MEDIA REACTION: THE ARREST OF SADDAM

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 005342

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, PASS TO MOC; PARIS FOR O'FRIEL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KMDR TC
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: THE ARREST OF SADDAM



1. SUMMARY: THE ARREST OF SADDAM HUSSEIN DOMINATED COVERAGE IN
UAE PRINT AND ELECTRONIC MEDIA. AN EDITORIAL IN "AL ITTIHAD"
NOTED THAT NOW THERE IS A NEW FREE IRAQ AFTER SADDAM WAS
CAPTURED. UAE COLUMIST ABDULLAH RASHEED MENTIONED IN "AL
ITTIHAD" THAT IT IS BETTER THAT SADDAM WAS CAPTURED BY THE
AMERICANS NOT THE IRAQIS. UAE COLUMNIST AYSHA AL MARRI NOTED IN
"AL ITTIHAD" THAT IT IS GOOD THAT SADDAM DID NOT KILL HIMSELF SO
HE WON'T BE COMFORTED BY DEATH. AN EDITORIAL IN "AL KHALEEJ"
NOTED THAT NOW AFTER SADDAM HAS BEEN CAPTURED, THE OCCUPATION HAS
TO END. END SUMMARY.


2. UNDER THE HEADLINE "OCCUPATION DOES NOT MAKE THE FUTURE,"
SHARJAH-BASED PAN-ARAB DAILY "AL-KHALEEJ" EDITORIALIZED 12/17:

"... THROUGHOUT HISTORY, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS NICE
OCCUPATION OR FRIENDLY OCCUPATION OR BENEFICIARY OCCUPATION OR
OCCUPATION THAT PROVIDES HUMANE SERVICES OR FREE LOTTERY
OCCUPATION... IF THE IRAQIS DON'T WORK AS ONE HAND AND ONE HEART
WITH THE ARABS AND ALL THE GOOD PEOPLE IN THE WORLD TO PROVIDE A
GUIDE FOR ENDING THE OCCUPATION AND HASTENING THE PROCESS OF
HANDING OVER IRAQ TO IRAQIS. THEN WE WILL HAVE A SECOND PALESTINE
WHILE ARABS ARE SLEEPING AND WEEKS ARE BECOMING MONTHS, MONTHS
ARE BECOMING YEARS, AND YEARS ARE BECOMING DECADES."


3. NOTING THAT NOW THERE IS A NEW FREE IRAQ AFTER THE CAPTURE OF
SADDAM, ABU DHABI-BASED SEMI-GOVERNMENT "AL ITTIHAD"
EDITORIALIZED 12/17:

"IRAQ AFTER SADDAM IS DEFINITELY A NEW IRAQ PROSPERING IN
FREEDOM. THE FOUNDATION STONE IN THE NEW ERA SHOULD BE FROM THE
INSIDE, FROM THE IRAQI GROUND AND THE IRAQI PEOPLE WHO LIVED
THROUGH THE TERROR OF THE PREVIOUS ERA, AND TODAY A NEW FUTURE IS
BEING BORN. IRAQIS WITH ALL THEIR PARTIES ARE REQUESTED TO
UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ERA THEY ARE LIVING IN AND ITS
SENSITIVITY BECAUSE TODAY, AFTER THE DAWN CAME OUT AND THE FALL
OF THE TYRANT, MORE THAN AT ANY OTHER TIME, THEY HAVE THE
OPPORTUNITY OF CHOOSING THEIR OPTIONS AND DECIDING ON THEM
WITHOUT ANY FEAR. THE NEXT STEP FOR IRAQ IN THIS NEW ERA SHOULD
COME FROM THEIR BROTHERS, GIVING THEM SUPPORT AND HELP WITHOUT
HESITATION."


