 2009, according to an additional leaked cable, calling the Islamic movement an “uninvited guest” and likening it to the same Muslim Brotherhood his father, Hafez Assad, brutally uprooted from Syria in the 1980s.

In none of the dispatches does the younger Assad explicitly say that he would cut ties with Hamas, Hezbollah or Iran in exchange for the return of the Golan Heights, which was seized by Israel during the 1967 Middle East War. But he emphasized in the more recent meeting with U.S. lawmakers that the Golan Heights “is our issue,” according to the January 2010 confidential dispatch.

The documents also reveal an unsuccessful push by U.S. and regional leaders to persuade Israel to return the mountainous occupied region.

According to the documents, Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, reportedly told the ruler of Qatar in February 2010 that Israel should “work the return of the Golan Heights into a formula for peace” with Israel.

Other regional leaders recognized Syria’s willingness to negotiate. Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf urged the U.S. to seek Syrian cooperation on Iraq and Lebanon. “If you want [Assad] to play ball, he needs comfort on other fronts — namely, the Golan Heights,” Musharraf told a high-ranking congressional delegation in April 2007, according to the WikiLeaks disclosures.

Israel has in recent years refused to negotiate a full withdrawal from the Golan. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. lawmakers that giving up the heights would only result in assurances that Syria would later “tear up,” according to a February 2009 cable.

Lutz is a special correspondent.

Ghat Albird,

My approach to “conspiracy theories” is that I do not embrace them, but I do not automatically reject them.

In this case, everything is possible … we’ll have to wait to see if one party clearly benefits from this leak. all it takes is one particularly dramatic document.

I usually Trust Brzezinski’s opinions.

Akbar, Happy Hanukkah!

Amir,

I am sure seasoned Israeli diplomats, like Alon Liel would be very professional when they communicate with visiting diplomats, but Lieberman’s foreign ministry is a circus (near the top at least).

Norman,

Syria’s relations with Hamas are not the results of identical ideological foundations. Hamas leaders know that Syria supports their natural right to resist Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands. They also know that Syria is willing to negotiate a cold-peace treaty with Israel in exchange for the full withdrawal of the Golan Heights without being forced to abandon Syria’s long term support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. And finally, they know that Syria is paying a price for hosting their leadership in Damascus and for supporting them politically … they will not be surprised or disappointed for reading President Assad’s words to Senator Kerry.

Norman,

I think Assad should promise Israel that, in return for the Golan, he promises Syria will become Iran’s, Hezbollah’s, and Hamas’s BEST FRIEND in the world! Because if Syria is also Israel’s ally, then Israel has a lot more to benefit from such a relationship with her enemies, than to lose. But I know this is what might be called “unconventional thinking”… 🙂

What obviously is still missing, and I don’t know how Netanyahu can receive it, is an explicit promise from Assad that Syria will not allow Iranian weapons to reach Hezbollah (through Syria), that Syria will use its influence with Hezbollah to try to bring about a peaceful resolution to the last remaining Israeli-Lebanese issues, and that Syria will not support Hamas’s military struggle against Israel. These things may seem “obvious” to some, but they aren’t to many others, especially to Israelis and to Israeli leaders who do not have the courage to return the Golan without such explicit promises.

On a separate note, while I do understand Syria’s reluctance to again go down the indirect/direct talks lane, without a clear indication by Israel, in advance, that the June 4, 1967 lines are the basis for any agreement to be reached (as Ambassador Moustapha reiterated yesterday), I do think that Assad is gambling on “losing Netanyahu” by waiting. Unlike Rabin, Barak, and Olmert, Netanyahu is BEST positioned to give back the Golan. He can, under the right circumstances, easily receive majority support for a Golan withdrawal both from Knesset and from the people (even if a referendum were to take place), far more easily than his predecessors. His positioning on the political spectrum is best suited for “painful concessions”, as deemed by most Israelis.

