MEDIA REACTION: IRAQ VIOLENCE/SHARON

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 000074 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP; NEA/PPD; NEA/RA; INR/R/MR; PA; INR/NESA; INR/B; 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 AE KPAO TC SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: IRAQ VIOLENCE/SHARON ¶1. Summary: An editorial in "Al-Khaleej" states that those responsible for the killings in Iraq do not represent a legitimate reistance. An editorial in "Gulf News" says the insurgency in Iraq is a exercise in futility. "Al-Ittihad" called on Palestinians and Arab to prepare themselves for a new era after Sharon. End summary ¶2. Under the headline "Iraq Massacres", Sharjah-based Pan-Arab daily "Al Khaleej," (circulation 85,000) editorialized: "It is not possible to believe that the suicide bombings that kill innocent people in streets, mosques, graveyards and holy sites in Iraq represent the deeds of a resistance that claims to combat the American-British occupation. We say so, because resistance movements all over the world make ordinary people the base and the support of their power. We are confident that the Iraqi resistance is not an exception... The massacres occuring in Iraq kill hundreds of innocent people and require a clear and decisive stand by all political and religious forces. Condemnation is not enough. What is required is to confront those responsible, deprive them of any assistance, make them notorious in Iraqi society and deny them any protection by educating the Iraqi people on their dark goals and objectives." ¶3. Unsigned editorial in Dubai based, English daily "Gulf News" titled "Iraqi insurgency an exercise in futility" (circulation 95,000) 1/7: "With less than two weeks to go before the results of the December 15 elections in Iraq are announced, it is very evident that terrorists will continue, and escalate, their misguided course of action. In a two-day spree of extreme violence, over 160 innocent Iraqis were killed, approximately one third of this number when an attack was made outside a major Shiite shrine in Karbala." "It has been said on numerous occasions, but it is still worth repeating: Those who commit such foul atrocities cannot be considered true Muslims. For the very act of committing murder upon fellow Muslims who are innocent men, women and children, and not participants in any way in warfare, is not only in contravention of the teachings of Islam but will also mean they become non-Muslims, not martyrs as they so foolishly believe." "Without leadership or representation in the political arena, it is impossible to tell exactly what the demands of the terrorists are. It is believed the majority are Sunnis, objecting to the distinct likelihood that Shiites will dominate the new government. Yet as every indication is that the new government is keen to form a united body of coalition members, in the hope of avoiding continual strife, and as the new government is some way off being announced, it could be said that any protestations or violence is premature." "Equally, it is thought that the insurgents, some of whom it is believed are from neighboring countries, desire to see the departure of the US and other allied forces. But this could be questioned, for it is obvious that the longer civil strife persists, the longer there will be an occupation until it is thought that Iraq can manage on its own. And, considering that the insurgents are now attacking mainly Iraqis seeking employment in the security services, such an insurgency becomes self- defeating." ¶4. Under the headline "After Sharon", Abu Dhabi-based Arabic daily "Al Ittihad," (circulation 65,000) editorialized: "For Israelis who demand the type of absolute security that is impossible to achieve without liquidating or absorbing the Palestinians, Sharon was not a normal prime minister. In fact, he was the "king"... We do not expect Israel to transform in the after-Sharon era from the existing circumstances to a totally different set of tactics in dealing with the Palestinians and the rest of the Arabs. However, Sharon's fingerprints that have overshadowed the Israeli and regional political arena will disappear for good." SISON