Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06AMMAN6460
2006-08-23 10:58:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Amman
how-toVZCZCXYZ0036 OO RUEHWEB DE RUEHAM #6460 2351058 ZNR UUUUU ZZH O 231058Z AUG 06 FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3427 RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC IMMEDIATE RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0423 RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS IMMEDIATE 1352 RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE RUMICEA/USCINCCENT MACDILL AFB FL//CCPA// IMMEDIATE
UNCLAS AMMAN 006460
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
-- "A new Arab initiative"
Chief Editor Ayman Safadi writes on the back-page of centrist,
independent Arabic daily Al-Ghad (08/23): "The moment the war on
Lebanon ended, Israel began a process of comprehensive evaluation of
its political and military performance. The war has constituted a
significant point in the Arab-Israeli conflict, and because every
experience has lessons to offer, Israel endeavored to learn the
lessons from the war in order to use them in future strategies that
would serve Israel's interests. The Arabs too must learn the lessons
from the war, because the aggression showed major infractions in
Arab policies and in methodologies adopted by the Arab countries in
the face of challenges.... There is information that Egypt, Saudi
Arabia and Jordan are currently working on creating an Arab
initiative for that purpose. Available information indicates that
this initiative will be based on the Arab initiative that was
adopted at the Beirut summit in 2002 and will seek to take back the
peace process to the principles it was launched from, namely
Security Council resolutions 242 and 338.... There are no
guarantees that this move will yield quick successes, particularly
since Israel is now suffering from an internal crisis that will
limit the government's ability to respond with the Arab proposal,
and since AMERICA is at the threshold of Congressional elections
that will consume the U.S. administration's full attention. Yet,
this initiative reflects an Arab awareness and realization of two
important things. The first is that the situation in the region has
deteriorated severely and reached a very grave and serious level ...
and the second is that a mass Arab action is the only way for the
Arabs to regain their role in their own world."
-- "Ambiguous phraseology"
Centrist, elite English daily Jordan Times editorial (08/23) opines:
"The UN Security Council now has an established practice of mincing
words and repeatedly using ones that have dual meaning. True, the
Security Council is often obliged to resort to such tactics in order
to garner support for its resolutions. Yet, never before has it used
such ambiguous phraseology that deliberately confuses the parties to
the conflict, as well as the rest of the international community, as
it did in Resolution 1701. By calling for "the immediate cessation
by Hizbollah of all attacks and the immediate cessation by Israel of
all offensive military operations," the council has opened a
Pandora's box that left Israel and its avid supporters free to
interpret Israeli military actions as they see fit. The wording of
the resolution in effect encouraged, or rather tempted, the Jewish
state to infiltrate deep into Lebanese territory last Saturday,
under the false pretext that its action was purely "defensive....
The issue that concerns us most now is why the council continues to
use words that can only invite or facilitate the violation of its
resolutions.... When will the Security Council stop being
double-tongued when it adopts resolutions? The fallout from the
poorly drafted Resolution 242 still haunts all sides and is the
reason why the Palestinian question remains unresolved until the
present day. Had Resolution 242 been more clearly articulated and
the parties would not be where they still are. As for the latest
Israeli violation of the ceasefire resolution, the council is
invited to step forward and call a spade a spade by describing the
latest Israeli incursion into Lebanon as a grave violation in no
uncertain terms. Otherwise, the council members would be accomplices
to Israeli misinterpretation of Resolution 1701."
HALE
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
-- "A new Arab initiative"
Chief Editor Ayman Safadi writes on the back-page of centrist,
independent Arabic daily Al-Ghad (08/23): "The moment the war on
Lebanon ended, Israel began a process of comprehensive evaluation of
its political and military performance. The war has constituted a
significant point in the Arab-Israeli conflict, and because every
experience has lessons to offer, Israel endeavored to learn the
lessons from the war in order to use them in future strategies that
would serve Israel's interests. The Arabs too must learn the lessons
from the war, because the aggression showed major infractions in
Arab policies and in methodologies adopted by the Arab countries in
the face of challenges.... There is information that Egypt, Saudi
Arabia and Jordan are currently working on creating an Arab
initiative for that purpose. Available information indicates that
this initiative will be based on the Arab initiative that was
adopted at the Beirut summit in 2002 and will seek to take back the
peace process to the principles it was launched from, namely
Security Council resolutions 242 and 338.... There are no
guarantees that this move will yield quick successes, particularly
since Israel is now suffering from an internal crisis that will
limit the government's ability to respond with the Arab proposal,
and since AMERICA is at the threshold of Congressional elections
that will consume the U.S. administration's full attention. Yet,
this initiative reflects an Arab awareness and realization of two
important things. The first is that the situation in the region has
deteriorated severely and reached a very grave and serious level ...
and the second is that a mass Arab action is the only way for the
Arabs to regain their role in their own world."
-- "Ambiguous phraseology"
Centrist, elite English daily Jordan Times editorial (08/23) opines:
"The UN Security Council now has an established practice of mincing
words and repeatedly using ones that have dual meaning. True, the
Security Council is often obliged to resort to such tactics in order
to garner support for its resolutions. Yet, never before has it used
such ambiguous phraseology that deliberately confuses the parties to
the conflict, as well as the rest of the international community, as
it did in Resolution 1701. By calling for "the immediate cessation
by Hizbollah of all attacks and the immediate cessation by Israel of
all offensive military operations," the council has opened a
Pandora's box that left Israel and its avid supporters free to
interpret Israeli military actions as they see fit. The wording of
the resolution in effect encouraged, or rather tempted, the Jewish
state to infiltrate deep into Lebanese territory last Saturday,
under the false pretext that its action was purely "defensive....
The issue that concerns us most now is why the council continues to
use words that can only invite or facilitate the violation of its
resolutions.... When will the Security Council stop being
double-tongued when it adopts resolutions? The fallout from the
poorly drafted Resolution 242 still haunts all sides and is the
reason why the Palestinian question remains unresolved until the
present day. Had Resolution 242 been more clearly articulated and
the parties would not be where they still are. As for the latest
Israeli violation of the ceasefire resolution, the council is
invited to step forward and call a spade a spade by describing the
latest Israeli incursion into Lebanon as a grave violation in no
uncertain terms. Otherwise, the council members would be accomplices
to Israeli misinterpretation of Resolution 1701."
HALE