I think Assad should consider taking a chance with Netanyahu and, without explicit promise of the June 4th lines, at least meet with him (in Damascus, not in Jerusalem). I’m ready to bet my daughters’ college money that if Netanyahu meets Assad at the Presidential Palace in Damascus, Syria will have the entire Golan back without firing a single shot.

Additional views on Wikileaks and whose behind the scenes.

“The United States is the real victim of WikiLeaks. It’s an action aimed at discrediting them.” Franco Frattini, Foreign Minister of Italy

The impact of the WikiLeaks release of diplomatic cables fits the behavior profile of those well versed in game theory warfare.

When Israeli mathematician Robert J. Aumann received the 2005 Nobel Prize in economic science for his work on game theory, he conceded, “the entire school of thought that we have developed here in Israel” has turned “Israel into the leading authority in this field.”

The candor of this Israeli-American offered a rare insight into an enclave long known for waging war from the shadows. Israel’s most notable success to date was “fixing” the intelligence that induced the U.S. to invade Iraq in pursuit of a geopolitical agenda long sought by Tel Aviv

When waging intelligence wars, timing is often the critical factor for game-theory war planners. The outcome of the WikiLeaks release suggests a psy-ops directed at the U.S.

Why now? Tel Aviv was feeling pressure to end its six-decade occupation of Palestine. With this release, its foot-dragging on the peace process was displaced with talk of an attack on Iran.

While the U.S. bore the brunt of the damage, the target was global public opinion. To maintain the plausibility of The Clash of Civilizations, a focus must be maintained on Iran as a credible Evil Doer.

With fast-emerging transparency, Israel and pro-Israelis have been identified as the source of the intelligence that took coalition forces to war in Iraq. Thus the need to shift attention off Tel Aviv.

from jeff gates:

WikiLeaks and Espionage – Israeli Style
The U.S. is under attack by an enemy within. Skilled at game theory warfare, this foe targets the most sensitive realm of U.S. national security: its relations with other nations.
The online publication of a quarter-million documents chronicling diplomatic exchanges is notable both for what’s omitted and what’s included. To determine whether this latest release was a form of espionage, analysts need only examine how this treasure trove of trivia was peppered with documents certain to damage U.S. relations.
To identify its origins, analysts must answer a key question: Cui Bono? To whose benefit?
One clue: the release of degrading and insulting language about Turkish leaders soon after they insisted in late October that the U.S. no longer share Turkish intelligence with Tel Aviv.
That request from a valued ally marks a critical step in isolating Israel by requiring that the U.S. shut down Israeli operations inside its 16 intelligence agencies, the White House and the Intelligence Committees in both the House and Senate. Tel Aviv was not pleased.
Turks remain outraged at the lack of accountability for the execution-style killing by Israel Defense Forces of nine Turkish citizens aboard a humanitarian ship that was boarded in international waters while sailing to Gaza with provisions to relieve an Israeli siege.
Was this release a tit-for-tat, Tel Aviv style? Is WikiLeaks the visible face of an Israeli disinformation campaign? Whose interests were served by disrupting U.S.-Turkish relations?
Intent is Determinative
A leak on this scale is only a leak if it is a random data dump. If items were purposely included or excluded based on their intended effect, it’s an intelligence operation. Former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski points out how this release is “seeded” with information that is “surprisingly pointed.”
Take for example the cables indicating that Chinese leaders are inclined to cooperate with the U.S. in reunifying North and South Korea under the leadership of the south. That information was guaranteed to embarrass China’s leaders, damage U.S. relations with Beijing and make reunification more difficult.
From a game theory perspective, that damaging result was fully foreseeable. With the U.S. economy teetering on a meltdown, the creation of a rift with America’s largest trading partner was also an assault on the economic strength required for the U.S. to sustain a viable defense.
Similarly, the pointed references to Arab leaders were destined to weaken their political credibility at home while complicating relations abroad. By exposing Arab displeasure with Iran, this operation also sharpened the divide between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, a source of ongoing tensions and a key barrier to forming a viable government in Iraq.
The effect was certain to complicate U.S. disengagement and raise America’s costs in both blood and treasure.
The cables involving Saudi leaders were released soon after Washington agreed to allow Riyadh to purchase $60 billion in U.S. aircraft and armaments over a multi-year period. Tel Aviv was not pleased.
By targeting the credibility of both Saudi Arabia and the U.S., this operation targeted the two nations pressing hardest for an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestine.
Transparency is the Biggest Threat
Has Tel Aviv panicked? After more than six decades of nonstop provocations while routinely portraying itself as the perennial victim, has Israel’s storyline lost traction?
Zionism faces an existential threat though not from Iran or those Tel Aviv portrays as “Islamo-fascists.” The threat lurks in the fast-emerging transparency that confirms pro-Israelis as the source of the intelligence that took the U.S. to war on false premises.
A critical mass of disinformation persuaded the U.S. to wage war in pursuit of an agenda long sought by Zionist extremists.
Steve Rosen, a former employee of the Israel lobby, has promised to testify on the lobby’s routine receipt of classified U.S. intelligence. Is this massive release of classified materials meant to make the lobby’s intelligence-gathering operation appear routine?
What’s included in the WikiLeaks release is pointed. What’s excluded is even more so: the lack of facts chronicling the role that Israel has long played in undermining U.S. interests.
Israel has escaped accountability for more than six decades. Was the WikiLeaks release “seeded” to discredit the U.S. at this time-critical juncture? The evidence suggests that what we see is not a data dump but a disinformation operation.
Last week, Israeli resistance to a peace plan was front-page news. This week the news is all about war with Iran. The Jerusalem Post immediately crowed that WikiLeaks “vindicated Israel” by citing Arab leaders’ concerns about Iran.
These latest releases even enabled Tel Aviv to suggest that if U.S. intelligence was flawed on a nuclear-armed North Korea, how can anyone trust America to contain a nuclear Iran?
To whom should this release be attributed? Who benefitted?

