SPECIAL MEDIA REACTION ON SECRETARY POWELL'S

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 000839

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SUBJECT: SPECIAL MEDIA REACTION ON SECRETARY POWELL'S
UN SPEECH

News Reports

-- Secretary Powell's U.N. speech yesterday received
extensive coverage in the Jordanian press, though it
competed for front-page space with the announcement of
Jordan's general budget for the year 2003. All daily
newspapers carried wire service reports about the
Secretary's speech and featured photos of the

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Secretary during his speech. Reports were highlighted

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under banner color headlines. Further details and
photos related to the Secretary's presentation were
carried in inside pages in all papers.

-- Apart from two commentaries, no editorial
commentary was yet noted on the topic (note:
Secretary Powell's presentation began at 5:30 p.m.

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local time, concluding after the filing time of most
of Jordan's opinion writers.)


Banner Headlines

-- Al-Dustour: "Powell presents `information' that
Baghdad describes as `allegations'".
-- Al-Arab Al-Yawm: "Powell presents `the pretexts'
for launching the war, while the Security Council
continues to be divided".
-- Al-Rai: "Powell's report accuses Iraq of owning
banned weapons and of dealing with Al-Qa'eda".
-- Jordan Times: "Powell presents US case for war".

Editorial Commentary

-- "Unconvincing evidence"

Centrist, influential among the elite English daily
Jordan Times (02/06) editorializes: "Powell's 75-
minute presentation contained little that was new.
Many people will question the authenticity of these
documents, and their mere presentation is unlikely to
change many minds. Yet, even if we give the United
States the benefit of the doubt, these new elements
did not amount to convincing evidence of Iraqi non-
compliance, or that Iraq presents any real or imminent
danger to any party. On Powell's claims that Iraq has
close links with Al-Qa'eda, we have to wonder why it
is that reports from all of the leading intelligence
agencies over the past two years consistently
contradict this view. Powell presented precious
little evidence in this regard, but made allegations
which can only increase irrational fears about
terrorism at a time when the war on terrorism is
faltering precisely because the United States has
incomprehensibly shifted the focus to Iraq. The
battle against terrorism requires serious attention to
the root causes that fuel support for such violence.
Creating new myths about `evil' individuals in order
to achieve a political goal does not help, especially
when the United States has a poor record of catching
such individuals once it has built-up their
reputations with sensational charges. We have every
reason to believe that the Iraqi crisis can be solved
by peaceful means and insist that all parties,
including the United States and Iraq, should work
tirelessly for that outcome."

-- "A few hours before saying `I got it'"

Columnist Jawad Bashiti writes on the op-ed page of
independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm
(02/06): "Powell's evidence is aimed to convince
those who are skeptical and unsure about the crime of
the twenty-first century that the United States is
preparing to commit against the Iraqis and against
humanity. The world has only to show the slightest
bit of confidence and belief in Powell's evidence to
be dragged, willingly or not, into a crime that is
exactly like the Hiroshima crime in terms of the
perpetrator, the tools, the victims and the
consequences. The Bush administration has no other
means to convince the American people of the necessity
of this war except to scare and frighten it of the
possibility of a new terrorist attack by Al-Qa'eda
with chemical and biological weapons supplied by
Saddam Hussein. The Americans must be made to view
this war as a preventative measure. Without this link
between Saddam Hussein's weapons and Osama bin Laden's
terrorism, the Bush administration would not be able
to frighten its citizens and then convince them that
war is inevitable."

-- "A long American report"

Columnist Mohammad Kawash writes on the back page of
independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm
(02/06): "The charges presented by the U.S. Secretary
of State in his long report were weak and unconvincing
to make a cover for a U.S.-launched war against Iraq.
Despite this, we believe that Secretary Powell's
presentation was the leader towards announcement of
imminent war on Iraq. The United States must keep in
mind that Arab and western countries want to stop the
war and want to resolve the crisis peacefully,
diplomatically and politically."
GNEHM