SPECIAL MEDIA REACTION ON U.S. MIDTERM ELECTIONS

UNCLAS AMMAN 008409 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: SPECIAL MEDIA REACTION ON U.S. MIDTERM ELECTIONS REPRESENTATIVE EDITORIAL COMMENTARY -- "WILL AMERICA REGAIN ITSELF?" COLUMNIST RAKAN MAJALI WRITES ON THE BACK-PAGE OF CENTER-LEFT, PRO-PALESTINIAN ARABIC DAILY AD-DUSTOUR (11/12): "THE LATEST AMERICAN LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS CONSTITUTED A DEFEAT FOR THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. MORE ACCURATELY, THE REPUBLICANS BECAME CERTAIN THAT THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION WAS A BURDEN TO THE PARTY AND TO AMERICA. THERE WAS A KIND OF REFERENDUM ON THE FAILURE OF THE AGGRESSIVE AND EXTREMIST POLICIES THAT THE ZIONIST RELIGIOUS RIGHT-WING GANG PLANNED TO IMPLEMENT, AND THE FIRST REFLECTION OF THIS REFERENDUM WAS THE OUSTING OF THE MINISTER OF THE AGGRESSIVE PREVENTATIVE WAR AGAINST OUR REGION.... WHEN THE AMERICANS VOTED AGAINST THE AGGRESSIVE POLICIES AND CONDEMNED AMERICA'S DROWNING IN THE IRAQI QUAGMIRE, THEY ACTUALLY VOTED AGAINST ALL AGGRESSIVE TRENDS AND THE DESTRUCTIVE AND VENGEFUL COLONIALIST TENDENCY THAT IS IN A LARGE PART BEING ADVANCED BY NON-AMERICAN INTERESTS AND CALCULATIONS. EVERYONE IS NOW CERTAIN THAT AMERICA'S INVASION OF IRAQ WAS AN IMPLEMENTATION OF A ZIONIST SCHEME ADOPTED AND EXECUTED BY THE ZIONIST RELIGIOUS RIGHT-WING GANG THAT REPRESENTS THE DEPTH OF THE ZIONIST IDEOLOGY.... IN SHORT, ZIONISM HAS EXPLOITED AMERICA AND ENTRAPPED IT IN THE PREVENTATIVE WAR IN FAVOR OF ISRAEL. ZIONISM ALSO WORKED GRADUALLY ON DESTROYING AMERICA'S HUMAN VALUES AND MORAL PRINCIPLES ... SO MUCH SO THAT AMERICA IS NO LONGER AMERICA AND IS IN NEED OF A REVOLUTION TO REGAIN ITSELF." -- "WHAT HAPPENED IN AMERICA?" COLUMNIST FAHD FANEK WRITES ON THE BACK-PAGE OF SEMI-OFFICIAL, INFLUENTIAL ARABIC DAILY AL-RAI (11/12): "WHAT HAPPENED IN AMERICA IN TERMS OF THE HARSH DOWNFALL OF PRESIDENT BUSH'S PARTY AND THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY'S ASSUMPTION OF POWER IN CONGRESS WAS EXPECTED. THE REPUBLICAN ADMINISTRATION, LED BY BUSH AND HIS NEO-CONSERVATIVE ALLIES, HAS LED AMERICA TO THE WORST WAR OF ITS HISTORY SINCE THE VIETNAM WAR AND HAS FAILED TO ACHIEVE ANY DECLARED OR NON-DECLARED OBJECTIVES. MOREOVER, GEORGE BUSH BECAME THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN TO WORLD PEACE IN THE WORLD'S PUBLIC OPINION, NEXT TO OSAMA BIN LADEN, AND THE U.S. PRESIDENT NO LONGER HAS TO WONDER ABOUT WHY THE WORLD HATES AMERICA, FOR HIS CLUMSY POLICY BROUGHT ABOUT THAT HATRED. IT IS NOT TRUE THAT WHAT HAPPENED IN WASHINGTON CONSTITUTES A COUP IN THE AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY, NOR IS IT TRUE THAT WHAT HAPPENED IS NOT GOING TO CHANGE ANYTHING BECAUSE THE TWO PARTIES ARE TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN. MOST LIKELY A GRADUAL AND LIMITED CHANGE WILL OCCUR. AMERICAN OBJECTIVES FOR NOW ON WILL BE MORE MODEST AND THE MEANS WILL BE LESS VIOLENT.... TWO YEARS SEPARATE US FROM THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS. IT IS A LONG TIME AND MANY SHIFTS CAN HAPPEN IN THE AMERICAN PUBLIC OPINION. IT WILL BECOME