MEDIA REACTION ON IRAQ, BOMBING OF JORDANIAN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 005067 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 IRAQ, BOMBING OF JORDANIAN EMBASSY IN BAGHDAD Summary -- Lead story in the weekend papers, was the bombing of the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad. Lead story in all papers today (08/11) focuses on the Jordanian Parliament, which has begun discussion on a forthcoming vote of confidence measure. Other lead stories today (08/11) focus on shelling over the Israeli-Lebanese border and the demonstrations in Basra. Editorial Commentary -- "The Bombing Is Aimed At Breaking Solidarity " Commenting on the bombing of the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad, Columnist Samih Ma'aytah writes in the inside page of independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm(08/10): "It is our duty to say that whoever killed innocent lives and bombed the embassy is not a pure Iraqi. The Iraqis, who are suffering from the occupation and of depression, are aware that their problem is not with a brother but with a clearly defined enemy. Therefore, whoever did this is an enemy of the Iraqis and of the Jordanians and of every true Arab and Muslim . . . We must take it easy before we issue any verdicts and before we hold one party or another responsible for this act. However, we are well aware that whoever bombed the embassy did not seek to destroy the building, but wanted to break the state of solidarity with Iraq and to spark Jordanian anger, even if temporary, against Iraq and its people and to lead us to something that contradicts our Arab Jordanian traditions and values." -- "Why Strike Our Embassy in Baghdad?" Daily columnist Sultan Hattab writes on the op-ed page of semi-official, influential Arabic daily Al-Rai (08/11): "Those who struck our embassy on Thursday wanted to choke off the Iraqis and tighten the noose around them because they (who did it) were angered that this vein should continue to provide life and renew air supply. Those who committed the bombing were also enraged when they learned of our embassy's history and examined its role and accomplishments so that once "rule" collapsed and chaos prevailed, they targetted it thinking that they could topple the mast that hold this Jordanian characteristic . . . The Jordanian Embassy will remain so long as the Iraqis - who value this Embassy's role and who have announced over the past hours their pride in its role - remain. The Jordanian Embassy will remain so long as Jordan believes in its pan-Arab and humanitarian role and in defending its interests too. Jordan will not be held back by the hatred of malevolent people." -- "A War Is Over and A War Has Begun" Daily columnist Dr. Fahd Fanek writes on the back page of semi-official, influential Arabic daily Al-Rai (08/11): "Richard Myers, U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has finally confessed that the war is not over and that U.S. forces are facing a special kind of war in central Iraq, but claimed that his statement does not contradict the U.S. President's statement that the war is over. This is because the President said that the main operations are over and did not mean the resistance of the Iraqi people, something not expected by the United States, which was convinced by the new (Iraqi) governors and the Iraqi opposition abroad that U.S. soldiers would be considered liberators and not occupiers and that the Iraqis will receive them with roses and not bullets. . . The Iraqis do not need anyone to instigate them to exercise violence. Violence is their right and the right of all peoples who are under foreign occupation. Violence is a popular resistance that cannot be compared to the violence of a foreign occupation and its coercive methods." -- "Bremer and the Iraqi Resistance" Daily columnist Basem Sakijha writes on the op-ed page of center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour (08/11): "It is certain that the operations against U.S. occupation forces in Iraq are not acts by individuals and they do not belong to a specific organization. These operations have spread across Iraq and they tend to be more concentrated in the Sunni areas of central and west Iraq . . . "Bremer - who headed the Counter Terrorism Office at the U.S. State Department in the 1980s - fears an alliance between Ansar Al-Islam and Al-Qaeda. He is focused on that and does not mention the word "resistance" even once. It is as if we are going to witness a new twist to the idea of combating terrorism, but this time in the Iraqi arena. This is an idea that appeals to the U.S. citizen who still pictures the destruction of the two towers . . . What is happening is close to a popular resistance in the making. It is spreading on a daily basis all across Iraq. One cannot ignore what happened in Basra, the well know Shiite area, and consider it an act that is separate from the fidayeen operations. Indeed, it should be looked at as the start of a true popular revolution with all this U.S.- British fumbling about in Iraq's affairs . . . We believe that the bombing of the Jordanian Embassy is nothing but a suspect incident that seeks to shuffle the cards and as we said in a previous commentary, we must search for the beneficiary of this act, which will not necessarily be outside the circle of the ruling right wing alliance in Israel and Washington." HALE