MEDIA REACTION ON EGYPT ATTACKS AND

UNCLAS AMMAN 002965 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 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KMDR JO SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON EGYPT ATTACKS AND GUANTANAMO BAY Editorial Commentary on Egypt Attacks -- "The Arabs in the face of terrorism" Chief Editor Ayman Safadi writes on the back-page of independent, centrist Arabic daily Al-Ghad (04/26): "Terrorism is an Arab and Islamic problem. The failure of the modern Arab Islamic society has produced terrorists, and innocent Arabs and Muslims have been the victims. As for the Arab effort to combat the phenomenon and culture of terrorism, it is still in the minimum. The United States will not be able to win the battle against terrorism. Its lack of credibility in the region deprives this battle of the popular sympathy and support it requires, not to mention that Washington's definition of terrorism is not unanimously agreed upon. It is time for the Arabs to lead the efforts for fighting the intellect, the culture and the crimes of terrorism.. It is not enough for the Arab countries to limit its efforts to securing its borders and its people.. The war on terrorism will be won if the Arabs wage it together and united.. The Arabs have been divided in everything, and so they lost everything. If they want to win the battle against terrorism, they must work as one team, employing the capabilities of each of the Arab countries, in a coordinated and integrated effort to preserve their security and protect the reputation of their religion and culture. The Arab Gulf countries bear the brunt of the responsibility of launching this effort. After all, they have sufficient funds to finance the intellectual war against terrorism in mosques, schools and the media, and are capable of drying out the swamps of economic neediness and desperation that render the young people without hope.. What is spent today on such an effort to protect societies and put an end to desperation will be much less than the cost of the repercussions of failure and the success of terrorism in winning the hearts and minds young Arabs." -- "No justification or explanation for killing innocent people" Center-left, influential Arabic daily Ad-Dustour editorializes (04/26): "We feel very sad over the victims of each and every terrorist operation that takes place in the Arab world and the rest of the world . on the pretext of defending Islam or when the term 'jihad' is used to describe these criminal actions. What happened in the Egyptian resort of Dahab was a big shock for us.. There is no acceptable political, religious or ideological justification for these barbaric actions that target Egyptian citizens, Arabs, visitors and tourists. Moreover, we cannot accept any explanation that links these incidents with the Arab-Israeli conflict, because the Palestinian cause is a just, honorable and pure cause, and we cannot allow terrorist criminals to use it as a cover for their crimes and their hatred of life. The repeated incidents of criminal terrorism in the various parts of the Arab and Muslim world proves that the war that is being waged by Arab countries and societies against terrorism is still long and hard, and that there is no room for tolerance or slackness in dealing with anyone who plans or executes such operations or provide political, intellectual or moral support for them." -- "Another blemish, more death" Centrist, influential among the elite English daily Jordan Times editorializes (04/26): "Another chain of deadly bombings, another day of carnage and mourning and another stain on the image of the Arabs were added Tuesday to a long list of similar painful happenings in our region.. What warped mentality could guide someone towards such vile act? What justification can anyone find for the murder of tens of people and injury of scores of others? For murder, period. What evil mind would cold-bloodedly contrive to take the life of others? Being morally repugnant as they are, such acts are sanctioned neither by normal people nor by religion. Killing goes against human values and against the teachings of any faith. Together with heads of state, Islamic groups condemned the attacks. The barrage of accusations is reassuring. Humanity can still assert itself. But citizens need to be alert as well. And governments should be reminded that unaddressed grievances often fester to bursting point, poisoning minds and debasing mankind." Editorial Commentary on Guantanamo Bay -- "American gratuity" Columnist Kamal Rashid writes on the op-ed page of center-left, influential Arabic daily Ad-Dustour (04/26): "The only thing that connects all these prisoners together is the fact that they are Muslims: Arab, Afghan, Pakistani, Chechen, Saudi, Kuwaiti, Yemeni, Jordanian and even western Muslims. Because of this connection, there was this display of hatred and animosity; because they are Muslims, and because the American policy, led by the neo-conservatives and directed by the Zionist Lobby, is based on the memories and animosity of the wars of the Crusades.. Thus, releasing the names of the Guantanamo prisoners is an American gratuity! Guantanamo prison first and Abu Ghraib prison second stand witness to the American moral backwardness. And if you do not believe me, a Muslim, then believe the six [American] military leaders who were sent into retirement and see what they think of the U.S. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld." HALE