MEDIA REACTION: IRAQ, PRESIDENT BUSH'S REMARKS ON THE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 001229 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP; NEA/PPD; NEA/RA; INR SECDEF FOR OASD/PA USCINCCENT FOR POLAD LONDON FOR GOLDRICH; PARIS FOR O'FRIEL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OIIP KMDR TC SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: IRAQ, PRESIDENT BUSH'S REMARKS ON THE ROADMAP, AND AFGHANISTAN. ¶1. SUMMARY: PRESIDENT BUSH'S MARCH 14 REMARKS ON THE ROADMAP FOR MIDDLE EAST PEACE GENERATED EXTENSIVE COVERAGE IN LOCAL AND REGIONAL MEDIA. "AL-ITTIHAD" DESCRIBED THE REMARKS AS A RENEWAL OF HOPE FOR ENDING THE SUFFERING OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE. CONVERSELY, AN "AL-KHALEEJ" EDITORIAL BELIEVES THE REMARKS MERELY REPRESENT A POISONED CARROT ON THE EVE OF A U.S. ATTACK AGAINST IRAQ. FURTHER EDITORIALS COMMENTED ON THE SITUATION FACING THE U.S., WHICH SEEMS TO BE THE ONLY COUNTRY FOR WAR AGAINST IRAQ. SIMILARLY, AN 'AKHBAR AL ARAB' EDITORIAL DESCRIBED THE U.S. AS 'ISOLATED' IN ITS DETERMINATION FOR WAR. ON A MUCH NEGLECTED TOPIC, A 'GULF NEWS' EDITORIAL CHARACTERIZES AFGHANISTAN AS 'THE STATE FORGOTTEN.' FINALLY, DR. TARIQ SAYF TELLS SADDAM TO "GO TO HELL." END SUMMARY. ¶2. COMMENTING ON THE MARCH 14 REMARKS OF PRESIDENT BUSH AND PRIME MINISTER BLAIR ON THE ROADMAP TO MIDDLE EAST PEACE, SHARJAH- BASED PAN-ARAB "AL KHALEEJ" EDITORIALIZED ON 3/15: "... THE STATEMENTS OF BUSH AND BLAIR LAST NIGHT ON PALESTINE REPRESENT ONLY A POISONED CARROT ... TO PAVE THE WAY FOR A DESTRUCTIVE WAR AGAINST IRAQ AND THE ENTIRE ARAB WORLD ... WHOEVER WANTS TO RE-IMPOSE THE DARKNESS OF OCCUPATION WOULD REALLY NOT ALLOW A SOLUTION TO PALESTINE SINCE IT IS THE CORE OF CONFLICT. THE WAR AGAINST IRAQ IS ONLY PART OF A WIDER PLAN THAT AIMS TO WIPE OUT PALESTINE AND PASS IT ON TO THE ZIONISTS." ¶3. DESCRIBING THE INCREASINGLY NEGATIVE ARAB ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE CRISIS IN IRAQ, DUBAI-BASED BUSINESS-ORIENTED "AL BAYAN" EDITORIALIZED ON 3/15: "... ARABS SHOULD REALIZE THAT DEFENDING IRAQ IS A PART OF DEFENDING THEMSELVES SINCE THE OCCUPATION PLANS DO NOT ONLY TARGET BAGHDAD BUT ALL ARAB CAPITALS. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS ANNOUNCED HONESTLY WHEN INDICATING THE NEED TO CHANGE THE MAP OF THE WHOLE REGION ACCORDING TO THEIR BENEFITS AND THOSE OF ISRAEL. THERE IS NO SOLUTION EXCEPT TAKING A SERIOUS ARAB STAND IN ORDER TO STOP THE ANTICIPATED WAR, SO AMERICAN MILITARY ACTIONS WON'T TARGET ANOTHER VICTIM AFTER FINISHING ITS PLANS AGAINST IRAQ." ¶4. NOTING A NEW HOPE FOR SOLVING THE PALESTINIAN ISSUE IN BUSH'S MARCH 14 REMARKS AT THE WHITE HOUSE, ABU DHABI-BASED SEMI- GOVERNMENT "AL ITTIHAD" EDITORIALIZED ON 3/15: "... STATEMENTS