MEDIA REACTION ON THE THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 AMMAN 007571 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 THE THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11 ATTACKS Summary -- The third anniversary of 9/11 attacks received extensive coverage in Jordanian dailies September 1, 12 and 13 . A number of commentaries discussed the event with a tone of despair, viewing the world as increasingly polarized and dominated by the struggle between United States and its "terrorism" on one hand and Osama Ben Laden and Al-Qaeda on the other. Editorial Commentary -- "The industry of American terrorism" Columnist Ghassan Muamar writes on the op-ed page of independent Arabic daily Al-Ghad (09/13): "September 11 is a day like no other, for it not only revealed how threatening some movements could be to the security of Western capitals, but it also revealed how threatening the West could be to us should it decide to put us in its sights. As a result of this day, this dangerous equation became apparent, allowing the West justification to march its armies to any part of the world to control it.. There is a new reality at work wherein extremist religious trends in the United States, that are based on principles of extremism and exaggeration in the adoption and interpretation of the Christian belief and whose objectives match the existence of the Zionist State, have taken control of the White House, and have placed the importance of Israel's existence, survival and safety opposite that of mankind's safety and international security.. While the world saw in 9/11 an attack on the security of American territories, the neo-conservatives saw more.. What happened on that day affected the United States and the world with a series of changes that made extremist religious groups in the United States more convinced of their extremist beliefs and their support for the existence of the state of Israel.. The most dangerous thing about that day is that it pushed the world to believe the American tale, namely that terrorism is the making of fundamental Islamic trends." -- "Lessons learned, issues unsolved" Centrist, influential among the elite English daily Jordan Times (09/13) editorializes: "The third anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington DC has come and gone with some lessons learned, but also with some issues unsolved. Fortunately, not a single similar terrorist attack has occurred within the United States since that infamous day, suggesting that the U.S. security apparatus has learned a lesson or two on how to thwart such attacks.. Yet, the broader issues of terrorism remain unanswered. Osama Ben Laden and his Al-Qaeda organization are still on the loose. The war in Afghanistan . is not going too well for the United States, with parts of the country still under the Taleban control. The war in Iraq is not going well either.. More important, the root causes of terrorism have yet to be identified, much less addressed.. Preventative measures to combat terrorism are on the agenda of not only the United States but of the rest of the international community as well. Police and military actions alone cannot be the answer. The United States and the international community must dig deeper in search for the real reasons that prompt people to commit acts of terrorism. Is it only economic deprivation or poverty that drives people to despair? Is it the denial of freedom and democracy? Or is it something else that has yet to be identified?" -- "Our satellite televisions as they mourn!" Daily columnist Urayb Rintawi writes on the back-page of center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour (09/13): "On the third anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, most of our Arab satellite television stations mourned the victims of the horrible attack.. We feel very distressed at the sight of this hypocrisy that is overtaking the land and space of the Arab and Muslim world. We feel humiliation as we follow the episodes of the faraway `American wound' while we close our eyes to the human tragedies inflicted upon hundreds of innocent people who fall victim on a daily basis in Abu Ghraib, Falujah and Najaf as a result of American missiles that do not distinguish between the innocent and the guilty, the child and Abu Musab Al- Zarqawi. We become angrier as we watch the news of the war of extermination being launched by Israel in Rafah, Khan Younis and Gaza.. It is as if the Iraqis and the Palestinians have no one to cry for them, as if their martyrs have no lives and no dreams and aspirations, . as if our blood . is of a different kind. We understand that the western media in general, and the American and Israeli media in particular, would play the game of discrimination and double standards. We understand that their newspapers and television stations would take on a racist color that puts us down as less than human beings. But we do not understand that our own people would play that same dirty game of degradation and double standards, thus turning our satellite television stations into circles for wailing and mourning." -- "9/11 and the teaching curricula" Columnist Khalil Sawahiri writes on the op-ed page of center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour (09/13): "The biggest disaster brought upon us by the American Zionist 9/11 attacks is this horrible attack against our culture, our religion and our Arab and Muslim morals, turning us into scapegoats all around the world for a crime that was orchestrated by the Jewish-like minds, fundamentalists and Jews within the U.S. administration.. Since matters are judged by their results, the American September is without a doubt of American Jewish making that achieved its objectives on many levels, most serious of which is the crime of changing the teaching curricula (away) from the religious, humanity and civilization viewpoints, as well as instigating hatred against Islam and Muslims and turning them into outcasts wherever they go." -- "A reading in the theory of "who benefits?" Daily columnist Bater Wardam writes on the op-ed page of center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour (09/13): "A great number of intellectuals, politicians and reporters in the Arab world employ a very attractive (conspiracy) theory in explaining disasters caused by a group of Arabs and Muslims that then lead to the defamation of just Arab causes and the reputation of Arabs and Muslims. It is the theory of `who benefits?'