MEDIA REACTION: 9/11, ISRAEL, AND UNITED NATIONS REFORM

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SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: 9/11, ISRAEL, AND UNITED NATIONS REFORM


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Unhappy Anniversary
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1. The privately owned Arabic daily "al-Watan" published an
editorial entitled "Silence Followed By A Question" on September
12:

"The whole world mourns the victims of 9/11 in New York,
Washington, and Pennsylvania. However, after a respectful minute
of silence, the world will want to raise questions about the post-
9/11 situation, including questions about counterterrorism and
the clash of civilizations. Unfortunately, the Western media
continues to connect the 9/11 anniversaries to the military
operations in Iraq... The world is looking for voices that speak
about peace, tolerance and dialogue. Let the 9/11 anniversaries
be opportunities for communication, rather than occasions to
increase animosity between peoples."

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Temple Tricks
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2. Also on September 12, the government-owned Arabic daily "Oman"
ran an editorial under the headline "Just An Excuse":

"Israel has officially ended its thirty-eight-year-long
occupation of Gaza Strip. But despite the end of its military
presence, Tel Aviv decided to keep twenty-four temples in the
destroyed settlements - in violation of a court decision
authorizing their removal. The Palestinian Authority requested
that the temples be removed to prevent future clashes between
Israelis and Palestinians. This appears to be yet another
procrastination by the Israeli government, which constantly looks
for opportunities to delay the implementation of their
obligations. If the Israeli government is serious about peace,
they should fulfill their promises to the Palestinian Authority."

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The UN At Sixty
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3. On September 11, "al-Watan" featured an editorial entitled "A
Call To Reform? Or Giving In?":

"Reforming the United Nations is logical, since sixty years have
passed since the Charter was signed. This Charter was designed
to protect the interests of the victorious nations after World
War II, as demonstrated by the veto power held by the five
permanent members of the Security Council. It is interesting
that some of these same powers are against reforming the UN to
include more voices. Indeed, these powers seek to be given the
right to preemptively attack any country without warning under
the excuse of `fighting terrorism' - even though nobody can
define what terrorism actually is. The first step towards reform
is equalizing the relations between the have-nots and the
superpowers who want to control the world according to their
whims."

BALTIMORE