KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION MAR 6-8: STATE DEPARTMENT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 000791

SIPDIS

STATE FOR INR/R/MR, NEA/ARP, NEA/PPD, PA, INR/NESA
STATE FOR IIP/G/NEA-SA, INR/B
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE
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USDOC FOR 4520/ANESA/ONE/FITZGERALD-WILKS
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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KU KDMR
SUBJECT: KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION MAR 6-8: STATE DEPARTMENT
ANNUAL COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS, GME, IRAQ.


1. SUMMARY: Several Kuwaiti editorialists blame Mossad for
"masterminding" the recent explosions in Karbala and
Baghdad, while a Shiite professor at the University of
Kuwait says the attacks are the fruit of US policies of
"pure evil" foisted on the Arab world by America--"truly the
Great Satan."

The Greater Middle East Initiative (GME) receives acclaim
from Kuwaiti liberals urging their government to implement
meaningful reform, while former Kuwaiti MP Dr. Abdel Muhsin
Jamal mocks the State Department's annual Human Rights
Report as a sham designed to pressure Muslim leaders and
governments for self-serving political purposes. End
summary.


2. "Hilarious Reports"
Former MP Dr. Abdel Muhsin Jamal wrote in independent Al-
Qabas (3/06): "I laughed hard reading the State
Department's annual country reports on human rights
practices. These American reports no longer hold any
credibility. They are purely political reports that exploit
the principles of human rights in order to attack and extort
our Muslim leaders, governments, and peoples. It is America
who needs to be taught to respect human rights, and to
respect other nations before preaching advice to others."


3. "The Gulf States and the GMEI"
Dr. Shamlan Al-Issa wrote in independent Al-Seyassah (3/08):
"Why have Arab countries delayed reforms? The Gulf States
received the GME with mixed feelings, but expressed desire
for reforms albeit with slow and gradual process.
Procrastinating on reform issues will not help the Arab
regimes. By continuing with the status quo, and citing
instability as a reason not to change, the Gulf States are
collectively confirming their apprehension of reforms. If
the Gulf leaders fail to take courageous initiatives toward
reforms, then, change will be imposed from the outside."


4. "Yes To The American Initiative (GME)"
Fuad Al-Hashem wrote in independent Al-Watan (3/06): "I
fully support the Greater Middle East Initiative.
"Waiting" for reforms to occur from within, a feat favored
by most Arab leaders, is a waste of valuable time. If we
wait, reforms from within will probably take place during
the fifth millennium. By then, there would be ten thousand
Mohammed Attas and half a million Ben Ladens. It took one
Ben Laden and one Mohammed Atta to wreak such devastation--
imagine what could happen if we got saddled with millions of
them."


5. "To Dream or Learn?"
Salah Al-Sayer wrote in independent Al-Anba (3/06): "The
GME stipulates that the West help the countries of the
region establish civic societies, and to assist in reforming
the judicial system. Developed states would pledge to
provide technical assistance to register voters, strengthen
electoral committees, and establish training centers
targeted to teach women to participate in civic life. These
same industrial countries would utilize their considerable
expertise to help reform the region's financial
institutions. In other words, the enemy of the Arab nation
will do for it what its heroes never did."


6. "American Muscle"
Adnan Al-Kazemi wrote in independent Al-Watan (3/07):
"President Bush's GME was received with mixed feelings by
the whole region. Nonetheless, the GME is badly sought in
both the Arab and Islamic worlds, because the needs for
reforms are crucial. However, we would have preferred for
the initiative to focus on reaching a negotiated settlement
for the chronic Palestinian problem. Despite our complete
conviction of the need for reforms, we should not be
subjected to pressure. Achieving reforms is a shared goal
by the whole region, and displaying American muscle in this
regard is needless."


7. "Who is the Target Behind the Karbala Bombings"
Issam Al-Fulaij wrote in independent Al-Watan (3/07): "Be
it between Sunnis and Shiites, Sunni groups, or between
different Shiite clerical bodies, Zionist and Jewish powers
are always trying to cause permanent unrest in the Islamic
world. The perpetrators behind the Karbala bombings are the
Jews and global Zionism. All Muslims must take caution.
Whether you are Sunnis or Shiite, you are not targeted for
your religious sects but for being Muslims."

8. "Who Benefits From Stirring Unrest"
Dr. Ayed Al-Mana wrote in independent Al-Watan (3/06):
"Should we rule out foreign intelligence agencies,
particularly the Zionists, for responsibility for
masterminding the Baghdad and Karbala incidents? One
possibility is Mossad. Zionists believe that destroying an
Arab country such as Iraq is an opportunity that should not
be missed. Creating unrest in Iraq would mean different
Iraqi groups would fight amongst themselves, eventually
ending up with the partition of Iraq along sectarian lines.
So who are the masterminds running the battle? Who is
controlling the battle by remote control."


9. "The Great Satan"
Kuwait University Professor Dr. Hassan Abbas wrote in
independent Al-Rai Al-A'am (3/08): "The United States is
truly the "Great Satan". Every new political scheme offered
to us by the United States is pure evil. I am not an
advocate of the conspiracy theory, but the recent and bloody
explosions in Karbala and Kazimiya are the results of
American policies. The region has been beset by successive
policies that brought only harm."


10. "We Shall Ruin Your Plans"
Adel Behbehani wrote in independent Al-Anba (3/07): "The
plans of the instigators behind the latest bombings in
Karbala and Kazimiya are doomed to failure. Neither Shiites
not Sunnis will allow sectarian unrest to befall Iraq. The
answer to these terrorist acts is to reinforce National
unity amongst the two main Islamic sects. Another solution
would be to expose plans and plots concocted by anti-Islam
intelligence agencies such as the Mossad. We cannot rule
out the possibility that Mossad is involved, and is seeking
to create unrest between different sects in Iraq in order to
justify long term foreign presence in Iraq."

Urbancic