MEDIA REACTION: WAR IN IRAQ, IRAQI CIVILIAN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 001377

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARP; NEA/PPD; NEA/RA; INR/R/MR; PA;
INR/NESA; INR/B; IIP/G/NEA-SA
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE
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: WAR IN IRAQ, IRAQI CIVILIAN
CASUALTIES, AND ABU DHABI TV WAR COVERAGE



1. SUMMARY: THE WAR IN IRAQ AND IRAQI CIVILIAN CASUALTIES IN
BASRA AND HALABJA DOMINATED COVERAGE IN UAE PRINT AND ELECTRONIC
MEDIA. AN "AL ITTIHAD" EDITORIAL BLAMED THE IRAQI REGIME FOR THE
WAR, AND A SAME-DAY ARTICLE REPORTED UAE FEDERAL NATIONAL COUNCIL
SPEAKER AL KINDI AS SAYING THE SAME. AN "AKHBAR AL ARAB"
EDITORIAL ASSERTED THAT THE DURATION AND INTENSITY OF THE WAR
SURPRISED AMERICAN OFFICIALS. A "GULF NEWS" EDITORIAL COMMENTED
ON U.S. PLANS FOR A POST-WAR IRAQI GOVERNMENT AND URGED UN
ASSISTANCE. AN "AL BAYAN" EDITORIAL CLAIMED THE WORLD IS OPPOSED
TO THE WAR. END SUMMARY.


2. HEADLINES FOR 3/23 INCLUDE:

--"AL KHALEEJ," "GULF TODAY," AND "AL BAYAN" CARRIED FRONT PAGE
COLOR PHOTOGRAPHS OF WOUNDED IRAQI CIVILIANS. "AL KHALEEJ" AND
"GULF TODAY" ALSO CARRIED A FULL INTERNAL PAGE OF SIMILAR
PHOTOGRAPHS.
--"HUNDREDS IRAQIS WOUNDED AND KILLED BY AMERICAN WEAPONS OF
DESTRUCTION," "DAY AND NIGHT BOMBING OF BAGHDAD AND ATTACKS ON
BASRA, TIKRIT, KHOURMAL, AND HALABJA" AND SUB HEADLINES:
"ISRAELI WEAPONS USED IN ATTACKS" AND "SHOCK AND AWE ORIGINALLY A
JEWISH IDEA WITH AN AMERICAN IMPLEMENTATION." (AL KHALEEJ)
--"BAGHDAD IS BURNING" AND "IMAGES OF IRAQ FUEL ARAB AND WORLD
FURY." (GULF TODAY)
--"BLOCKS ON ROAD TO BAGHDAD," "WORLD PROTESTS WAR ON IRAQ," AND
"IRAQIS WELCOMING TROOPS - FRANKS." (GULF NEWS)
--"ALLIES CLAIM BIG GAINS," AND "LIFE IN UAE NORMAL, SAY MOHAMMED
(BIN RASHID AL MAKTOUM, CROWN PRINCE OF DUBAI AND MINISTER OF
DEFENSE)." (KHALEEJ TIMES)
--"COALITION FORCES DRAWING CLOSER TO BAGHDAD" AND "FORCES
CONTROL NASIRIYYAH AND UM QASR AND ENCIRCLE BASRA." (AL ITTIHAD)
--"AMERICAN ATTACKS BURN BAGHDAD" AND "HUNDREDS OF CIVILIAN
CASUALTIES, INCLUDING 57 IN HALABJA." (AL BAYAN)


3. ABU DHABI TV'S LIVE COVERAGE OF THE WAR CENTERS IN BAGHDAD
WITH ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY FROM THE ABU DHABI TV NEWS CENTER.
ABU DHABI TV CONTACTS REPORT THAT ADTV'S FOOTAGE FROM BAGHDAD AND
ELSEWHERE IS CURRENTLY USED IN OVER 160 COUNTRIES. ABU DHABI TV
DID NOT/NOT CARRY FOOTAGE OF THE CIVILIAN CASUALTIES IN BASRA AND
HALABJA AS ON AL JAZEERA. ALSO, AL JAZEERA AND ABU DHABI TV WERE
THE ONLY ARAB MEDIA TO ASK QUESTIONS TO GEN. TOMMY FRANKS DURING
HIS 3/22 PRESS BRIEFING IN DOHA.


4. ON 3/23, ABU DHABI-BASED SEMI-GOVERNMENT "AL ITTIHAD"
REPORTED UAE FEDERAL NATIONAL COUNCIL (FNC) SPEAKER SAEED AL
KINDI AS SAYING "THIS SITUATION OF WAR AND INSTABILITY IN THE
WORLD WAS CREATED BY THE IRAQI REGIME WHO DID NOT RESPOND TO
SHEIKH ZAYED'S INITIATIVE."


