http://www.middle-east-online.com/English/?id=43280
The information in the cable was provided to US officials in Syria by "one of the most influential Sunni religious figures in Damascus," whose name is erased in the cable.
The religious figure told US officials the Syrian government had "allowed the rioting to continue for an extended period" and reacted with serious threats of force to stop it when it felt that "the message had been delivered."
"This is what you will have if we allow true democracy and allow Islamists to rule," was Damascus' message to the West in doing so, the unnamed religious official told the US embassy.
