MEDIA REACTION ON SADDAM HUSSEIN'S CAPTURE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 008175

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARN, NEA/PA, NEA/AIA, INR/NESA, R/MR, I/GNEA,
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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KMDR JO
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON SADDAM HUSSEIN'S CAPTURE

Summary

-- The lead story in all papers today, December 15, is
dedicated to the capture of former Iraqi president Saddam
Hussein. Front pages of all papers carry various wire
service reports detailing the capture along with photos of
Saddam Hussein when he was arrested. A number of inside
pages in all papers are dedicated to further details,
including world reaction and a history of his life. All
papers also carry Jordan's officials reaction as stated by
official spokesperson Asma Khader, saying that Saddam
Hussein's "fate should be decide by the Iraqi people".
Majority of commentaries discuss the event.

Editorial Commentary

-- "An obscene day!"

Daily columnist Hilmi Al-Asmar writes on the inside page of
center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour (12/15):
"It was an obscene Arab day. The Arabs, or what's left of
them, should have bowed their heads in indignation and
declared yesterday, December 14, a black day in their modern
history. It is the day when murderers and criminals became
`brothers' and beloved ones. It is the day when the rats
that speak Arabic dared express their gratitude to Bremer
and to the `American brothers' and called him a dear friend,
because they captured a historical and extraordinary Arab
leader, who, not long ago, spoke on behalf of millions of
Arabs and Muslims and expressed what is deep in their
hearts!.. Had the Iraqis themselves arrested their leader,
I would not have shed a tear for him. Had the sons of Al-
Rafidayn rebelled and dragged him dead in the streets of
Baghdad, we would have said that his people have that right.
But for a gang of murderers wearing the uniform of the
American army to capture him, that is an obscene day. This
is because the murderers who captured him deserve to be put
on trial before those very people they are stomping in the
alleyways of Baghdad and before those who are dying on daily
basis in Palestine.. Saddam Hussein was a dictator? Maybe.
Has on his hands the blood of innocent lives? Maybe. But
whoever amongst you, who is suffocating your people with
oppression, is without sin, then let him cast the first
stone at him!"

-- "Saddam Hussein's arrest marks the end of an era"

Center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour (12/15)
editorializes: "No doubt, the arrest of former Iraqi
president Saddam Hussein is a significant event for Iraq's
status quo. From an objective viewpoint, it marks the end
of an era that was filled with struggles and crises that
have preoccupied the region for a long time, that left many
a tragedy in the hearts of the Iraqi people, and that gave
the Arab world a huge amount of division and bitterness.
When Saddam Hussein was arrested, he was nothing but a
symbol of a regime that fell the day Iraq came under the
U.S.-British occupation, and yet, for the coalition forces
and for American president George Bush, this marks a moral
victory, whose fruits may be reaped during the next
presidential elections. As for the Iraqi people, the arrest
means the end and never return of the Saddam era. The
remaining fact on the ground now for them is the foreign
occupation."

-- "Neither a president nor a martyr"

Columnist Urayb Rintawi writes on the op-ed page of center-
left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour (12/15): "The
ousted Iraqi president disappointed many hopes and wagers
that clinged on to his `historical role'. The man, who was
said to be leading the resistance and that the escalation of
resistance activities in the past few months would bring him
back to his presidential seat, ended up a compliant prisoner
who did not resist his captivity.. The dictator is
finished, and yet we would not have wished his end to be at
the hands of Bremer or the American fourth division,
although facts and realities confirm that the departure of
these dictators would be impossible without painful surgery.
The dictator is finished, but Iraq's would is still
bleeding. Iraq is far from reaching the end of the tunnel,
and the American occupation of Iraq continues to make
mistakes and commit sins against this brotherly country and
this great people."

-- "Saddam is arrested, the resistance will continue"

Daily columnist Yaser Za'atreh writes on the op-ed page of
center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour (12/15):
"No doubt, a significant number of Iraqis and the majority
of Arabs and Muslims had wished a different end for Saddam
Hussein, a more honorable one than being arrested, for the
simple reason that the other party is more hostile to this
nation, and that includes Iraq. But this is one thing and
the resistance and its future is a completely different
thing. I maybe disagreeing with many people when I say that
Saddam Hussein's arrest will have positive effect on the
resistance.. We had no illusions about Saddam Hussein's
role in the resistance, for he was not a leader of a platoon
or a combating division, and at best, he would have been the
source of financing for a number of groups that are fighting
the Americans.. Saddam was a political, popular and
psychological burden on the resistance.. The Islamic and
nationalist forces that are taking part in the resistance
are now free from this difficult complex [Saddam] and can
now present themselves as an Iraqi force expressing the
hearts and minds of the people and struggling to liberate
the homeland and defend the nation against a vicious
aggression that wants nothing good to come to Iraq or its
people, but wants to loot, prevail and extend towards the
other Arab capitals."

