SPECIAL MEDIA REACTION: CRISIS IN LEBANON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 003089 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: Editorials remained critical of the Secretary's approach to the Lebanon conflict and most recent visit to the region. One editorial in "Akhbar Al-Arab" provided the outlines of a possible resolution to the conflict. Meanwhile two writers in "Al-Bayan" questioned her motives, with one denying that she had any ability to defend the Lebanese people while another hypothesized that she did not come to reach peace, but only to encourage the Israelis to expedite their observations. Another writer in "Al-Ittihad" attributed the failure of the Rome summit to the United States government's refusal to meet with representatives of Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran or Syria. End Summary. ¶2. Under the headline "The return of Condoleezza", the Abu Dhabi-based Arabic-language daily "Akhbar Al-Arab" (circulation 20,000) published the following in a 07/30 unsigned editorial: "... It is no secret that the proposed 'peacekeeping force' will expand its mandate to include interference in Lebanon's internal affairs, at the expense of the Lebanese constitution. Such interference will have a decisive impact on the country's governance and form of democracy, and will change the country's lists to match the United States' black and white vision of who are and are not terrorists. Washington knows that the presence of these international forces will tempt those who wish to fight the U.S. to come to Lebanon. To end the war properly, the peacekeepers should remain under the control of the United Nations, and should enter only after Israel withdraws from Shebaa Farms and exchanges prisoners. If Secretary Rice's proposal is inline with this vision, her job will be easy and reasonable, and this visit will prove less burdensome on the Lebanese than the last." ¶3. Under the headline "The return of Condi", the Dubai-based Arabic-language daily "Al-Bayan" (circulation 85,000) published the following in a 07/30 editorial: "... In her visit to the Middle East last week, Rice mentioned that her return would not come until the time was right for a final solution to 'the crisis in Lebanon.' Her departure left Israel with the ability to do whatever it wanted, while denying Lebanon its right to return to normalcy. We don't know whether now is the right time for peace as she said, or if she has returned out of concern for Israel's safety, now that it has experienced the stiff resistance which forced it out of three cities in southern Lebanon (Maroun Al-Ras, Bint Jubeil and Eitron) and threatens to drag them into a quagmire that will serve as a graveyard for its soldiers. Even as the United States announces its desire to save Lebanon and find a permanent solution, the painful reality in Lebanon reflects the opposite and demonstrates that United States' true desire is for Israel to quickly achieve all of its strategic goals in this conflict..." ¶4. Female Emirati columnist Aisha Ibrahim Sultan wrote the following in her daily untitled column dated 07/30 in the Dubai-based Arabic-language daily "Al-Bayan": "... What is a more grave breach of the law: targeting peacekeeping forces and intentionally killing four of their members, or abducting two soldiers actively involved in legitimate combat? Why then has the United States helped Israel legitimate its right to defend itself in such a brutal manner (utilizing the abduction of its soldiers as a pretext for war),preventing the United Nations from issuing a statement of condemnation? As long as Israel is free and its lawyer the American devil is ready with his veto to protect it after every crime, then who can preserve Lebanon's security and stability? How can the United Nations account for the killers of Lebanon while it itself is being killed in front of the world's eyes? In such conditions, Rice must find another solution to her diplomatic geniality, if she can come up with any!" ¶5. Kuwaiti columnist Dr.Shamlan Yousef Al-Eissa wrote the following in his weekly column in the Abu Dhabi-based semi-official Arabic-language daily "Al Ittihad" on 07/30: "... What is next now that the Rome conference has failed and Rice is returning to the region? What caused its failure? The answer is clear: the U.S. came with a special agenda for the region that it wants the Arabs to implement, either voluntarily or by force. What is their agenda? It is to completely reorder a problematic region. President Bush has said Lebanon and Syria must disarm Hezbollah, according to Resolution 1559. Bush also wants pressure on the Palestinian Authority to suppress the Palestinian resistance, especially Hamas and the Jihad movements, and wants to reopen the issue of normalizing relations with Israel. It is very difficult for Arabs, including those moderates among them, to accept these demands, as they are orders which any Arab leader with even the slightest amount of honor cannot accept, as they do not even address any of the Arabs' legitimate demands, such as the establishment of a Palestinian state in the Arab lands which were taken in 1967. The United States did not take into account the changes their agenda would cause in the region, and as a result have increased the influence of Iran in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. Hezbollah is not a mere terrorist organization as the Americans pretend, but is instead a political party with wide popular support from the impoverished Lebanese. They provide education and health services, and establish small plants, workshops and similar businesses. The U.S. cannot achieve peace in the region without negotiations with Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran and Syria." QUINN