MEDIA REACTION: ISRAEL ARAFAT POWELL VISITS IRAQ

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 004192

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, MOC (MHAMBLEY); PARIS FOR O'FRIEL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KMDR TC
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: ISRAEL ARAFAT POWELL VISITS IRAQ


1. SUMMARY: ISRAEL'S DEBATE ON EXPELLING PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT
YASIR ARAFAT AND THE VISIT OF SECRETARY OF STATE COLIN POWELL TO
IRAQ DOMINATED COVERAGE IN UAE PRINT AND ELECTRONIC MEDIA. AN
"AL KHALEEJ" EDITORIAL COMMENTED ON ISRAEL'S DEBATE ON EXPELLING
THE PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT. ANOTHER EDITORIAL IN "AKHBAR AL ARAB"
DEBATED THE MOTIVES BEHIND ISRAEL'S DECISION TO EXPEL ARAFAT. IN
"AL ITTIHAD," COLUMNIST DR. SHAMLAN AL EISSA DESCRIBES THE
AFTERMATH OF 9/11 AND WHY ARABS SHOULD SUPPORT THE US IN THE WAR
ON TERROR. END SUMMARY.


2. COMMENTING ON ISRAEL'S DEBATE TO EXPEL ARAFAT AND THE U.S.
INVOLVEMENT IN THIS, ABU DHABI-BASED SEMI-GOVERNMENT "AL ITTIHAD"
EDITORIALIZED 9/15:

"... WHAT SHARON IS SUGGESTING, WOULD NOT HAVE COME OUT OF ITS
SHELTER IF IT WERE NOT FOR THE DOUBLE STANDARDS OF THE PEACE
MEDIATOR'S DEALINGS WITH THE TWO SIDES OF CONFLICT. IT (THE US)
DROWNS ISRAEL WITH PROTECTION AND SUPPORT ... BUT IT FORBIDS AND
PROHIBITS THE PALESTINIANS FROM THE SIMPLEST HUMANE REGULATIONS
..."


2. UNDER THE HEADLINE, "GIVE IRAQI COUNCIL MORE POWERS," ENGLISH-
LANGUAGE, EXPATRIATE-ORIENTED GULF NEWS EDITORIALIZED 9/15:

"THE FIVE VETO-WIELDING PERMANENT MEMBERS OF THE UN SECURITY
COUNCIL HAVE FAILED TO RESOLVE THEIR DIFFERENCES ON HOW TO OFFER
IRAQ A FUTURE, AND HAVE LET THE IRAQI PEOPLE DOWN BADLY ... AS A
WAY AROUND THE LACK OF UN AGREEMENT, US SECRETARY OF STATE COLIN
POWELL HAS ASKED FOR MORE NON-AMERICAN TROOPS IN IRAQ TO SUPPORT
THE COALITION. TWENTY-NINE NATIONS ARE PART OF THE FORCE AT THE
MOMENT, AND 14 MORE ARE EXPECTED TO JOIN THE AMERICANS AND
BRITISH ... THE INTERIM IRAQI ADMINISTRATION SHOULD BE GIVEN MORE
POWERS, BACKED BY COALITION FORCES WHICH GIVE WAY TO A NEW UN-
APPROVED FORCE VERY SOON. THE PRESENT LACK OF MOMENTUM IN THIS
DIRECTION IS CREATING INSTABILITY, AND WEAKENING THE CHANCES OF
LONG-TERM SUCCESS EVERY WEEK THAT IT CONTINUES."


3. CLAIMING THAT ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER ARIEL SHARON HAS ALWAYS
PLANNED TO EXPEL PRESIDENT ARAFAT, ABU DHABI-BASED PAN-ARAB DAILY
"AKHBAR AL ARAB" EDITORIALIZED 9/14:

"... IT IS OBVIOUS THAT THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT, LEAD BY THE OLD
WAR CRIMINAL, SHARON, IS STILL OVERWHELMED WITH ITS PLANS NOT
ONLY TO EXPEL THE PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT, BUT ALSO TO ERASE ANY
PALESTINIAN FROM RULING PALESTINIAN LANDS ..."


4. COMMENTING ON 9/11 AND ITS AFTERMATH, DR. SHAMLAN AL EIESSA
WROTE IN "AL ITTIHAD" ON 9/14:

"... THE FIRST THING THE U.S. DID AFTER 9/11 WAS LIBERATE
AFGHANISTAN FROM THE ISLAMIC 'TALIBAN' GROUP, WHICH TRAINED AND
SUPPORTED OSAMA BIN LADIN AND ALL THE ARAB TERRORISTS WHO
SUPPORTED HIM ... THE TERRORIST ATTACKS IN RIYADH, CASABLANCA,
KUWAIT, ALGERIA, AND YEMEN TARGETED THESE GOVERNMENTS AND AIMED
TO CHANGE THEM AND REPLACE THEM WITH A REGIME SIMILAR TO THE
'TALIBAN' REGIME IN AFGHANISTAN ... THAT IS WHY IT IS NOT STRANGE
THAT THE GULF COUNTRIES AND OTHER CIVILIZED ARAB COUNTRIES
SUPPORT THE U.S. IN THEIR WAR AGAINST ISLAMIC TERRORIST MOVEMENTS
... THE BIGGEST LOSER OF 9/11 IS ALL HUMANITY FROM THE SPREAD OF
A TERRORISM THAT DOES NOT RESPECT THE SIMPLEST HUMAN RULE, WHICH
IS THE HUMAN SOUL ... WE ARABS, ESPECIALLY GULF ARABS,
PARTICIPATED IN SUPPORTING THE RADICAL ISLAMIC THOUGHTS BY
FOLLOWING THESE RADICAL STREAMS ... TODAY, WE SHOULD, AND WITHOUT
HESITATION, SUPPORT THE U.S. IN ITS WAR AGAINST TERRORISM IN
IRAQ, BECAUSE IF WE DON'T, WE WILL BE THE NEXT VICTIM OF
TERRORISM."


5. COMMENTING ON ISRAEL'S DEBATE TO EXPEL PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT
YASIR ARAFAT, SHARJAH-BASED PAN-ARAB DAILY "AL-KHALEEJ"
EDITORIALIZED 9/13:

"... THE INTERNATIONAL WARNINGS AND RESPONSES TO THE DANGERS OF
EXPELLING THE PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT LEAD ISRAEL TO A REAL
POLITICAL CRISIS, ESPECIALLY WITH WIDESPREAD AGREEMENT THAT HE
(PRESIDENT ARAFAT) IS THE LEGIMATELY ELECTED REPRESENTATIVE OF
THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE, AND THAT THE DECISION TO EXPEL HIM IS
CONSIDERED 'A BIG MISTAKE,' 'A FATAL HIT FOR PEACE EFFORTS,' AND
'HAS NO WISDOM,' ALL WHICH WILL LEAD TO 'CATASTROPHIC
CONSEQUENCES.' THE RESPONSES TO SHARON'S DECISION ESTABLISHED
THAT THE PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT IS THE ONLY LEGITIMATE POLITICAL
REPRESENTATIVE ... FOR THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE, IT IS HARD TO
THINK OF ELIMINATING OR DISREGARDING HIM ..."

WAHBA