SPECIAL MEDIA REACTION: CRISIS IN LEBANON

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 003055 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 PITRANSGRESS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OIIP KMDR TC SUBJECT: SPECIAL MEDIA REACTION: CRISIS IN LEBANON ¶1. Summary: A columnist in "Al-Ittihad" described the war against Lebanon as international hooliganism, stressing that peace can not be achieved through violence. "Al-Khaleej" carried an editorial describing the plans for democracy which Rice presented to Lebanon as a "poisoned stew" whose aim is to further more strife and massacres. "Al-Bayan" concludes that the Rome summit today will not do the Lebanese any good. End Summary. ¶2. Kuwaiti columnist, Dr. Ali Al-Tarrah, wrote in his weekly op-ed headlined "War against Lebanon is nothing but international "hooliganism" " in Abu Dhabi-based semi-official Arabic daily "Al-Ittihad" (circulation 65,000) 07/24: "The U.S. policy is based on violence. It sees the current war as part of its war on terror. It also sees force as the only solution to defeat the culture of terror. This policy will bring pain to those who prefer a reasonable and moderate approach. Today, the number of Hezbollah supporters is increasing, so is hatred against the U.S. The people of the Arab states who support U.S. policy, are changing their minds. Saudi Arabia, which described the war as an adventure lead by Hezbollah, could only refuse the U.S. conditions to a cease-fire because they were based on the rule of force and violence... We want our states which are connected to the U.S. to understand that there should be common interests and that no country should pursue its interests without any consideration to the others. Our connection with the U.S. is imbalanced and is not based on common interests. This connection will cause more loss on our side. The U.S. policy will double terrorism and will bring about more destruction in the Arab region. The idea of being moderate will not materialize in any country, as long as the U.S. ignores the interests of the people of the region. There will be no light at the end of the tunnel as long as we ignore the fact that peace cannot be achieved with the logic of international bullies." ¶3. Under headline "Rice and her poisoned stew", Sharjah-based pan-Arab daily "Al-Khaleej" (circulation 90,000) wrote 07/26 editorial: "U.S. President George Bush says that he supports democracy in Lebanon. Is there anything left in Lebanon to adopt the "U.S. style" democracy? Should all the countries, who Bush wants to adopt democracy, be doomed to massacres, the destruction of their infrastructures and a shift backwards such as in Iraq and what is happening in Lebanon? Bush's democracy and Rice's Middle East are the aircraft, gun, and warship which are used by Zionist war criminals to liquidate all the Lebanese people. These are the same weapons that threaten all Arabs whose countries are unilaterally targeted in order for Israel to achieve its expanding greed under the custody and protection of the U.S." ¶4. Under headline "Shall peace emerge from Rome?", Dubai-based Arabic daily "Al-Bayan," (circulation 85,000) wrote a 07/26 editorial: "If the Rome Summit adopts the bilateral U.S.-Israeli position, then the Lebanese people will reap nothing but sweet words that do not fatten or alleviate hunger. Without forcing Israel to first cease its aggression, withdraw from Shebaa farms and release Lebanese prisoners from its jails, the Rome Summit will be futile, unless its purpose was to pass the imposition of the so-called "New Middle East" through the use of Israeli war machinery. If the Rome summit went according to the whims of Israel and followed the path of 17 May 1983, its results will ultimately resemble the results which follow the agreement of the May 17, which ended up being cancelled by the Lebanese people, because it was against their interests." SISON