MEDIA REACTION ON WAR IN IRAQ

UNCLAS AMMAN 001973

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 IN IRAQ

Summary

-- Lead stories in all papers today, April 2, continue
to focus on the developments in the war in Iraq.
Banner headlines highlight the civilian death toll in
Iraq. Al-Dustour, Al-Arab Al-Yawm and the Jordan
Times carry a similar photo of a man crying and
shouting as the bodies of three small children are
placed in a coffin in front of him. All papers also
highlight King Abdullah's meeting with his cabinet,
during which he expressed reassurance about the
Jordanian government's measures to protect Jordanians'
safety and express concern for the rising number of
civilian casualties among the Iraqi people. Papers
also refer to the letter sent by U.S. Ambassador to
Jordan, Edward Gnehm, to the Minister of Foreign
Affairs, offering his condolences for the death of
five Jordanians killed in Iraq.

Editorial Commentary

-- "Jews, Zionists, and the title is occupation"

Chief Editor Taher Udwan concludes his article on the
back page of independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-
Arab Al-Yawm (04/02): "For us Arabs, we view what is
happening as yet another image of the invaders who
crossed our lands in barbaric wars (whether holy or
unholy wars). We realize that the invaders may
eventually succeed, with the massive force they have,
in entering the cities of Iraq, the Arab country that
is standing alone without the support of any of its
brothers. We realize that the occupation may succeed
in occupying all of Iraq. However, they will fail,
from day one, to be of an image other than that of
occupiers, invaders, opportunists and criminals. This
alone is sufficient to keep the resistance going even
for the next one hundred years."

-- "The American crisis"

Daily columnist Fahd Fanek writes on the back page of
semi-official, influential Arabic daily Al-Rai
(04/02): "In the first week of the Anglo-American
aggression against Iraq, focus was directed to
military and leadership targets, in an efforts to
convince the Iraqi people that the Americans and the
English are launching their war against the regime and
not the people. They had expected that the Iraqi
people would view them as liberators rather than
occupiers. Within the first week of launching the
aggression, the American leadership became convinced
that this vision does not exist, because the fierce
Iraqi resistance faced by the invading forces was not
only regular forces, but also included popular
organizations. The Iraqi people, with all its
sectors, rose in defense of his homeland.. As of the
second week of the war, the American plans shifted and
changed. They acknowledged that the forces are not
enough . and most importantly they shifted from
targeting the regime's institutions to striking
popular markets and residential areas, in a clear
attempt to avenge themselves against the Iraqi people.
The Iraqis in 1991 were not completely convinced of
the need to fight and sacrifice to keep Kuwait, as
they were faced with the Arab and international public
opinion and the thirty-country alliance supported by
Arab and international communities. It really felt
like a war to liberate Kuwait. However, in 2003, the
picture is different. The Iraqis are defending their
homeland against invaders and aggressors, whose
intentions and objectives are as clear as day, and
whose movements and plans are rejected both on the
Arab and on the international levels."
GNEHM