MEDIA REACTION: IRAQ AND THE ROADMAP

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 002223 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; NSC 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 AND THE ROADMAP ¶1. SUMMARY: PRESIDENT BUSH'S NOMINATION OF AMBASSADOR PAUL BREMER TO LEAD THE RECONSTRUCTION OF IRAQ, THE ROADMAP, AND ISRAEL'S DEMAND FOR SANCTIONS ON SYRIA DOMINATED COVERAGE IN UAE PRINT AND ELECTRONIC MEDIA. UAE COLUMNIST, DR. ABDULKHALEQ ABDULLA NOTED IN "AL KHALEEJ" HOW SHAMEFUL IT IS THAT IRAQIS HAVE MORE FREEDOM TO PURSUE LIBERTY THAN ARABS IN OTHER ARAB COUNTRIES. IN "AL ITTIHAD," DR. SHAMLAN AL EISSA CRITICIZED THE DOUBLE STANDARD OF GCC COUNTRIES DEMANDING AN END TO THE U.S. PRESENCE IN IRAQ WHILE ALLOWING TROOPS IN THEIR COUNTRIES. END SUMMARY. ¶2. COMMENTING ON THE FORTHCOMING UN CONFERENCE ON WMD IN GENEVA AND ISRAEL'S ADMINISTRATION OF THE CONFERENCE, DUBAI-BASED BUSINESS-ORIENTED ARABIC DAILY "AL-BAYAN" EDITORIALIZED 5/07: "... THIS ENTITY (ISRAEL) REFUSES TO SIGN AN AGREEMENT FOR LIMITING THE SPREAD OF WMD AT A TIME WHEN BOTH SYRIA AND EGYPT SUGGEST THE IMPORTANCE OF SUCH AN AGREEMENT TO CLEAR THE MIDDLE EAST OF THESE WEAPONS. REGRETTABLY, WASHINGTON REFUSED THIS SUGGESTION. THE SUPERVISION OF THE ZIONIST ENTITY AT THE GENEVA CONFERENCE FOR REMOVING WMD IS AN INTERNATIONAL COMEDY THAT MAKES THE UN NOT ONLY LOSE ITS CREDIBILITY, BUT ALSO ITS VISION, SINCE IT CAN'T SEE WHAT IS RIGHT AND WHAT IS WRONG IN AN ERA OF AMERICAN EXPANSION." ¶3. CLAIMING THAT THE IRAQI PEOPLE IN U.S.-OCCUPIED IRAQ ARE MORE FREE TO PURSUE THEIR LIBERTY THAN THE ARAB PEOPLE IN INDEPENDENT ARAB COUNTRIES AND LABELING THIS A SHAMEFUL REALITY, UAE COLUMNIST DR. ABDULKHALEQ ABDULLA WROTE IN SHARJAH-BASED PAN-ARAB DAILY "AL KHALEEJ" ON 5/06: "... THE IMPORTANT THING FOR ARABS IS THAT THE IRAQI EXAMPLE DOES NOT REOCCUR. THE PAINFUL EXPERIMENT IN IRAQ SHOULD NOT REOCCUR IN ANY OTHER COUNTRY IN THE ARAB WORLD. THE EQUATION OF LIBERTY DURING OCCUPATION EQUALED BY TYRANNY DURING INDEPENDENCE COULD LEAD TO THE REAPPEARANCE OF THIS EXPERIMENT IN IRAQ. THE BEST WAY TO STOP THIS IS THROUGH INTERNAL POLITICAL REFORM, IN ADDITION TO IMPLEMENTING LIBERTY AND DEMOCRACY, SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE ON THE TOP OF THE LIST OF NATIONAL PRIORITIES IN THE PERIOD AFTER THE WAR ON IRAQ." ¶4. CRITICIZING THE GCC COUNTRIES' POLICIES DEMANDING AN END TO THE U.S. PRESENCE IN IRAQ WHILE ALLOWING U.S. TROOPS IN THEIR COUNTRIES, COLUMNIST DR. SHAMLAN AL EISSA WROTE IN ABU DHABI- BASED SEMI-GOVERNMENT "AL ITTIHAD" 5/06: "... WHAT WE REALLY REFUSE IS THE GCC COUNTRIES DOUBLE STANDARD POLICY TOWARDS IRAQ. ON ONE HAND THEY ACCEPT THE AMERICAN- BRITISH-WESTERN PRESENCE IN THEIR COUNTRIES, WHILE ON THE OTHER HAND, THEY REQUEST THAT THE U.S. TROOPS LEAVE IRAQ AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. WHY IS IT OKAY FOR THE GCC COUNTRIES TO HAVE U.S. TROOPS TO PROTECT THEM WHILE IT IS FORBIDDEN FOR IRAQ TO HAVE ANY OF THESE TROOPS ON ITS LANDS, ALTHOUGH IRAQ TODAY IS IN NEED OF THE U.S. PRESENCE MORE THAN ANY OTHER COUNTRY BECAUSE OF ALL THE CHAOS AND INSECURITY IN MOST CITIES IN IRAQ ..." WAHBA