MEDIA REACTION: GAZA, THE WEST, AND IRAQ

UNCLAS MUSCAT 001321 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 SILAS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO KMDR OIIP IZ MU SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: GAZA, THE WEST, AND IRAQ -------------- Disingenuous Disengagement -------------- ¶1. The privately owned Arabic daily "al-Watan" featured an editorial on August 29 entitled "The Other Side Of Gaza Disengagement": "The world has now started to realize Sharon's real intentions after disengaging from Gaza. He immediately began building a discrimination wall around Jerusalem in an attempt to make it a solely Jewish area, and to stop the implementation of the Roadmap. We had expected those who were involved with the peace process to demand that Israel halt settlement activity and the building of the discrimination wall, but it seems that the Palestinians have been left alone to fight this particular battle." -------------- No More Tears -------------- ¶2. Also on August 29, the government-owned Arabic daily "Oman" published an editorial entitled "Shedding Tears For Political Interests": "The Western media have purposely and cleverly selected particular Gaza scenes to show to the world, making sure that images of Israeli settlers shedding tears are given front-page treatment. The purpose was to show that Israel is sacrificing for the sake of peace. But, if these images demonstrate how difficult it was for the Israelis to leave the settlements, how can the world expect a simple, quick, and painless disarmament by the Palestinians? The Israeli government should work diligently towards a genuine peace, and not use tears as a tool for their own political interests." -------------- Daily Constitutional -------------- ¶3. "Oman" ran an editorial on August 28 under the headline "Until Iraq Emerges From The Dilemma": "Taking into consideration the importance of ratifying the new Iraqi constitution, there are many elements that present challenges and worries to the future of Iraq. There are unfortunate events taking place, and there is the possibility of a civil war that may erupt between clashing factions - primarily due to disagreements over the new constitution. On the other hand, there are last-minute hopes that these factions will communicate to reach an agreement that will help end the bloodshed." BALTIMORE