MEDIA REACTION ON VP CHENEY'S REMARKS IN

UNCLAS AMMAN 000664 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 VP CHENEY'S REMARKS IN DAVOS/U.S. POLICY IN THE MIDDLE EAST Summary -- A lead story in all papers today, January 27, highlights King Abdullah's meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury, during which the King stressed the importance of maintaining Arab rights and said that the Christian Arab presence in Jerusalem was threatened by migration due to the Israeli occupation . Other major stories highlight the Jordanian Prime Minister's expected visit to Damascus after Eid Al- Adha holiday next week. Major reports continue to highlight developments in Iraq. Editorial Commentary -- "The meaning of Cheney's speech" Daily columnist Fahd Fanek writes on the back-page of semi-official, influential Arabic daily Al-Rai (01/27): "Cheney did not criticize Sharon's action, nor did he ask for putting a stop to the building of the racist wall, nor did he call for the implementation of the roadmap. All these aspects may disturb Israel. But he did ask for changing the Palestinian leadership, for ending the Authority's corruption, for proliferating democracy and transparency and for eliminating terrorism. After all this, there are still some who believe that America holds 99% of the capability to achieve solution or that it intends to equally pressure both the Palestinian and the Israeli parties to achieve a settlement that would fulfill international resolutions and legitimacy, as well as human rights, principles and values that America is calling for. America is not an honest broker and can never be so. America is Israel's strategic ally, even if that obstructs its alleged war against terrorism and defames its image in the Arab world and badly affects its vital interests in the region. The American- Israeli relationship is not a passing political one. It is a permanent strategic relationship, and America will stand by Israel, protect it inside its borders and the territories it occupies, and will continue to guarantee Israel's military superiority over all the Arab countries. America will continue to be completely biased in favor of Israel, so long as this bias is not costing America anything. The Arab regimes are racing to gain America's blessings in order to stay in power, and so America will never reconsider its biased policies in favor of Israeli aggressions until this bias becomes very costly. The Arab regimes cannot force America to pay the cost for its bias because they lack legitimacy." HALE