.. Such a theory however, while popular in the Arab world, is very easily criticized and refuted should we possess some level of self- criticism and honesty.. The theory of `who benefits?" might be tempting for anyone who likes to deny the truth, but is usually wrong. It is time to grow up and find the courage to diagnose the bitter reality that we, ourselves, have created and from which our enemies are benefiting.In the beginning (days after 9/11),the Arab world was in denial. But Shaykh Osama Ben Laden appeared on the satellite channels announcing Al Qaeda's responsibility for this heinous act and announcing the `invasions' of Manhattan and New York (sic) and so it was not possible to continue the denial.So, Al Qaeda is responsible for the attacks, be it out of unprecedented political stupidity or as part of a plan by the neo- conservatives. Whatever it is, the idea of raising photos of Ben Laden and considering him a hero is the expression of a huge malfunction in the Muslim mind that must be addressed." -- "The world after September 11" Center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour (09/12) editorializes: "What are the Arabs and Muslims guilty of, when all the evidence showed that Osama Ben Laden and his organization were the creation of the American intelligence apparatus, when all justifications for launching the war on Iraq are completely false, and when the United States appears on the map of the Middle East as a force occupying all the oil sources and unites with Israel, not just in the fight against terrorism, but also in the manner of launching attacks on Iraqi and Palestinian cities and villages. We were about to answer the question, `why do they hate us' that was put to the Arab and Muslim world when they came back with `we do not care about your answer'. We were about to hold ourselves responsible for rebutting the claim of those who fight their battles in the name of Islam and disown them, when the expression `crusader wars' came from Washington and the expression `the pure Jewish state' came from Tel Aviv, telling us: it is not enough, not even necessary, when the objective is to control the region.. We wanted to learn the lesson and, with all good intentions, we wanted to be part of a world that rejects violence and condemns terrorism, a world where we mourn American victims and Americans mourn our victims. But those who planned to take control of the world, to steal its oil and riches, and to put all the people under Israel's control, knew that what happened was part of the plan, while the other part is to keep us apologizing to them for their aggression against us." -- "September 11, three years of terrorism" Daily columnist Samih Ma'aytah writes on the back-page of independent Arabic daily Al-Ghad (09/11): The weeks that followed the attacks of September 11 brought to the U.S. much sympathy, even from Arabs and moderate Islamist movements who condemned the attacks. But the U.S. was not concerned with this outpouring of sympathy. It had designs of its own, and the eyes of its armies were focused on targets, many of which had nothing to do with the attacks. But under pretext of fighting against terror the U.S. administration went berserk. Between September 11 and the present the U.S. not only squandered the goodwill that came to it, it also revealed an unusual face of terrorism." -- "Three years after the explosions: much death, little safety and freedom" Yaser Abu Hilaleh writes on the op-ed page of independent Arabic daily Al-Ghad (09/11): "The security failure of the American authorities has made September 11 a historic day. But the more important failure was cultural, ideological, and political. Since then, the U.S. addressed some of its security failure, but it continues to fail in the other areas. Arabs equally live in failure as if the towers have not collapsed.If U.S. security agencies had been successful (in thwarting the 9/11 attacks) would the world be much different than it is today? In reality, not much in depth, but very much on the surface. America would not have invaded Iraq nor even Afghanistan, despite what is being said about the plans of the neo-conservatives. Saddam Hussein would still be in his job, and so would Mullah Omar and Osama Ben Laden.We have to remember that the Arab world was the one to stand against Colin Powell's plan of imposing `smart sanctions' against Iraq. Sanctions would have been sufficient to keep Saddam in power for another 100 years as well as maintaining the flow of oil to the U.S. at the lowest of prices in return for easing the suffering of the Iraqi people. As for Afghanistan, cruise missile strikes would have been sufficient.As for the Palestinians, had it not been for September 11, Bush would be now on the White House lawn talking with Abu Amar (Yasir Arafat). This is on the surface. Deep down, the Palestinian issue would not be solved, nor would the Iraqi, Chechen, Kashmiri issues. The most important thing is that the cultural and intellectual conflict would have remained on the brink of explosion" -- "The September earthquake . has the world changed?" Basem Al-Tuweisi writes on the op-ed page of independent Arabic daily Al-Ghad (09/11): "It is clear that conflicts today happen between poles, each one of which wants to change the world by force. This is [the philosophy] that the U.S. has expressed since it found itself alone at the apex of the world's power pyramid. It wanted to dismantle the world and forge it anew, to ensure the continuity of its dominance. This is the same outlook expressed by the new forces in the Arab and Islamic East. One must admit that the theories propagated in the early nineties about the clash of civilizations are true not because such a clash is foreordained, but because certain powers willed it to be true. Clearly there will be more wars and occupations ahead, which do not bespeak a will for change, but despair of it." -- "September 11" Urayb Al-Rintawi writes on the op-ed page of center- left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour (09/11): "Washington knows full well that the end of its war on terror is still very far off. What it has not seemed to learn is that its policies, which have only increased in arrogance and disregard for the just causes of Arabs and Muslims since September 11, sow more seeds of hatred, and make greater areas fertile ground for Arab and Islamic enmity for Washington and its policies. Washington will not be able to curb Arab and Islamic enmity towards the United States as long as it continues to dismiss their just demands, particularly in Palestine." -- "Reflections on the anniversary of the quake" Mohammad Amayreh writes on the op-ed page of center- left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour (09/11): "America has gone to excess in its vengefulness, assuming that it had the right of revenge to start with, after it found or fabricated information that allowed it to blame Arabs and Muslims for the quake that shook it and the world. This excess and indulgence pose questions regarding American culture, morals and values. It make us pose that big question by Bush and the theorists of American politics: `Why do they hate us?' to them in reverse: Why do you hate us?!" -- "Two terrorist camps play with the fate of mankind" Mahmoud Al-Rimawi writes on the op-ed page of semi- official, influential Arabic daily Al-Rai (09/12): "One of the most interesting outcomes of the September catastrophe is that it opened the door for an even more dangerous type of terrorism carried out by states and armies, complete with full ideological ammunition based on illusions of a monopoly on righteousness and virtue, and on the right to carry out genocide and ethnic cleansing. The other terrorist camp wages total terror, not only with the latest weapons of mass destruction, but also through its disdain for the UN and its resolutions, disregard for international law, and dismissal of national sovereignty and public opinion." HALE