AMERICAN HUMAN RIGHTS, AN ARAB SUMMIT AND THE ISRAELI-

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SUBJECT: AMERICAN HUMAN RIGHTS, AN ARAB SUMMIT AND THE ISRAELI-
PALESTINIAN CONFLICT


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2004 Human Rights Report - Oman Responds
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1. On March 5, the Privately-owned Arabic daily "Al-Watan"
carried an editorial by Atif Abul Jawad, an Egyptian journalist
entitled "The Sad Joke":

"The 2004 Human Rights Report published by the U.S. Department of
State is an expos on the status of human rights world wide.
However, one of the unfortunate things about the report that
severely tarnishes its credibility is that it harshly criticizes
Iraqi soldiers for violating the human rights of Iraqi citizens
during the initial American invasion. Ironically, the report
does not include a single sentence about the heinous human rights
abuses that Iraqi prisoners suffered at the hands of U.S.
soldiers. America acknowledges no responsibility for those
actions. America's failure to take responsibility for the
actions of her soldiers means that the 2004 Human Rights Report
does not have the moral standing that previous reports have had."
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American Presence, Arab Resistance
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2. The government-owned Arabic daily "Oman" published an
editorial on March 5 entitled "American Initiatives in the Region
between Acceptance and Rejection":

"Why are Arab political leaders so passive about the American
initiatives in the region? Why do our leaders want to satisfy
America by any means? Are they afraid that standing up to
America could jeopardize their ability to remain in power?
America is engaging in psychological warfare against the region
by pressuring Iran, and causing Syria to announce its
dissatisfaction with reforms in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. . It is
clear that the United States is a great military and economic
power. However this does not mean that it has the right to use
force to make the world conform to its wishes. Power has its
limitations and America has exceeded them. Our leaders need not
confront America in the military sense; rather they should
initiate serious dialogues that move them away from their current
policy of quiet appeasement. Arab countries must not compete to
for America's favorable attentions at the expense of their
greater interests. We -- Arab Countries -- must unify and stand
with Syria, Lebanon and Iraq at the upcoming Arab summit in
Algeria, against American initiatives in the region."

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Equal Threats, Unequal Response
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3. On March 6, "Al-Watan" published an editorial by Omani
journalist Saud Al-Harthy entitled, "Political Duplicity is clear
on the Iranian Nuclear Issue":

"The American administration should ask itself why its reaction
to North Korea's nuclear program is different from its reaction
to Iran's program. Some experts believe that America would never
have waged war against Iraq if it actually believed that Iraq had
nuclear weapons. Hence, some experts ask whether the U.S. hopes
to use the pretext of nuclear weapons as an excuse to attack
Iran. Iran may not be as big a threat as the U.S. says."

BALTIMORE