MUSCAT MEDIA REACTION: DISASTERS, DISTRUST, AND

UNCLAS MUSCAT 000125 SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/ARPI (TROBERTS),NEA/PPD (CWHITTLESEY),NEA/P (FFINVER),INR/R/MR LONDON FOR GOLDRICH PARIS FOR ZEYA USCENTCOM FOR PLUSH FOREIGN PRESS CENTER/ASILAS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO KMDR OIIP MU SUBJECT: MUSCAT MEDIA REACTION: DISASTERS, DISTRUST, AND DEMOCRACY -------------- The Pain of Disasters -------------- ¶1. The privately-owned Arabic daily "Al-Watan" published an editorial on January 23 entitled, "Disasters Get Smaller Except in Iraq and Palestine": "It is said that disasters seem smaller with the passage of time, but it is more likely that our hopes grow larger to erase the pain caused by disasters. However, in places like Iraq and Palestine, the opposite seems to occur ... pain grows stronger instead of diminishing. Palestinians stopped launching missiles against ISRAEL to facilitate negotiations between the two sides. In response, ISRAEL threatened more attacks. Election Day in Iraq is fast approaching with its promise of self-determination, but the unstable political situation suggests that violence and pain will continue to prevail there even after the election." -------------- Peace Ball in Israel's Court -------------- ¶2. On January 24, privately-owned Arabic daily "Al-Watan" carried an editorial entitled, "Do Not Help ISRAEL Get What It Wants": "At a time when Mahmood Abbas is working to ensure that there is real progress in the Palestinian dialogue and the Palestinians are close to a ceasefire agreement, Israeli officials are sending confusing, contradictory, and mysterious messages that suggest bad news is in the offing. Sharon made new threats to attack the Palestinian territories in response to a possible attack, and his senior advisor (Zalman Shoufal) openly expressed skepticism about Abbas' ability to stop attacks against Israel. Only Peres has made positive statements about Abu Mazen, indicating that his party is the only one that really wants peace. The fact that Peres is the only one that has spoken about peace with optimism shows that ISRAEL is embarrassed that the ball is in its court." -------------- Will Reform End Terror? -------------- ¶3. On January 24, the government-owned Arabic daily "Oman" carried an editorial under the heading, "Will Calls for Change Lead to Destruction?": "According to America, terror attacks in the Middle East indicate that the region is a spawning ground for terrorists and an exporter of evildoers. For this reason, America has developed a two-pronged strategy for dealing with the issue. First, it declared war against anyone who represents a real or imaginary threat. Then it introduced reform projects such as the Middle East Partnership Initiative to address many of the region's problems. The Bush Administration was aware that its war against terror, particularly Arab and Islamic terror, would further alienate it from the people of this region. To make things more palatable to Arabs, Bush opted to focus his reform efforts on issues dear to the Arab heart like democracy, the empowerment of women, and political participation." STEWART