5. NOTING THE BEST SOLUTION FOR THE CURRENT CRISIS, "AL ITTIHAD"
EDITORIALIZED ON 3/23:

"... BLIND, DEAF, AND PROUD, THE RULERS OF BAGHDAD JUST IGNORE
ALL ADVICE GIVEN TO THEM BY THE DEVOTED PEOPLE OF THE ARAB
NATION. THEY WERE WARNED THAT THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR ACTIONS
COULD LEAD TO A CRISIS. THEY WERE ALSO ASKED TO BE WISE IN ORDER
TO SOLVE THIS CRISIS, WHICH WAS A RESULT OF YEARS OF THEIR OWN
ACTIONS ... WE HOPE THEY LEAVE NOW WHILE THEY STILL HAVE THEIR
DIGNITY AND BEFORE THEY ARE FACED AND SURPRISED WITH THE
HUMILIATION OF IMPRISONMENT, WHICH AWAITS THE DEFEATED IN ANY
WAR. WE HOPE THEY LEAVE NOW AND ABANDON THE RUINS OF THEIR
PALACES AND THE HEADQUARTERS OF THEIR STUBBORNNESS AND CRUELTY."


6. COMMENTING ON THE SURPRISING DURATION AND INTENSITY OF THE
WAR, ABU DHABI-BASED PAN-ARAB DAILY "AKHBAR AL ARAB"
EDITORIALIZED ON 3/23:

"... AMERICAN OFFICIALS CONFESSED THAT THIS IS GOING TO BE A HARD
AND LONG WAR. THIS WAS ONLY AFTER THE THIRD DAY OF WAR, WHEN
AMERICANS WERE FACED WITH A NUMBER OF SURPRISES, SUCH AS
UNANTICIPATED RESISTANCE IN SOME AREAS. THIS INDICATES THAT THIS
WAR WILL BE LONGER AND LOSSES WILL EXCEED WASHINGTON'S
EXPECTATIONS ..."


7. NOTING WORLDWIDE OPPOSITION TO THE WAR, DUBAI-BASED BUSINESS-
ORIENTED "AL BAYAN" EDITORIALIZED ON 3/23:

"... WAR IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE HATED, AND WE ARABS DO NOT PREFER
IT (WAR) AS A SOLUTION TO ANY CRISIS. WHILE WATCHING THIS
CHAPTER OF THE WAR, OUR HEARTS ARE WITH OUR PEOPLE IN IRAQ, WE
ARE ALL PRAYING TO GOD THAT THE CHILDREN, WOMEN AND MEN OF THE
LAND OF MESOPOTAMIA WILL BE SAFE. THIS IS THE LAND OF A PATIENT
PEOPLE WHO HAVE SUFFERED MORE THAN ANY NATION IN OUR REGION HAS
EVER SUFFERED ..."


8. DESCRIBING THE WAR AS ILLEGITIMATE, SHARJAH-BASED PAN-ARAB
DAILY "AL-KHALEEJ" EDITORIALIZED ON 3/23:

"... IF THE U.S. SUCCEEDS IN IRAQ, FRANCE AND RUSSIA EXPECT THAT
IT WILL CREATE A NEW INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO
WITH INTERNATIONAL LEGITIMACY OR THAT WILL PLACE INTERNATIONAL
LEGITIMACY UNDER ITS (U.S.) CONTROL. U.S. WILL CARRY THIS (WAR)
OUT IN ORDER TO BECOME THE ONLY POWER IN THE WORLD THAT CONTROLS
ITS POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC DESTINY AND SECURITY. THIS WAR IS
ILLEGITIMATE AND WAS STARTED WITHOUT SECURITY COUNCIL SUPPORT AND
AGAINST THE WILL OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, AND ITS
CONSEQUENCES WILL DEFINITELY BE THE SAME ..."


9. ARGUING THE U.S. ADMINISTRATION HAS NOT LAID OUT A CLEAR POST-
WAR STRATEGY FOR IRAQ, DUBAI-BASED ENGLISH-LANGUAGE DAILY "GULF
NEWS" EDITOIALIZED ON 3/23:

"... THE U.S. HAS NOT FORWARDED ANY DETAILS ON ITS PLANS ONCE IT
TAKES CONTROL OF ALL IRAQI CITIES. THIS BRINGS US TO QUESTION
THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT THAT WILL RULE IRAQ WHEN THIS TAKES PLACE.
IT IS NOT CLEAR WHETHER IT WOULD BE A GOVERNMENT COMPRISING THE
IRAQI OPPOSITION OR WHETHER WASHINGTON WILL ASSIGN AN AMERICAN
GENERAL OR COMMANDER TO GOVERN IRAQ. IF THE LATTER IS AMERICA'S
INTENTION, THE EXECUTION OF THE ACTION IS WITHOUT A DOUBT AN
OCCUPATION OF THE COUNTRY RATHER THAN 'LIBERATION' AS THE
AMERICANS HAVE CALLED IT ... THE UN IS THE ONLY BODY FULLY
CAPABLE OF OVERSEEING THE PROCESS OF REBUILDING A COUNTRY THAT
HAS BEEN TORN BY WAR AND CRIPPLED BY ECONOMIC SANCTIONS ... THE
TIME HAS COME AT LAST FOR THE ORGANIZATION TO BECOME ENGAGED IN
THE REBUILDING OF A NEW IRAQ - ONE THAT IS GOVERNED BY IRAQIS AND
CATERS TO THE PEOPLE OF IRAQ."

WAHBA