MEDIA REACTION ON WAR ON IRAQ

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 001705

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARN, NEA/PA, NEA/AIA, INR/NESA, R/MR,
I/GNEA, B/BXN, B/BRN, NEA/PPD, NEA/IPA FOR ALTERMAN
USAID/ANE/MEA
LONDON FOR GOLDRICH
PARIS FOR O'FRIEL

E.O. 12958: N/A

TAGS: KMDR JO
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON WAR ON IRAQ


Summary

-- Jordanian papers published today, March 21, are
dominated by reports on the war with Iraq. Wire
service reports highlight the bombing of Baghdad and
President Saddam Hussein's televised speech to the
Iraqi people. All papers also highlight King
Abdullah's meeting with the State Security Council,
during which he expressed concern for the welfare of
the Iraqi people and pledged Jordanian humanitarian
support, stressing Jordan's support for Iraq's
territorial unity. Another lead story highlights
Jordan's official denial of earlier reports quoting
Iraqi sources that the Iraqis thwarted an American
military attack across the Jordanian-Iraqi border.
Also, the Minister of Information declared the eastern
part of the Kingdom a closed military area that
requires an official permit to enter. Other lead
stories include reports of the anti-war demonstrations
that took place in various areas in Jordan.

Editorial Commentary

-- "The American aggression against Iraq and the end
of the world order"

Daily columnist Fahd Fanek writes on the back page of
semi-official, influential Arabic daily Al-Rai
(03/21): "The American missiles launched by U.S.
President George Bush against Iraq do not suggest
changing the Iraqi regime only, but also changing the
world order, that has prevailed and guaranteed
relative peace in the world for five decades.. The
U.S. administration chose to leave the world order, to
bash international law and international legitimacy,
to take the world back to the law of survival of the
fittest, simply by ignoring the United Nations and the
Security Council, and to launch an aggressive attack
against Iraq in contradiction of the simplest rules of
international law.. As of now, world countries must
realize that they no longer live under the umbrella of
international law, but under the law of power and the
rule of the jungle. Therefore, their national
security is gone; Israel, for example, may attempt
some blatantly stupid actions such as invading
Palestinian territories, expelling the people,
attacking Syria and Lebanon, and carrying out other
actions of aggression, which we had believed that the
world would not allow."

-- "The Arabs must be active in the post-Saddam era"

Former Jordanian Minister of Information Saleh Qallab
writes on the op-ed page of semi-official, influential
Arabic daily Al-Rai (03/21): "This is exactly what
was expected. The Iraqi crisis reached the finish
line. The need to violently undo the knot that could
have been undone peacefully has become the only
option. The worst of the matter is that the defense
policy that the Arabs have adopted put them where they
are today: a major Arab country is facing an unknown
fate and they are incapable of doing anything.. The
Iraqi President may have or may have not realized that
the Security Council's battles and the confrontation
between the United States and its allies on one hand
and France and its supporters on the other had nothing
to do with Iraq or with international legitimacy.
Rather they were the outcome of conflicting interests
for the purpose of creating another world power that
balances the United States. Saddam Hussein's mistake
was that instead of taking his already targeted
country away from these world conflicts, he placed
Iraq right in the middle of the storm and turned it
into a battlefield for the conflicting parties. The
outcome is that the United States, which would not
have the single superpower formula altered, turned its
back to all and moved towards war. What happened has
happened and matters are where they are now. The
question is what can the Arabs do? It is not
permissible for the future of a brotherly Arab
country, of such a size and such an importance, to be
decided in the absence of the Arab viewpoint."

-- "A war crime"

Columnist Ibrahim Absi writes on the back page of
center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour
(03/21): "Had the world been free, moral and
concerned for people's rights to life, freedom,
security, peace, justice and democracy, and were it
not subject to American threats and bribes, it would
have declared a decisive stand against the criminal
war being perpetrated by the U.S. administration
against Iraq and the Iraqi people, and it would have
declared its rebellion against the American tyranny
that surpassed all levels.. The new American crime
represented by this crazy war being perpetrated by the
U.S and British administration against the Iraqi
people is the dirtiest and bloodiest and deserves the
name `the mother of all crimes'."

-- "Invading the world"

Columnist Yaqoub Jaber writes on the op-ed page of
center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour
(03/21): "The invasion of Iraq by the United States
is nothing but part of a wide-scale invasion to
control the world. The plan to invade Iraq is not a
direct outcome of the September 11 attacks, but rather
an old plan put in place by the hawks of the current
U.S. administration before they came to power.. The
United States controls most of the oil routes and now
seeks to control what left of these routes under the
pretext of combating terrorism. Invading Iraqi is
nothing but part of this hellish scheme, which must be
resisted via a coalition including Europe, China,
Russia and all countries keen to protect their
independence and dignity."
GNEHM