MEDIA REACTION ON THE AL-QAEDA BEHEADINGS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 005080

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SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON THE AL-QAEDA BEHEADINGS


Summary

-- Lead story in all papers today, June 22, focuses on
a local story that broke out yesterday about the
discovery of leaked high-school final exam papers and
the postponement of these exams as a result. The
story is treated a scandal with many parliamentarians
and individuals calling for the resignation of the
Minister of Education. The lead story in all papers,
June 21, focused on King Abdullah's telephone
conversation with the Saudi Crown Prince, during which
he expressed Jordan's support for the Saudi fight
against terrorism, and emphasized that "terrorist
attacks, whose victims are mostly civilian, have
greatly harmed Muslims and their causes."

Representative Editorial Commentary

-- "Time to take a stand"

Centrist, influential among the elite English daily
Jordan Times (06/21) editorializes: "His Majesty King
Abdullah spoke on behalf of all true Muslims when he
expressed shock and revolt at the savage beheading of
American hostage Paul Johnson by Al-Qaeda terrorists
in Riyadh.... Such tragic episodes do not only mar
the image of Islam; more importantly, they raise
questions as to the direction radical, fanatical
Muslims lead the Muslim nation on.... if Al-Qaeda
believes that it can continue to take the life of
innocent people in the name of God and Islam with
impunity, then the struggle against it must intensify.
King Abdullah showed in the clearest possible terms
where we stand on this issue. What remains to be done
is the expression of a similar position by the rest of
the Arab and Muslim leaders. This is no time to
waiver; it is time to make a principled stand against
terrorism falsely carried out in the name of
religion."

Editorial Commentary on Terrorism

-- "The decapitators"

Daily columnist Yaqoub Jaber writes on the op-ed page
of center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour
(06/22): "As if it was not enough for Al-Qaeda to
defame the image of the tolerant Islam with its
attacks against the United States and a number of
Asian and European cities. They have created a new
disgusting way of dealing with their victims, namely
beheading them, thus instigating the largest level of
hatred possible against Muslims.. The painful result
of this provocation is the infliction of more offense
against Islam and Muslim, and it is a result that the
Zionists will surely use to justify their crimes in
Palestine.. We in the Muslim world, who are riddled
with the likes of these terrorists, must differentiate
between the regular citizen of a western country,
which supports Israel and occupies Iraq, and that
citizen's government. There are millions of Americans
who do not approve of their policies of their
government and are sympathetic with the Palestinian
cause and who oppose the occupation of Iraq. An
important part of our battle with our enemies is
dependent on winning public opinion in western
countries, and that definitely cannot be achieved by
beheading innocent citizens who find themselves in our
countries."

-- "Prospering terrorism in Bush's era"

Daily columnist Fahd Fanek writes on the back page of
semi-official, influential Arabic daily Al-Rai
(06/21): "After the attacks of 9/11, U.S. President
Bush declared a war against terrorism and sent his
troops to Afghanistan and then to Iraq. So did Bush's
war succeed? Did it achieve its declared objectives?
Probably the opposite is correct. Local and
international terrorism prospered in the Bush era and
the world has become a less safe place, because Al-
Qaeda is now bigger and stronger that ever before.
Afghanistan has become a stage for warlords, the
production and export of drugs and oppression of
women.... Iraq, after the American occupation, has
become a stage for terrorists of all sorts and the
Iraqi people lost their security without gaining any
democracy.... The terrorist activity in Saudi Arabia,
which, before the Bush wars, used to express itself
once every couple of years is now expressing itself on
daily basis.... Pakistan, which was a stable and
secure state, is now, thanks to the U.S. policy, a
stage for local terrorism.... Europe did not go
unscathed by these terrorist operations.... America's
policies and measures did not eliminate terrorism.
They rather contributed to its prosperity by, for
instance: describing the war on terrorism as a
crusade; bypassing international law and legitimacy;
killing civilians in numbers that are much higher than
the number of victims of the 9/11 attacks; overlooking
Israel's terrorism against the Palestinian people; the
principle of the pre-emptive war; arrogance in dealing
even with the allies; the maltreatment of prisoners;
the abrupt intervention in other countries' internal
affairs; and the imperial ambition of trying to
dominate the world."

-- "Madness faced with madness!"

Daily columnist Yaser Za'atreh writes on the op-ed
page of center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-
Dustour (06/21): "I start by saying that I am
providing an explanation and not a justification. Our
stand vis--vis violence that harms the security of
Arab and Muslim countries is very clear.... This
phenomenon however requires an explanation.... This
is a prelude for the story of the beheading of the
first American hostage in Iraq and the second one in
Saudi Arabia. These are two events that were marked
by extended media coverage and large-scale
condemnation in the Arab world.... It is madness
without a doubt. Yet, let us wonder which is more
ugly: the killing and dismemberment of tens of
innocent people at a wedding in a city in Iraq or the
beheading of two hostages? What is the difference
between the killing of two hostages by beheading and
the killing of the residents of a building in Gaza for
the purpose of assassinating the martyr Salah
Shihadeh? Which is more ugly: the beheading of two
hostages or the killing of more than twenty people in
the city of Fallujah on the pretext of pursuing
terrorists? Which is more ugly: the beheading of two
hostages or the releasing of viscous dogs against
prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison? It is ugliness that
provokes the same ugliness.... It is madness that
provokes madness. What the United States is doing
with Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine is the
humiliation beyond which lies more, particularly when
it comes to a nation founded on dignity and pride....
We said that we are explaining and not justifying,
because those who are doing this are not looking for
justifications. They have already gone past that and
are now implementing. Unfortunately, they did not
retaliate well, because there is a huge difference
between retaliations that serve the enemy's objectives
and those that hit it where it hurts."
GNEHM