MEDIA REACTION ON LEBANON

UNCLAS AMMAN 005609 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 LEBANON Editorial Commentary -- "The Lebanese holocaust" Columnist Abdel Rahim Malhas writes on the op-ed page of independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm (07/26): "The Zionist Jews used to name wars in a manner that was beneficial to them. They named the 1967 war the 'six day war' to indicate how fast we were defeated and the strength of their army. As for what happened to them in World War II, the called it the Holocaust to reap sympathy every time this word is heard.... That is why I suggest the ongoing war on Lebanon be called 'the Lebanese Holocaust'. What is happening to the Lebanese people at the hands of the Zionist Israeli Jews in 2006 is a real holocaust committed by real Nazis who are more barbaric that the German Nazis. We must use this name to build in their future generations a guilt complex that befits the aggressiveness of their fathers and forefathers and to build in our generations an everlasting memory of their crimes." -- "The role of states in war and peace is over" Chief Editor Taher Odwan writes on the back-page of independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm (07/26): "No Arab country can claim that it can assist Lebanon against the Israeli aggression in terms of recruiting its political, military and economic abilities and placing them in Lebanon's service.... I am not asking the Lebanese to despair or give up. My objective rather is to call on some of the Arab government to fear God and to stop their media and their officials from using the pains, sacrifices and heroism to glorify their own leaders or the pan-Arab and Islamic stances of their capital cities. What is happening is a flagrant exploitation of the sanctity of the blood of Lebanese martyrs and the heroism of resistance fighters who alone deserve appreciation and commendation.... The conflict in the region is now between parties and Arab countries and government have no presence. It is a conflict between the United States that has occupying armies in Iraq and Israel that is occupying Palestine and fighting in Lebanon on the one hand, and resistance movements like Hizbollah, Hamas and Jihad that have the peace-making or war-making decision.... The Middle East issue is no longer in the hands of any Arab countries. At best, these countries may find for themselves a new role like negotiating or mediating between the parties to the conflict. The war and peace issue in the region is now outside the jurisdiction of the Arab regimes. It is the fruit of the collapse of the Arab policy that has abandoned the task of protecting the national and pan-Arab fate and instead placed all the cards in Washington's basket, which in turn placed them in Israel's basket. We do not know how Rice is going to succeed in imposing a permanent settlement in Lebanon or the Middle East when there is refusal to acknowledge the resistance movements or negotiate with them. It is as impossible as the idea of imposing a settlement using Israel's barbaric force. This force is not going to nullify Hamas and Hizbollah, but it will nullify peace and security in the region. May be this is what Rice wants to accomplish within the concept of 'creative chaos'. How else can we explain this American insistence of fighting a ceasefire?" -- "The magic word in Rice and Blair's speeches" Columnist Oraib Rantawi writes on the op-ed page of center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour (07/26): "The password or magic word in Rice and Blair's speeches is 'establishing conditions' for a ceasefire; a phrase that explains the escalation of Israel's destructive war against Lebanon in the few hours preceding the U.S. Secretary's visit to the region.... The confrontation that followed SIPDIS the Secretary's visit shows beyond the shadow of doubt that the United States is still fulfilling its promise to give Israel sufficient time to destroy what is left and that the diplomacy of 'smart bombs' is the only diplomacy that America is adopting so far, awaiting for this region to give in to the idea of the new Middle East that Rice had promised: a Middle East void of Hizbollah and Hamas that provides Israel with eternal security without it having to even think about considering to end the occupation. The war continues, and the upcoming battle are going to be harsh, and the conditions for a ceasefire will not occur until after Hizbollah is destroyed. This is a summary of what Rice brought to the region. Yet, the American lady of diplomacy forgot that the U.S. crazy war that is being waged on its behalf by Israel will bring nothing but death and destruction and that the fallout from this war will not bring about the new Middle East that Washington desires. Any Middle East that springs from the womb of arrogance, racism and mad killings will not in any case be 'American', but rather a Middle East filled with religious extremism." -- "Rice's ill promise" Columnist Mohammad Abu Rumman writes on the op-ed page of independent, centrist Arabic daily Al-Ghad (07/26): "We are before a new and serious stage for imposing the American project, be that will deals, wars, pressures or alliances. The problem is not with the American administration that has brought to us nothing but devastation and destruction. The problem is with the Arab regime that looks at its political options only from the viewpoint of its short-term selfish interests and that has no effect political will whatsoever to give it the benefit of choosing the best of these options and political alliances. At the Arab level, the next stage is definitely going to be worse that what we have now. This is Condoleezza Rice's ill promise to the Arab countries and people. If there are those who are still arguing, let the Iraqi, Lebanese and Palestinians models be the living example of Uncle Sam's intentions toward the region." HALE