4. NOTING THAT IT IS BETTER THAT SADDAM DID NOT KILL HIMSELF,
UAE COLUMNIST AYSHA AL MARRI WROTE IN "AL ITTIHAD" ON 12/17:

"...GOOD WHAT HE DID, HE COMFORTED US FROM ILLUSIVE HEROISM.
GOOD WHAT HE DID, SO HE WILL REMAIN AN IMAGE OF A COWARD TYRANT.
WHY THE CRYING ABOUT THE MERCY BULLET THAT HE DID NOT SHOOT INTO
HIMSELF, SINCE DEATH IS COMFORT? LET HIM REMAIN ALIVE SO HE WILL
BE PROSECUTED IN A CIVILIZED WAY; LET HIM BE A MODEL FOR OTHER
ARAB EXECUTIONERS. LET HISTORY FOLD ANOTHER PAGE OF BLOODY
HISTORY WRITTEN IN BLOOD AND GUN-POWDER, AND THE IMAGE OF A
HUMILIATED OLD MAN, NOT AN IMAGE OF A TYRANT WILL REMAIN IN THE
MEMORIES..."


5. MENTIONING THAT IT WAS GOOD LUCK THAT THE AMERICANS CAPTURED
SADDAM AND NOT THE IRAQIS, UAE COLUMNIST ABDULLAH RASHEED WROTE
IN "AL ITTIHAD" ON 12/17:

". IT IS OUR GOOD LUCK THAT THE AMERICANS CAPTURED THE RAT
BECAUSE THEY PROTECTED HIS DIGNITY ALTHOUGH HE DOES NOT HAVE ANY
AND THEY PROTECTED HIS HUMANITY ALTHOUGH HE DESTROYED THE
HUMANITY OF 26 MILLION IRAQIS. I, PERSONALLY, THANKED GOD THAT
HE WAS CAPTURED ALIVE BY THE HANDS OF JUSTICE BECAUSE I WANT TO
ENJOY WATCHING HIM HUMILIATED WHEN HE SITS IN THE CHAIR OF
PROSECUTION IN FRONT OF THE PROSECUTOR, JUDGE, AND THE LAWYER OF
MILLIONS OF VICTIMS WITH HUNDREDS OF TV CAMERAS AROUND HIM. WITH
THE WHOLE WORLD FOLLOWING HIS TRIAL BECAUSE OF ALL THE SHAMEFUL
CRIMES HE COMMITTED AGAINST IRAQIS."


6. UNDER THE HEADLINE "WHAT IS AFTER SADDAM!" UAE COLUMNIST
DR.ABDULKHALEQ ABDULLAH WROTE ON 12/16:

". SADDAM HUSSEIN IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF A DESTRUCTIVE LEADER.
SADDAM HUSSEIN WILL ENTER HISTORY JUST AS HE WANTED AND PLANNED,
HE WAS A MANIAC WHEN IT CAME TO HISTORY AND BEING IN THE HISTORY
BOOKS THAT WILL RECOGNIZE HIM AS A DESTRUCTIVE, NOT CONSTRUCTIVE
LEADER. SADDAM WILL GO DOWN INTO MODERN HISTORY JUST LIKE OTHER
TYRANTS SUCH AS HITLER, WHO CAUSED THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND THEN
THE DIVISION OF GERMANY TO WEST AND EAST, AND POL POT IN
CAMBODIA, WHO CAUSED THE DEATH OF TWO MILLION INNOCENT PEOPLE
WITH NO REASON EXCEPT THAT HE WANTED TO IMPOSE HIS PURIFYING
IDEOLOGY. ALL THROUGHOUT HISTORY, IRAQ WAS RULED BY MANY LEADERS
FROM DIFFERENT PARTIES, SOME DESTRUCTIVE SOME CONSTRUCTIVE AND
THEY LEFT THEIR LEGACIES, POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE, BEHIND. BUT
SADDAM WAS THE WORST. THE IRAQI PEOPLE SHOULD BE REALLY HAPPY NOW
FOR WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO SADDAM. BUT THEY SHOULD NOW DEAL WITH
SADDAM'S LEGACY WITH NO REVENGE, IT IS IMPORTANT TO DEAL WITH THE
AFTER SADDAM ERA CALMLY AND SOBERLY SINCE IT IS GOING TO BE A
DIFFICULT ERA. WHAT IS REQUESTED FROM THE IRAQIS IS TO WORK
TOWARDS UNITY FIRST. THE UNITY OF IRAQ IS THE CENTRAL OPERATION
IN THE POST SADDAM PERIOD. THE UNITY OF THE PEOPLE, THE NATION,
AND THE DIFFERENT PARTIES AND GROUPS IS THE ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE
AND CONSTRUCTING A FREE INDEPENDENT DEMOCRATIC IRAQ."
WAHBA