Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04AMMAN1302
2004-02-23 11:08:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Amman
Cable title:  

MEDIA REACTION ON MIDDLE EAST, U.S.

Tags:  KMDR JO 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS AMMAN 001302

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 MIDDLE EAST, U.S.
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

Summary

-- The lead story in all papers today, February 23, is
Monday's suicide bombing in Jerusalem that killed
eight people and wounded numerous others. Another
major story highlights U.S. Defense Secretary
Rumsfeld's visit to Kuwait and his remarks about Al-
Qa'eda operating in Iraq.

Editorial Commentary on Middle East

-- "The wall trial and the bus bombing: who is lurking
for whom?"

Semi-official, influential Arabic daily Al-Rai (02/23)
editorializes: "It is time to put a stop to these
operations that have no political benefit and only
contribute to increasing the siege against and the
killing of Palestinians, as well as increasing the
international silence with regard to Israel's crimes.
Today's hearing on the wall would have been an
opportunity to expose Israeli measures, but these
operations only waste such opportunities."

Editorial Commentary on U.S. Presidential Elections

-- "John Kerry in the face of George Bush"

Columnist Yaqoub Jaber writes on the op-ed page of
center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour
(02/23): "It is nearly certain that John Kerry will
win the nomination of the Democratic Party to compete
against George Bush in the U.S. presidential elections
this year. The question is whether Kerry can defeat
Bush, who is supported by the right-wing forces who
consider him the most capable to implement their plans
and serve their objectives that can only be described
as extremely hostile. George Bush's popularity is in
a state of continuous decline and John Kerry, if he
manages his elections battle intelligently and focuses
on his opponent's mistakes inside and outside the
United States, can beat the president who lied and
cheated and brought enmity to the United States from
all the people of the world. The other question is
what is the level of change that Kerry would bring
about to the U.S. policy on Iraq and the Palestinian
issue, which is what we are concerned about as Arabs..
It is known that Kerry voted in favor of the war on
Iraq when he was in Congress, but he says that he did
so based on the lies that were told by the Bush
administration with regard to the Iraqi weapons of
mass destruction. As for the Middle East and the
Palestinian Israeli struggle, Kerry has so far avoided
talking about it, as if he does not want to stir a
battle that he is unprepared yet to wage.. Most
likely he will have to talk about the Middle East
issue, probably in a manner that would please Israel
and the Jewish Lobby and not hurt the feelings of the
Arab constituents, once his nomination is confirmed.
We already know that there has been no American
president since Eisenhower who managed to twist
Israel's arm and make it do something that it did not
want to do. Having said that however, we notice that
Democrat presidents were closer than their Republican
counterparts to attempts to resolve the struggle on
bases that steer away from Israel's expansionist
aspirations and measures that reflect neither morality
nor logic.. We must not pin any hopes on this or that
president. Yet, the world certainly needs a different
president, who would probably be more open-minded and
more understanding that the current president."
GNEHM