JORDAN MEDIA: 9/11 EDITORIALS TURN ANGRY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 007732

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO KMDR KISL JO
SUBJECT: JORDAN MEDIA: 9/11 EDITORIALS TURN ANGRY

REF: AMMAN 7571


1. (SBU) Summary: Opinion columns published around the 9/11
anniversary in Jordan reflected a depressed and angry tone,
with many writers railing against a U.S. response to the
attacks they claim has undermined global security. One
writer said the time for sympathy with America was over, and
accused Arab satellite networks of serving the U.S. agenda by
continuing to offer sympathetic portrayals of the families of
9/11 victims. A recurrent theme was despair of a
"new-conservative takeover" of the U.S. Government in the
wake of the attacks that adopted Israel's interests as
paramount in the response to 9/11. A number of articles
raised doubts about Al-Qaeda responsibility for the attacks
reflecting a persistent, if perhaps minority, view among the
public. Finally, a relatively few writers bucked these
trends, offering introspection and lamenting both the
conditions in the Arab world that give rise to terrorism and
a continued failure by both East and West to solve root
causes. End summary.


2. (SBU) In our third 9/11 anniversary at this post, we have
seen a steadily deteriorating response on editorial pages to
the occasion, from sympathy mixed with apprehension (2002);
to shock, disillusion and despair in the wake of the Iraq War
(2003); to this year's mix of a more robust anger and heavy
cynicism about U.S. motives in the region. There is a
feeling reflected of international security coming unhinged,
with the U.S. embarked on a military-dominated agenda in
which no corner of the Arab world is safe. Of course, these
are the views of Jordanian editorialists and opinion writers
with all their biases, contradictions and hyperbole well
known. Yet, there does not seem to be a great distance
between their rantings on these subjects and that of the
public, which feels squeezed and powerless between conflicts
surrounding Jordan in which the U.S. role is viewed extremely
unfavorably. What strikes us this year is the consistency
and intensity of the anger directed at the U.S., with
hostility towards Al Qaeda attackers and their aims fading
steadily from most analyses.

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America, Unleashed
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3. (U) Perhaps the dominant theme in this year's 9/11 navel
gazing was that of a tethered pre-9/11 U.S. unleashed by the
attacks to run amok on the world. This view was generally
conflated with the idea that the U.S. exploited the worldwide
outpouring of sympathy that followed 9/11. A sub-theme
alleges that neo-conservatives and pro-Israeli religious
elements seized control of the nation's post 9/11 foreign
policy. An example of the genre came in a 9/13 piece by
Ghassan Muamar in the newly-launched "al Ghad": "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 interpretation of the Christian belief
and whose objectives match those 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." Also in "Al Ghad" on 9/11 came this piece from
daily columnist Samih Al Ma'ayteh: "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...Under the pretext of fighting
terror, the U.S. administration went berserk."

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Doubt and Denial, Still on Tap
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4. (U) Those who persist in the belief that the CIA or the
Mossad or parties as yet unknown carried out the 9/11 attacks
also had their say. Mohammad Amayreh wrote in Al Dustoor on
9/11: "America has gone to excess in its vengefulness,
assuming 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."
In a particularly ugly, anti-Semitic screed, Khalil Sawahiri
writes 9/13 in Al Dustoor: "Since matters are judged by
their results, the American September is without a doubt of
American Jewish making and achieved its objectives on many
levels, the most serious of which is the crime of changing
(education) curricula away from its religious, humanitarian
and civilizational bases, as well as instigating hatred
against Islam and Muslims and turning them into outcasts
wherever they go." The same paper's 9/12 unsigned editorial
continues the theme: "What are the Arabs and Muslims guilty
of when all the evidence showed that Osama Bin Laden and his
organization were the creation of the American intelligence
aparatus?..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."

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Introspection and Root Causes
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5. (SUB) A smaller number of writers offered introspection
and a more pragmatic, if depressed, response to the
anniversary. Generally secular and liberal in outlook and
relatively few in number, these voices have paradoxically
been empowered by the September 11 attacks, able now to offer
a secular liberal critique of the state of Arab society in
much the same spirit of those behind the UN Arab Human
Development Report(s). Bater Wardam, a leader of this trend
in Jordan, wrote 9/13 in Al Dustoor in response to those who
continue to deny Al Qaeda responsibility for the 9/11
attacks: "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...the idea of
raising photos of Bin Laden and considering him a hero is the
expression of a huge malfunction in the Muslim mind that must
be addressed." Another writer asked readers to consider what
would not have occurred but for 9/11: "If the U.S. security
agencies had been successful (in thwarting the attacks) would
the world be much different than it is today?...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 Bin Laden...We have to remember that it was the
Arab world that stood against Colin Powell's plan of imposing
'smart sanctions' against Iraq.


6. (U) A related theme was lamentation that the world had
yet to come together to identify and address root causes for
terrorism and the ongoing conflict. The moderate, English
language Jordan Times editorialized 9/13: "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
drive people to despair? Is it the denial of freedom and
democracy? Or is it something else that has yet to be
identified?" Writing on 9/11, influential Palestinian writer
Uraib Rintawi claimed to know the root causes and warned the
U.S. of the consequences of its policies: "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 grown 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."

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Comment
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7. (SBU) With some exceptions, we see an overall
deteriorating trend in the way 9/11 is viewed among the
admittedly biased and cynical Jordanian editorial
establishment. This is not entirely surprising given the
proximity of the continued conflict between Israelis and
Palestinians and the war in Iraq, not to mention increased
terrorism to the south in Saudi Arabia. The world really
does look worse for many Jordanians, and blaming U.S. foreign
policy post 9/11 resonates. For the time being, the U.S.
military response continues to drown out our other
initiatives, at least on the opinion pages, if not always on
the ground.
HALE