at 17: “It should be noted that while ZB suspects foreign elements behind some of the leaks, it could very well be internal U.S. elements unhappy with the direction the President is taking things.”

maybe the foreign elements and the internal elements are members of the same collective – jewry.

in essence one group.

gordon duff: aipac/jewry.

GORDON DUFF: WIKILEAKS, A TOUCH OF ASSANGE AND THE STENCH OF AIPAC
November 27, 2010 (syr comment nov 28)

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2010/11/27/gordon-duff-wikileak-predictions-sticking-my-neck-out-2/

Former Pakistani General: CIA, Mossad behind WikiLeaks Reports
Fars News 02 Dicembre 2010

TEHRAN (FNA)- A former Pakistani army commander said that the disclosure of classified documents by the whistleblower site of Wikileaks is a US plot to create rift among friendly and neighboring states.

“The US has a hand in this plot, and these reports (posted by the WikiLeaks website) are part of the US psychological warfare,” former Chief of the Staff of the Pakistani Army General Mirza Aslam Beg told FNA in Islamabad on Tuesday.

He stated that the US could prevent the leak of information if it wanted to do so, and warned that the real plot and conspiracy pursued by these reports will be unraveled in future.

Aslam Beg further reiterated that the CIA and Israel’s spy agency Mossad have launched efforts to weaken and destabilize Pakistan, and WikiLeaks reports are part of these efforts.

The remarks by the Pakistani figure came after US embassy cables posted by WikiLeaks website sparked hot reactions in the region.

In one cable, the WikiLeaks claimed, Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, a close ally of Pakistan, reportedly called Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari the main cause of his country’s woes.

Pakistani President’s office responded on Monday that the leaks were “no more than an attempt to create misperceptions between two important and brotherly Muslim countries”.

Source > Fars News