MEDIA REACTION ON IRAQ

UNCLAS AMMAN 004493 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 Summary -- Lead story in all papers today, June 3, focuses on the results of King Abdullah's visit to Kuwait and the establishment of a Jordanian-Kuwaiti company with start up capital of 100 million Dollars. Other stories continue to highlight developments in the Iraqi and Palestinian fronts. Editorial Commentary -- "The governing council reproduces itself" Daily columnist Fahd Fanek concludes on the back-page of semi-official, influential Arabic daily Al-Rai (06/03): "At least on the surface, the last word was not for America or the United Nations. However, we will soon hear the word of the Iraqi people, the people concerned: will the resistance stop to give the new government a chance or will the security situation become worse?" -- "Alawi and Al Yawar: further reading" Columnist Moufaq Mahadeen writes on the op-ed page of independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm (06/03): "The American occupation appointed two presidents in Iraq, one for the government and one for the state. The first is Dr. Iyad Alawi, who is from Baghdad and former Baathist. The second is engineer Ghazi Al Yawar, who is from Mosul and whose father was close President Saddam Hussein. This means that the American occupation has reached the conclusion that the complete isolation of the Baath party and its representatives and the regime of Saddam Hussein from the political scene is impossible, and that it would be better for the occupation to inherit that regime in new form and names rather than to eliminate.. The other issue has to do with Al-Yawar. Despite political hints about the years that this engineer spent in Saudi Arabia, the American occupation wanted to deliver a different message by choosing him for this position. Al-Yawar belongs to the tribe of Shammar, which is the tribe that competes with the tribe of Anza to which the royal Saudi family belongs. This means that the American occupation is more likely preparing to surround Saudi Arabia, limit its influence and drown it in new problems that could reach Syria, where the Shammar tribe is present as well, and which is considered a strong ally of Riyadh." -- "Not only incomplete sovereignty but non-existent" Columnist Haydar Rasheed writes on the op-ed page of independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm (06/03): "With different names and some different faces, what happened in Iraq complements the formula of the interim governing council. It was done by American will and desire, and the worst thing about it is the continued allocation of seats on sectarian and ethnic bases and frail party representation. While this gives the coalition forces the ability to pass new resolutions at the United Nations without referring to its presence in Iraq as an occupation force, it also highlights the marginal role that the United Nations is doing in Iraq.. All this shows that the sovereignty that the Iraqis are enjoying is not only incomplete but completely absent." GNEHM