MEDIA REACTION: NOBEL PRIZE, IRAN, MIDDLE EAST

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SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: NOBEL PRIZE, IRAN, MIDDLE EAST

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No Bull: Nobel Is Noble
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1. The privately-owned Arabic daily "al-Watan" published an
editorial on October 9 entitled "Has Alfred Nobel's Mission Been
Achieved?":
"Granting the Nobel Peace Prize to the International Atomic
Energy Agency and its director, Dr. Mohammed al-Baradei, is in
itself a noble message. However, we have noticed that there are
a few world leaders who try to subvert the IAEA's mission by
saying that God has inspired them to wage war, or by saying that
preemptive strikes are required to prevent terrorism. The
awarding of the Nobel Prize should reinvigorate hope in
international organizations like the IAEA so that they can work
for the welfare of the entire world. The Middle East should be
cleansed of all weapons of mass destruction, and the first target
should be Israel's nuclear program."
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The Pyongyang Model
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2. "Oman," the government-owned Arabic daily, ran an editorial on
October 9 entitled "An Arab Initiative For Solving The Iranian
Nuclear Dilemma":
"The Iranian nuclear dilemma has reached a critical stage. The
Americans and the Israelis appear to have abandoned any
possibility of a settlement through dialogue. Even the Arabs,
who are nearest to this issue, seem content to merely express
their concerns... In order to get out of this stalemate, the
Arabs should call for a six-party dialogue in the mold of the
North Korean negotiations. The six parties would be the Arab
group, Europe, the United States, Turkey, Russia, and Iran. Such
an Arab initiative might be the gate through which peace is
achieved... It is true that the Iranian case is different from
the Korean situation. But Iran can continue to threaten the
region for more than a hundred years, and this is a strategic
fact which should not be ignored."
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Where There Is Smoke
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3. On October 8, "al-Watan" featured an editorial under the
headline "Extinguishing The Fire In Iraq Doesn't Mean Setting The
Middle East Ablaze":

"It seems that the lessons of the bloody invasion of Iraq have
not produced stability or any other positive results in the area.
Despite this, we hope that America and its allies are successful
in protecting themselves from terrorist conspiracies. However,
all indicators suggest that Washington is focusing now on the
targeting of Syria and Iran, mostly to satisfy Israel. If Bush's
popularity continues to plummet, it is possible that he will use
the security of the Middle East as a tool to buttress the
political campaigns of his party. But it is absurd to try and
put out the fire in Iraq by igniting blazes in the rest of the
Middle East."

BALTIMORE