Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05MUSCAT1183
2005-07-26 09:17:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Muscat
Cable title:  

MEDIA REACTION: SHARM EL-SHEIKH AND THE ROOTS OF TERROR

Tags:  KPAO KMDR OIIP MU 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS MUSCAT 001183 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/ARPI, NEA/PPD, NEA/P, INR/R/MR

LONDON FOR TSOU
PARIS FOR ZEYA
USCENTCOM FOR PLUSH
FOREIGN PRESS CENTER FOR ASILAS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO KMDR OIIP MU
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: SHARM EL-SHEIKH AND THE ROOTS OF TERROR

--------------------
In Search Of Answers
--------------------

UNCLAS MUSCAT 001183

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/ARPI, NEA/PPD, NEA/P, INR/R/MR

LONDON FOR TSOU
PARIS FOR ZEYA
USCENTCOM FOR PLUSH
FOREIGN PRESS CENTER FOR ASILAS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO KMDR OIIP MU
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: SHARM EL-SHEIKH AND THE ROOTS OF TERROR

--------------
In Search Of Answers
--------------


1. "Al-Watan," a privately-owned Arabic daily, carried an op-ed
piece by Mohammed Naji Amayrah on July 24 under the headline "The
Sharm El-Sheikh Explosions And The Search For Actual Causes":

"The explosions in Sharm El-Sheikh killed more than 80 people,
most of whom were Egyptians. In the face of such attacks that
claim the lives of innocent Arab civilians, children, and women,
condemnation is a must, and denunciation of these attacks is the
least we can do. The question is, what shall we do next? We
must search for the root causes that lie behind such terrorist
operations. No wise person would ever classify such criminal
acts as a patriotic struggle or a just battle against foreign
domination. The victims of these acts themselves reveal the
fallacy and naivet of such classification."

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Conference Call
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2. The government-owned Arabic daily "Oman" featured an editorial
on July 24 entitled "The Sequence of Violence - Is There An End
To It?":

"The bloody explosions at the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh
are part and parcel of the series of violent attacks that have
become characteristic of the current age. Witness the recent
bombings in London and Turkey...The war against terrorism
launched by the United States has not made tangible achievements,
despite removing the ruling regimes in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Terrorist operations have continued and even increased, using
ever more sophisticated technologies...This dangerous atmosphere
cries out for an international conference to study the causes of
terrorism, so that countries can apply prudence and forethought
to this serious problem."

--------------
Looking Backwards
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3. "Oman" also published an op-ed by Murtadha bin Hassan Ali on
July 26 entitled "Terrorism And Its Relation To Intellectual,
Economic, and Social Backwardness":

"More than four thousand innocent people have been killed in the
terrorist attacks on New York, Washington, Madrid, London and
other cities over the past four years. Terrorist murderers are
also responsible for the deaths of almost one-and-a-half million
Arabs and Muslims in Iraq, Turkey, Pakistan, Algeria, and
Afghanistan during the past twenty years...Arabs and Muslims are
morally and religiously obliged to oppose these ideologues and
extremists, who crazily encourage the murders in the name of
Islam. It cannot be denied that some Arab countries have failed
to challenge terrorist ideology from the beginning...The Arab-
Islamic situation carries the germ of `backwardness' and should
be dealt with practically. The existence of antagonistic
external forces does not absolve Arabs and Muslims from their
responsibilities."

BALTIMORE