-- "Saddam's arrest raises Bush's electoral shares"

Columnist Malek Athamneh writes on the op-ed page of semi-
official, influential Arabic daily Al-Rai (12/15): "There
are even those non-Iraqis who have expressed real happiness
at the news of the arrest of Iraq's former dictator, Saddam
Hussein, and the reason for this happiness stems for the
belief in the need to promote democracy, not only in Iraq,
but also in the Arab world. Yet, we worry of the
repercussions of this arrest, particularly in terms of
raising U.S. President George Bush's electoral shares, and
he is as much a danger to world national security as Saddam
was a danger to America's national security. For the
Iraqis, the arrest of Saddam Hussein means turning a
significant page in a black era, dyed with blood and daily
terror. For the Arab world, sadness may be the prevalent
emotion, because the issue has to do with the victory of the
will of the occupation. And yet, from an objective
viewpoint, and from the viewpoint of a citizen of a world
controlled by the Washingtonian god, Saddam Hussein's arrest
simply means polishing the image of Bush in time for the
presidential elections. This means four more years for Bush
and his associates, when Saddam is in the past and when all
that remains to affect our lives is what the stupid white
men of Washington want.. They arrested Saddam Hussein, yes,
and I am sorry that he did not shoot at them or shoot
himself, a bullet that would put us and himself at ease and
deny Bush the huge publicity."

-- "Saddam Hussein's arrest"

Daily columnist Fahd Fanek writes on the back page of semi-
official, influential Arabic daily Al-Rai (12/15): "We were
not surprised with the arrest of Saddam Hussein. The
surprise was that he was not arrested during the nine months
of occupation. The day of Saddam's arrest is like the day
of the fall of Baghdad: a black day in the modern Arab
history. A number of Iraqis were happy about the event, but
had Saddam returned to power, the show of people's joy would
have been much greater! As an Arab citizen, I do not
conceal my grief and anger about what happened. I feel that
the Arab nation was dealt a degrading blow that will have
resonance and ripples in the very depth of the Arab memory
and personality. I know that Saddam had many enemies, that
he was a cruel dictator, and that his rule was totalitarian.
I would not have been sad for his fall had his fall been the
result of a coup or a revolution by the Baath party or the
Iraqi army or the Iraqi people. But for him to be arrested
by the soldiers of the American occupation army and for this
event to be employed in increasing the popularity of the
American president, it is unacceptable. Iraq was not
occupied and Saddam was not beaten because he was not
democratic. American is specialized in allying with and
supporting dictator rulers. We must remember that Saddam
was the president of a super Arab country and that he had a
history. He sent his tanks to the Syrian front to ward off
the advancing Israeli army and he sent his planes to the
Egyptian front in 1973. He tried to enter the age of
technology revolution, but Israel targeted his nuclear
reactor in 1980 and American sent the inspectors. He
protected the Arab world from the Khumeini revolution (1980-
1988). He struck missiles in the depth of Israel (1991).
He declared that Arab oil is for Arabs. He supported Jordan
despite Iraq's difficult circumstances. And he, like Abdul
Nasser, is one of the symbols of the Arab nationalism. For
all these reasons, it is our right to be angry, for the
dignity of the Arabs and the dignity of Iraq was humiliated
by the occupying foreigner."

-- "What next?"

Centrist daily Jordan Times, influential among the elite
English-speaking elite, (12/15) editorializes: "The capture
of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein offers closure to
one long difficult chapter in modern Iraqi history. The
myth is shattered. The once feared leader of Iraq is now a
prisoner behind bars. His chances of return to power are
impossible. This, by any serious standard, is a major
development that marks the end of an era, with all the pain,
suffering, and various expectations that it had carried.
But it is also the beginning of a new era that offers its
own set of extremely complex and trying challenges.. The
U.S. has bigger challenges to face now that Saddam is in
custody. They should not naively bask in the sun of
achievement, though extremely significant. They cannot
afford to be intoxicated by the victory that the arrest of
Saddam represents. The Americans erred greatly in entering
Iraq without having a clear plan of action. They now have a
chance to right some of their wrongs and move steadily
towards helping build a safe and modern Iraq. The U.S. has
showed resolve in conducting its military operations. The
Iraqis deserve the same resolve in Washington's plans to fix
the power supply, end fuel shortages and provide basic
commodities. They need to see a plan that offers a clear
roadmap to the final objective of leaving the running of
Iraq to a democratically elected Iraqi government. The
American can now focus on helping rebuild what the sanctions
and war have destroyed. Their responsibilities towards the
Iraqis are enormous. They do not end with the capture of
Saddam."

#Gnehm