MEDIA REACTION ON IRAQ

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 002052 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARN, NEA/PA, NEA/AIA, INR/NESA, R/MR, I/GNEA, B/BXN, B/BRN, NEA/PPD, NEA/IPA FOR ALTERMAN USAID/ANE/MEA LONDON FOR TSOU SIPDIC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KMDR JO SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON IRAQ Editorial Commentary -- "Three years after Iraq's occupation, Jordan is the biggest loser" Columnist Fahd Kheetan writes on the inside page of independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al- Yawm(03/21): "If the American occupation of Iraq brought destruction and civil war to the people of Iraq, then that occupation has brought Jordan innumerable difficulties and losses that propaganda for the aggression cannot ignore now. We, in Jordan, could not prevent the war, because the U.S. administration decided after 9/11 to strike Iraq and occupy it and fabricated for this purpose evidences and justification, which, a year after the war, the world learned they were nothing than lies and illusions to convince the world and the Americans of an alleged Iraqi danger threatening the world. When Jordan tried to persuade the U.S. administration against the decision to go to war, it was met with anger by White House officials, and so everyone found themselves facing an inescapable reality. On the eve of the war, the United States gave Jordan approximately one billion dollars in emergency assistance to make up for direct economic losses from the war, and just before the attack on Iraq, Washington looked the other way with regard to the sale of smuggled Iraq oil to Jordan and other countries of the Jordan. After the occupation of Iraq, the U.S. administration gave special privileges to Jordanian companies and parties in Iraq . and in the past three years, Iraqi capital flowed into Jordan, contributing to the revitalization of the real- estate market and other economic sectors. Yet, the benefits from the war do not at equal the losses for Jordan. Economically, Jordan lost the Iraqi oil grant, which constituted a heavy burden on the budget, and despite assistance and grants from Gulf countries, we still find ourselves in financial problems.. Before the aggression, industries in Jordan were established on the basis of the Iraqi market and . a third of Jordanian exports were going to Iraq, but nowadays, this percentage decreased a great deal and most of these factories have closed down or moved to alternative markets. The occupation of Iraq also presented an unprecedented security and political challenge.. Furthermore, and amidst the chaos in Iraq, another political challenge arose for the countries of the region, namely the expansion of Iranian influence in the south of Iraq and the rise of political forces that seek to break Iraq's connection with its Arab nation. The strategic threat from Iraq's occupation, as far as Jordan is concerned, was represented in the Iraqi regime's potential friendship with Israel, which has weakened Jordan's ability to fight the Israeli and American projects for a new Middle East and lessened Jordan's geographic importance in the international powers struggle in the region. In other words, Jordan's eastern front was exposed and became a source of worry as the western front is." -- "America's defeat" Daily columnist Rakan Majali writes on the back-page of center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour (03/21): "American public opinion polls show that the popularity of President Bush went down to 34% and the popularity of Vice President Cheney went down to 18%. This is a clear indication that the repercussions of the war on Iraq are impacting the current U.S. administration.. What we would like to stress here is that this continuing war on Iraq, with everything it holds in terms of stressing the occupation and creating influences that shake the foundations of security and stability in the region is a war that has negative impact on all the world, America included. America may even be the foremost country to be affected negatively by this war.. Some people may say that our talk, as Arabs and Muslims, reflects wishful thinking, but the talk prevailing in the world in general and in America in particular confirms the fact of America's defeat.. While the people of the region wish for the defeat of the empire of evil, leading political thinkers and the American people are now certain that America's defeat is almost a concrete reality and this is becoming more evident every day." -- "Acknowledging failure is the beginning of breakthrough" Chief Editor Ayman Safadi writes on the back-page of independent, centrist Arabic daily Al-Ghad (03/21): "America will not hurt too much if it acknowledges its failure in Iraq. Quite the contrary, this acknowledgement, if accompanied by a political decision to salvage what is left to salvage, will constitute a positive factor in the way Arabs view America. Many will not forgive America's sins that have brought Iraq into this historical dilemma, but many others will respect its admittance of wrongdoing and will consider it a bold ethical move, something they have missed in the stances of the sole superpower of the world. President Bush's remarks on the third anniversary of the war on Iraq are not convincing. Facts on the ground invalidate his remarks. Iraq has become an importer and exporter of terrorism. The Iraqis are sliding, or are being pushed towards a civil war whose fires would engulf all hope of rebuilding the countries in the near future. Washington must have the courage to say 'I failed' and call out for the help of its allies and friends in the region within the context of a genuine effort to save Iraq from the dangers that have ripped it apart and the injustice that has been inflicted on its people.. It is time for America to backtrack from the Iraqi file in favor of those who know better how to make work those efforts for saving Iraq." HALE