MEDIA REACTION: GAZA, THE WEST, AND IRAQ

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TAGS: KPAO KMDR OIIP IZ MU
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: GAZA, THE WEST, AND IRAQ

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Disingenuous Disengagement
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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."

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No More Tears
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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."

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Daily Constitutional
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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