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