MEDIA REACTION: POWELL'S VISIT IRAQ

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 002968 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: POWELL'S VISIT IRAQ ¶1. SUMMARY: ISSUES FEATURED IN THE LOCAL MEDIA INCLUDED THE WEF MEETING IN JORDAN, U.S. EFFORTS TO ACTIVATE PEACE BETWEEN THE PALESTINIANS AND ISRAELIS, AND IRAQ. A COLUMNIST WARNED AGAINST THE WEF, SAYING THAT IT WAS FIRST INITIATED BY SHIMON PERES AND NOTING THAT THE ROOT OF THE MIDDLE EAST PROBLEM IS THE (ISRAELI) OCCUPATION. AN EDITORIAL IN "AL-KHALEEJ" WARNED AGAINST ALLEGED ISRAELI AMBITIONS IN IRAQ, URGING ALL ARABS TO COUNTER THEM. A COLUMNIST IN "AL-ITTIHAD" ASSERTED THAT THE ABSENCE OF DEMOCRACY AND THE FLOURISHING OF POLITICAL ISLAM ARE THE LEADING FACTORS THAT HAVE PREVENTED ARAB WOMEN FROM FULL PARTICIPATION IN POLITICAL LIFE. END SUMMARY. ¶2. UNDER THE HEADLINE 'THE BURIAL OF THE MIDDLE EAST ECONOMIC PROJECT," PSEUDONYMOUS COLUMNIST IBN AL-DEIRA WROTE IN SHARJAH- BASED PAN-ARAB DAILY "AL-KHALEEJ" 6/21: "THE DAVOS INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC FORUM CONVENES AT THIS TIME IN AN ARAB COUNTRY ON THE BANKS OF THE DEAD SEA, FOLLOWING ISRAELI EXPANSIONIST POLICIES' FREEZE OF ALL ECONOMIC MEETINGS OF THIS NATURE DURING THE LAST SIX YEARS... WHAT'S NEW ABOUT THIS EXCEPTIONAL MEETING ON THE DEAD SEA IS THAT THE PROMOTER OF THIS INITIATIVE IS NOT SHIMON PERES BUT THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH, WHO IS DROWNING IN IRAQ'S SHIFTING SANDS, AND WHO IS LOST IN THE NARROW STREETS OF A CONFUSING MAP FOR A ROAD TOWARDS PEACE IN PALESTINE. THE OBJECTIVE CONDITIONS FOR THE SUCCESS OF ANY ECONOMIC PROJECT IN THE MIDDLE EAST CONTINUE TO BE ABSENT AND BURIED BENEATH PALESTINIAN ASHES AND BODIES DESTROYED BY SHARON'S TANKS AND PLANES...THE ARAB CITIZEN DOES NOT NEED ANYONE TO PROVOKE HIM AGAINST U.S. POLICIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. SHARON IS CAPABLE OF DOING SO, AND DREAMING OF ECONOMIC CONFERENCES WILL DO NO GOOD FOR THE DEAD SEA MEETING. THE ROOTS OF TERRORISM ARE THE OCCUPATION." ¶3. UNDER THE HEADLINE, "ISRAEL IS IN IRAQ," "AL-KHALEEJ" EDITORIALIZED 6/21: "THE DANGER THAT THREATENS IRAQ AND THE REST OF THE ARAB REGION IS NOT ONLY REPRESENTED BY THE AMERICAN MILITARY OCCUPATION, BUT ALSO BY ISRAELI SECURITY AND ECONOMIC ATTEMPTS TO PENETRATE INTO THE IRAQI ARENA THROUGH THE OCCUPATION.... IRAQ HAS BECOME AN OCCUPIED COUNTRY LACKING INDEPENDENCE AND SOVEREIGNTY, AND ITS PEOPLE LACKING FREEDOM, WHILE ITS DESTINY AND FUTURE WILL BE DEFINED ACCORDING TO THE AMERICAN WILL. THEREFORE, THE MISSION OF COUNTERING ISRAELI EXPANSION INTO IRAQ IS NOT THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE IRAQI PEOPLE ALONE. THE ARAB COUNTRIES ARE REQUIRED TO WAKE UP FROM THEIR STATE OF UNCONSCIOUSNESS TO CONFRONT AN IMMINENT DANGER..." ¶4. KUWAITI COLUMNIST DR. SHAMLAN YOUSUF AL-EISSA WROTE IN SEMI- OFFICIAL ABU DHABI-BASED ARABIC DAILY "AL-ITTIHAD" 6/22: "...WHY HAVE ARAB WOMEN NOT HAD THEIR RIGHTS DESPITE LONG YEARS OF STRUGGLE? WE BELIEVE THERE ARE MANY REASONS FOR THIS, WHICH WE WOULD NOT FIND APPROPRIATE TO MENTION HERE. HOWEVER, WE CAN SAY THAT THE BACKWARDNESS OF ARAB SOCIETIES, THE ABSENCE OF FREE DEMOCRATIC REGIMES, THE PREVALENCE OF TOTALITARIAN PARTIES AND THE FLOURISHING OF POLITICAL ISLAM IN THE LAST FEW YEARS ARE ALL FACTORS THAT HELPED TO FOIL THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT IN THE ARAB WORLD..." WAHBA