MADE BY PRESIDENT BUSH ON A PLAN TO REALIZE PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND AN INDEPENDENT PALESTINIAN STATE RENEWED HOPES TO END THE TRAGEDY OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE AND STOP THEIR SUFFERING ... THE PRACTICAL AND IMPORTANT STEPS THAT SHOULD BE TAKEN TO DECLARE A PALESTINIAN STATE LIVING SIDE BY SIDE WITH A SECURE AND RECOGNIZED ISRAEL SHOULD START NOT WITH THE PALESTINIANS WHO ARE, ACCORDING TO THE BUSH/BLAIR VISION, UNDER OCCUPATION, BUT WITH AN INTERNATIONAL REQUEST FOR ISRAEL TO CARRY OUT THE TENS OF INTERNATIONAL RESOLUTIONS WHICH THEY HAVE IGNORED. THE HOPE OF THE PALESTINIAN DREAM HAS BEEN RENEWED AND THE ONLY THING LEFT IS TO MOBILIZE ALL EFFORTS TO ACHIEVE IT AND TURN SUCH A DREAM INTO A LIVING REALITY." ¶5. COMMENTING ON THE SITUATION FACING U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH, "AL BAYAN" EDITORIALIZED ON 3/14: "... A NOTABLE AMERICAN DEMOCRAT, JIM MOURAN, REVEALED THE TRUTH BY ACCUSING AMERICAN-JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS OF PUSHING WASHINGTON TO LAUNCH A WAR AGAINST IRAQ. HE ALSO ADDED THAT JEWISH-AMERICAN LEADERS COULD STOP THE WAR IF THEY DESIRED! THE LONDON 'TIMES' STATED YESTERDAY: 'THE HAWKS IN THE U.S. ADMINISTRATION ARE PRESSURING HIM INTO WALKING A PATH OF WAR WITH OR WITHOUT UN APPROVAL.' ... PRESIDENT BUSH SEEMS TO BE UNDER A ZIONIST SIEGE AND IS SURRENDERING TO ALL PRESSURE THAT WILL TRAP HIM INTO AN ATTACK AGAINST IRAQ." ¶6. DESCRIBING THE U.S. AS 'ISOLATED' IN ITS POLICY TOWARDS IRAQ, ABU DHABI-BASED PAN-ARAB DAILY "AKHBAR AL ARAB" EDITORIALIZED ON 3/13: "... WHAT IS STRANGE ABOUT THE IRAQI CRISIS IS THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE SITUATION, SINCE AFTER TOTAL ISOLATION, BAGHDAD NOW ENJOYS WIDE SYMPATHY FROM ALL NATIONS OF THE WORLD, NOT OUT OF SUPPORT FOR THE EXISTING IRAQI REGIME, BUT OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE PRINCIPLES, ETHICS, AND CHARTERS THAT SUPPORT PEACE AND REJECT WAR. ON THE OTHER HAND, ALL COUNTRIES ARE BEGINNING TO SEE THE 'DISHONESTY' OF AN AMERICAN POSITION RUSHING TOWARDS A WAR AGAINST IRAQ WITH NO LEGAL OR OBJECTIVE REASON ..." ¶7. DESCRIBING AFGHANISTAN AS 'THE FORGOTTEN STATE', DUBAI-BASED ENGLISH-LANGUAGE DAILY "GULF NEWS" EDITORIALIZED ON 3/15: "... JUST OVER A YEAR AGO, KARZAI'S GOVERNMENT WAS PROMISED $4.5 BILLION AT THE TOKYO DONORS CONFERENCE, BUT TO DATE ONLY $1.8 BILLION HAS BEEN HANDED OVER. AFGHANISTAN IS SINKING BACK INTO THE DECENTRALIZED CHAOS UNDER WHICH REGIONAL LEADERS WILL RUN THEIR AREAS, PAYING LIP SERVICE TO THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT IN KABUL, WHILE MOVING AHEAD ON THEIR OWN, RAISING THEIR OWN REVENUES WHERE THEY CAN. WITHOUT STRONG INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT, THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO GET THE CONTROL THAT IT NEEDS. AT THE VERY LEAST THE INTERNATIONAL DONORS SHOULD DELIVER WHAT THEY PROMISED. AFGHANISTAN NEEDS BETTER TREATMENT THAN TO BE FORGOTTEN AS THE UNITED STATES MOVES ON TO ITS NEXT TARGET." ¶8. TELLING SADDAM TO "GO TO HELL," DR. TARIQ SAYF, A UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR, EDITORIALIZED IN "AL ITTIHAD" ON 3/9: " THE ARAB FEARS OF WAR CAN BE SUMMED UP AS FOLLOWS: THE FEAR OF U.S. DOMINATION OVER THE REGION, FEAR OF THE U.S. SUCCESS IN TAKING CONTROL OF THE RESOURCES OF OIL, AND THE FEAR OF THE QUESTION OF POLITICAL CHANGE ... AS FOR U.S. DOMINATION AND CONTROL, I DO NOT THINK THE INTERNATIONAL ORDER, WHICH IS BASED ON THE UNILATERAL CONTROL OF A SOLE SUPERPOWER, EXCLUDES THE GULF REGION ... INSTEAD OF ENGAGING IN MEANINGLESS ARAB VITUPERATIONS, WE SHOULD KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH THE DOMINANT U.S. DEVIL ... CONCERNING OIL, DURING AND AFTER THE GULF WAR, SOME OF THE PEOPLE ... SAID THAT THE UNITED STATES HAD INSTRUCTED SADDAM HUSSEIN TO ENTER KUWAIT TO ENABLE IT TO TAKE CONTROL OF OIL IN THE GULF EASILY. THE FOLLOWING YEARS PROVED THAT THIS IS NOT TRUE ... THE STRANGE THING IN THIS RESPECT IS THAT ARAB THINKERS FROM OUTSIDE THE GULF ARE THE ONES WHO PAY THE GREATEST ATTENTION TO OIL, AS IF OIL IS A PART OF ARAB FUNDS. THE THIRD FEAR IS EXPRESSED BY POLITICAL REGIMES AND SOME OF THEIR THINKERS ... HERE, SOME PEOPLE THINK THAT THE AMERICANS HAVE A MAGIC WAND FOR DEMOCRACY. THE TRUTH IS THAT THE UNITED STATES HAS SO FAR NOT MANAGED TO CHANGE THE POLITICAL STYLE IN MANY COUNTRIES. SO HOW IS IT GOING TO IMPOSE THAT ON IRAQ AND OTHER (ARAB) COUNTRIES? YET, EVERYBODY KNOWS FOR SURE THAT POLITICAL CHANGE IS DEFINITELY FORTHCOMING, SINCE THERE ARE DOMESTIC REASONS FOR IT AND IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE IMPOSED ONLY BY THE UNITED STATES. LET US SET ASIDE THESE ARAB REASONS AND JUSTIFICATIONS AND ASK THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: HAS ANY SANE ARAB PERSON TRIED TO ASK HIMSELF - OR HAS ANYBODY ASKED HIM FOR HIS OPINION - ABOUT WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING TO THE IRAQI PEOPLE SINCE 1958, OR SPECIFICALLY, WHEN THE IRAQI PEOPLE REACHED THE CATASTROPHIC STAGE OF ITS HISTORY UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF SADDAM HUSSEIN? HOW CAN A PEOPLE, WHOSE SIZE IS RELATIVELY SMALL AND THAT POSSESSES HUGE POTENTIAL AND UNLIMITED RESOURCES, LIVE UNDER THIS MISERABLE SITUATION? ... DID SADDAM SEEK ANYBODY'S ADVICE ON WHAT HE DID? THEN LET HIM GO TO HELL AND LET HIS REGIME COME TO AN END. HE HAS DESTROYED HIS PEOPLE'S ABILITY TO BRING ABOUT A CHANGE, AND THERE IS NO ARAB POWER THAT CAN TOPPLE HIM." WAHBA