Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06ABUDHABI2874
2006-07-12 12:18:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Abu Dhabi
Cable title:
MEDIA REACTION: IRAQ'S SECTARIAN VIOLENCE
how-tonull Diana T Fritz 08/26/2006 04:57:06 PM From DB/Inbox: Search Results Cable Text: UNCLAS ABU DHABI 02874 SIPDIS CXABU: ACTION: PAO INFO: ECON POL AMB DCM DISSEMINATION: PAO CHARGE: PROG APPROVED: PAO:OLSINHILARY DRAFTED: PAO:AHOSHAN CLEARED: PAO:THAMDI VZCZCADI562 OO RUEHC RUENAAA RUEKJCS RUEHZM RUEHLO RHRMDAB RHWSMRC DE RUEHAD #2874 1931218 ZNR UUUUU ZZH O 121218Z JUL 06 FM AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6123 RUENAAA/SECNAV WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1053 RHRMDAB/COMUSNAVCENT RHWSMRC/MCF01 SACCS USCINCCENT MACDILL AFB FL
UNCLAS ABU DHABI 002874
SIPDIS
STATE FOR NEA/ARP; NEA/PPD; NEA/RA; INR/R/MR; PA; INR/NESA; INR/B;
RRU-NEA
IIP/G/NEA-SA
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE; NSC
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA
USCINCCENT FOR POLAD
LONDON FOR MCKUNE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KMDR TC
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: IRAQ'S SECTARIAN VIOLENCE
UNCLAS ABU DHABI 002874
SIPDIS
STATE FOR NEA/ARP; NEA/PPD; NEA/RA; INR/R/MR; PA; INR/NESA; INR/B;
RRU-NEA
IIP/G/NEA-SA
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE; NSC
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA
USCINCCENT FOR POLAD
LONDON FOR MCKUNE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KMDR TC
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: IRAQ'S SECTARIAN VIOLENCE
1. Summary: An Emirati columnist in "Al-Ittihad" stressed the
importance of having the Arab League involved in efforts to resolve
the sectarian violence in Iraq. Another editorial in "Al-Khaleej"
warned against the division of Iraq in light of the current
sectarian and ethnic violence. End Summary.
2. Emirati columnist Mohammed Al Hammadi wrote the following in an
07/12 editorial in the Abu Dhabi-based Arabic daily "Al-Ittihad"
(circulation 65,000):
"The current situation in Iraq demands swift action, as what is
happening now is distinctly headed towards a sectarian civil war.
Even if this war is still in its early stages, it has the potential
to impact even the Gulf countries. We are not concerned about the
occupation, because all great nations will eventually expel and
defeat their occupiers. Instead, we are afraid of what will happen
when the various factions in Iraq stop being able to live
together... Today we still see the Arab League watching silently as
Iraqis kill each other... Everyone is killing everyone, without
mercy. The League must act now before it is too late... It is not
in the interest of surrounding countries to have the situation in
Iraq escalate, especially now that it is clear that a sectarian fire
is burning and being fueled by international forces... We can feel
the strife in Iraq hitting us even here in the Gulf, though we may
not realize it. Through it we can realize just how terrible
whatever might follow Iraq's destruction will be. Why then continue
to play the silent spectator? Once Shi'a and Sunni stood united,
now they are sundered. Their hatred is growing, and could reach
dangerous levels in both camps. This development highlights
problems in Iraq, but also points towards dangerous shifts in the
broader relationship between Shi'a and Sunni. This change is
definitely negative, and demands a response from the Arab League
before the whole region goes up in flames."
3. Under the headline "The shortest path to division," the
Sharjah-based pan-Arab daily "Al-Khaleej" (circulation 90,000)
published the following in an 07/12 unsigned editorial:
"Iraq's violence, whether sectarian or ethnic, is the fastest
imaginable route towards a divided Iraq, the best outcome possible
for the occupation forces, despite the bloodshed and chaos it
entails... The occupation forces are the only ones who benefit from
this strife, and they manipulate both local and imported insurgents
as tools towards their own ends. These Iraqis have been saved from
oppression only to fall victim to their rescuers' own
self-interested plans, costing an independent Iraq greatly even if
they had hoped to profit at their country's expense only
temporarily."
SISON
SIPDIS
STATE FOR NEA/ARP; NEA/PPD; NEA/RA; INR/R/MR; PA; INR/NESA; INR/B;
RRU-NEA
IIP/G/NEA-SA
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE; NSC
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA
USCINCCENT FOR POLAD
LONDON FOR MCKUNE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KMDR TC
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: IRAQ'S SECTARIAN VIOLENCE
1. Summary: An Emirati columnist in "Al-Ittihad" stressed the
importance of having the Arab League involved in efforts to resolve
the sectarian violence in Iraq. Another editorial in "Al-Khaleej"
warned against the division of Iraq in light of the current
sectarian and ethnic violence. End Summary.
2. Emirati columnist Mohammed Al Hammadi wrote the following in an
07/12 editorial in the Abu Dhabi-based Arabic daily "Al-Ittihad"
(circulation 65,000):
"The current situation in Iraq demands swift action, as what is
happening now is distinctly headed towards a sectarian civil war.
Even if this war is still in its early stages, it has the potential
to impact even the Gulf countries. We are not concerned about the
occupation, because all great nations will eventually expel and
defeat their occupiers. Instead, we are afraid of what will happen
when the various factions in Iraq stop being able to live
together... Today we still see the Arab League watching silently as
Iraqis kill each other... Everyone is killing everyone, without
mercy. The League must act now before it is too late... It is not
in the interest of surrounding countries to have the situation in
Iraq escalate, especially now that it is clear that a sectarian fire
is burning and being fueled by international forces... We can feel
the strife in Iraq hitting us even here in the Gulf, though we may
not realize it. Through it we can realize just how terrible
whatever might follow Iraq's destruction will be. Why then continue
to play the silent spectator? Once Shi'a and Sunni stood united,
now they are sundered. Their hatred is growing, and could reach
dangerous levels in both camps. This development highlights
problems in Iraq, but also points towards dangerous shifts in the
broader relationship between Shi'a and Sunni. This change is
definitely negative, and demands a response from the Arab League
before the whole region goes up in flames."
3. Under the headline "The shortest path to division," the
Sharjah-based pan-Arab daily "Al-Khaleej" (circulation 90,000)
published the following in an 07/12 unsigned editorial:
"Iraq's violence, whether sectarian or ethnic, is the fastest
imaginable route towards a divided Iraq, the best outcome possible
for the occupation forces, despite the bloodshed and chaos it
entails... The occupation forces are the only ones who benefit from
this strife, and they manipulate both local and imported insurgents
as tools towards their own ends. These Iraqis have been saved from
oppression only to fall victim to their rescuers' own
self-interested plans, costing an independent Iraq greatly even if
they had hoped to profit at their country's expense only
temporarily."
SISON