Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
02AMMAN5213
2002-09-12 12:48:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Amman
Cable title:  

MEDIA REACTION ON 9/11 ANNIVERSARY

Tags:  KMDR JO 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 005213

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
USCINCCENT//CCPA, USCENTCOM REAR MACDILL AFB FL
STATE PASS TO AID

E.O. 12958: N/A

TAGS: KMDR JO
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON 9/11 ANNIVERSARY


Summary

-- Lead stories in all papers published today,
September 12, highlight the world's commemoration of
the first anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
Other lead stories include the resignation of the
Palestinian cabinet and the announcement that
Palestinian general elections will be held on January

20. Amidst reports about Iraq's "grave threat" and
the U.S. determination to "remove" this threat, all
papers highlight U.N. Secretary General Annan's
remarks saying that only the Security Council could
provide the legitimacy needed to be able to act
against threats to international peace.

Editorial Commentary

-- "Bush's speech and the inspiration of bloody
Tuesday"

Center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour
(09/12) editorializes: "Many observers did not hide
their conviction that marking the 9/11 anniversary in
this impressive way, amid heightened military
conditions, actually befits the condition of current
U.S. policy, particularly towards Iraq. We truly hope
that Washington will listen to reason, and will adopt
dialogue instead of the language of power that it is
using. Beating the American drums of war will lead
the international community and all anti-war forces to
intensify their efforts in order to avoid a disaster,
and to the Arab nation to do everything possible to
spare Iraq and the region the dangers of a military
strike."

-- "September 11"

Daily columnist Urayb Rintawi writes on the op-ed page
of center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour
(09/12): "Why do they hate us? What is our
responsibility for what is happening to us? (these
are) Two questions that have not yet been answered,
although a whole year has already passed since the
`day that changed the world'. We enter the second
year since the attacks amidst the beating of the drums
of war against Iraq and the turning away from
international legitimacy. Meanwhile, we have not
heard a single word that would suggest self-evaluation
on the part of the United States."

-- "Times of memory"

Daily columnist Mohammad Kawash writes on the back
page of independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab
Al-Yawm (09/12): "The memory of September 11 is going
to have an especially sad effect on every American,
because the American people are the ones that have
lost and have been hurt. That is why we say that it
is the American people's right to ask their government
and their leadership: why? It is the right of the
Americans to know that their leadership is ruling the
world but not leading it; that it is a biased and
unfair administration when it comes to executing its
policies; that that is why the September disaster
happened. We had hoped that the memory of September
11 would be the beginning of a change that would start
in Washington."

-- "A media war in another confrontation"

Chief Editor Taher Udwan writes on the back page of
independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm
(09/12): "The unprecedented coverage provided for
September 11 by the American media established that
day as a day of `disaster' in the minds and hearts of
the American people. Al-Qa'eda and Osama Bin Laden,
too, have not missed this opportunity to underscore
the confrontation between the United States and the
Arabs and Muslims. Watching the political and media
coverage of the commemoration of September 11 in New
York shows the negative and bitter effects of the
attacks on the American people. World opinion
understands this, because, even after one year, the
wound is still fresh. However, it is dangerous for
the future of Arab- and Islamic-American relations to
dedicate the memory of these events in the same way as
the Holocaust, which Zionism used to keep the struggle
going in Palestine and to obtain American and European
support. If America really wants to assume its
responsibilities in this world, it must contain this
loose and vague struggle before it turns into a real
clash of the civilizations."
-- "By the way"

Daily columnist Tarek Masarweh writes on the back-page
of semi-official Arabic daily Al-Ra'i (09/12):
"Unfortunately, the earthquake [9/11 attacks] was not
enough to force American policy to use its brains
instead of its muscles. The forces of savage abuse,
monopoly, and religious and ethnic bigotry jumped on
the wave and turned this big, rich country into blind
force. We see the outcome of that in Palestine,
Afghanistan and Iraq. The United States may be the
strongest power ever known to the world, but no one is
afraid. Those who have no faith in their [Arab]
nation, so much so that they doubt that an Arab could
do what the Al-Qa'eda men have done, should believe:
this nation will never die."

BERRY