MEDIA REACTION ON MIDDLE EAST

UNCLAS AMMAN 006105

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 MIDDLE EAST

Editorial Commentary

-- "A military and POLITICAL victory"

Columnist Rakan Majali writes on the back-page of center-left,
influential Arabic daily Ad-Dustour (08/13): "The international
Security Council resolution number 1701 was a POLITICAL victory for
Lebanon. True, this resolution did not fulfill everything that
Lebanon wanted in view of the military victory of the resistance on
the ground.... The complete military victory was not translated
into a conclusive POLITICAL victory because the balance of power on
the international level is heavily tipped in favor of Israel,
particularly since Israel had executed this aggression, this time,
on behalf of America.... The steadfastness, resistance, retaliation
and deterrence provided by the knights of Hizbollah in Lebanon and
Hamas in Palestine are not property to one party or one movement,
but they are the property of the nation in the bigger fight for
peace. Military successes, steadfastness and deterrence are not a
target in their own capacity, but rather they amend the balance of
power and impose a new logic on the enemy that is coming to the
realization that it is not in its interest or that of its people to
suffer another defeat. Hizbollah has wet the appetite of the Arab
nation for victory after Israel's arrogance, pride and provocation
reached an unacceptable limit. The important thing is that
Hizbollah proved that Israel is a paper tiger, and more importantly,
this confrontation that embarrassed the Arab regimes and armies and
exposed billion-dollar arms deals imposes on the Arab regimes and
the Arab peoples to go back to the military option as a means to the
peace option."

-- "Lebanon the future"

Chief Editor Ayman Safadi writes on the back-page of independent,
centrist Arabic daily Al-Ghad (08/13): "The resolution is not fair,
but it is the best possible in view of the balance of power and the
unlimited support that America is giving to Israel. The important
thing now is to implement the resolution in order to stop the
killing of innocent Lebanese civilians and to begin the rebuilding
of the secure and sovereign Lebanese state that encompasses all
people. The issue of the refugees marks the biggest challenge for
Lebanon in the post-war stage. Failure to address this issue in an
efficient and effective manner will result in serious social,
economic, security and POLITICAL repercussions to Lebanon's security
and stability.... The Arabs want no one else to have influence in
their region. The achievement of this condition has its own cost
and its own objectives. The Arab countries need to learn from the
mistakes of the past. There is a moral, humanitarian and POLITICAL
responsibility on the Arabs to help Lebanon. If they do that, they
will gain the respect and trust of all the Lebanese. If they do
not, others will find in the suffering of the Lebanese a point of
entry for empathy and POLITICAL alliances. As for the Lebanese
government, it has no choice but to cast its sovereignty over all
its land. This, however, needs to be done through building a
national convergence over the need to establish the foundations of a
modern and multilateral state. This entails preventing anyone from
trying to employ the anti-Hizbollah international climate and the
military weakness that Hizbollah suffers from after a month of
standing up to the Israeli aggression and seeking revenge against
Hizbollah.... Hizbollah stood up to the Israeli aggression. It
stood fast in a legendary manner. The state and Hizbollah must take
advantage of this in the efforts to rebuild a Lebanon that is free
from neighborly custodianship and secure from Israel's
aggressiveness. Here too the Arab countries have a role to play in
reining in America's wildness towards defeating Hizbollah and
seeking revenge against it for Israel's sake. There is no room for
zero-sum formulas in the future of Lebanon."

-- "Limited power and its desperate options"

Semi-official, influential Arabic daily Al-Rai (08/13)
editorializes: "Israel must show realism in its handling of issues
and its leaders and general must come down from their ivory tower
and must be humble vis-`-vis the objectives they have set for their
dreamy plans. They can no longer break the will of the Arab people
or push the Lebanese and the Palestinians to raise white flags.
They must realize that there is no permanent, comprehensive and just
peace and security and stability in the region except when they
abandon their aggressive policies, abide by international
resolutions, and give up their dreams of hegemony and the arrogance
of power that led them nowhere but to disappointment and failure,
and the Lebanese example is still alive to this moment."


-- "Ushering in a new era"

Centrist, elite English daily Jordan Times (08/13) editorializes:
"Much hope is being pinned on the new resolution. While resolution
1701 is not perfect by any means, it does indeed offer a wide base
for ending the fighting and ushering in a new era for Lebanon free
from Israeli occupation.... There are contentious issues that
remain unresolved, however, like the release of Lebanese prisoners
and the future of Shebaa farms.... Yes, resolution 1701 is
imperfect, but it is sufficient to steer the warring parties into a
new relationship that has never been attained in the past."
HALE