APPARENT THAT THE DEMOCRATS, ALTHOUGH RIGHT TO REJECT BUSH'S POLICIES AND PARTICULARLY IN IRAQ, ARE NOT IN AGREEMENT OVER WHAT COMES NEXT. THEY DO NOT HAVE A PLAN FOR WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE OR FOR HOW TO GET OUT THE IRAQI CRISIS. AMERICA DOES NOT HAVE ANY GOOD OPTIONS VIS-`-VIS IRAQ. STAYING THERE MEANS THE CONTINUATION OF BLOODSHED AND EXPENDITURES AND EARLY WITHDRAWAL MEANS CIVIL WAR AND TERRORISM." -- "THE DEMOCRATIC COUP AND WASHINGTON'S POLICY IN THE REGION" COLUMNIST ORAIB RANTAWI WRITES ON THE OP-ED PAGE OF CENTER-LEFT, PRO-PALESTINIAN ARABIC DAILY AD-DUSTOUR (11/10): "WITH THE LOSS OF THE MAJORITY IN THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH LOSES THE 'FREE HAND' THAT HE ENJOYED THROUGHOUT THE PAST SIX YEARS. HE WILL HAVE NOW TO LISTEN TO WHAT IS BEING SAID IN CONGRESS.... AS FAR AS OUR REGION IS CONCERNED, SOME CHANGED IN THE AMERICAN POLICIES AND STRATEGIES WILL OCCUR. THE U.S. ADMINISTRATION IS GOING TO FIND ITSELF HAVING TO ADOPT LESS AGGRESSIVE AND LESS 'ARROGANT AND STUPID' APPROACHES.... WE ARE NOT GOING TO EXPRESS PREFERENCE BETWEEN THE DEMOCRATS AND THE REPUBLICANS; AFTER ALL, THE REGION WAS BURNED BY BOTH PARTIES EQUALLY. BUT IN REALITY WE CANNOT HIDE OUR JOY AT THE DEPARTURE OF THE NEO-CONSERVATIVES AND THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT-WING WHO HAVE PUSHED THIS REGION INTO THE FIRES OF HELL.... MOST LIKELY, THOSE IN THE REGION WHO BASED THEIR STANCES AND STRATEGIES ON THE AMERICAN 'BULLDOZER' WILL FIND THEMSELVES IN AN AWKWARD POSITION AND HAVING TO RECONSIDER MANY OF THEIR CONSIDERATIONS AND CALCULATIONS. THE FIRST OF THESE RECONSIDERATIONS WERE INDICATED BY REMARKS MADE BY THE LEBANESE LEADER WALID JUMBLAT WHO SAID THAT THE UNITED STATES IS IN A RECEDING POSITION AS FAR AS THIS REGION IS CONCERNED AND THAT ITS OPPONENTS AND CRITICS ARE TAKING THE LEAD. BY SAYING THAT, HE CAST HEAVY DOUBT THE CHANCES OF SUCCESS OF ALL OF WASHINGTON'S PLANS IN THE REGION, FROM IRAQ THROUGH PALESTINE TO LEBANON." -- "AMERICA AND THE REGION AFTER THE ELECTIONS" CHIEF EDITOR TAHER ODWAN WRITES ON THE BACK-PAGE OF INDEPENDENT, MASS-APPEAL ARABIC DAILY AL-ARAB AL-YAWM (11/10): "CHANGE IS NECESSARY. THE HEAVY DOWNFALL OF THE REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS IS NOT MORE SIGNIFICANT THAN THE FALL OF RUMSFELD, THE GOD OF WAR IN THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION. THE AMERICANS DECIDED IN FAVOR OF CHANGE AND CONCLUSIVELY SO. WE DO NOT KNOW IF THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT WILL CONTINUE HIS POLICY OF 'OBSTINACY' AND CONTINUE TO RAISE THE SLOGAN 'COMPLETING THE MISSION UNTIL VICTORY' IN IRAQ. THEN WE WOULD BE FACING A WORLD LEADER WHO DOES NOT CARE ABOUT HIS PEOPLE AND DOES NOT VALUE THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, BUT RATHER LIKE ANY DICTATOR, INSISTS ON HIS OWN STANCES AND OPINIONS.... IF CHANGE DOES NOT OCCUR AFTER THIS INTERNAL REFERENDUM THAT EMPHASIZED THE AMERICAN PEOPLE'S OPPOSITION TO BUSH'S POLICY IN IRAQ, THEN THE SITUATION IS GOING TO GET WORSE, NOT JUST IN IRAQ AND PALESTINE, BUT ALSO ON THE INTERNATIONAL LEVEL, AND THE MOST TO BE HARMED THEN WOULD THE UNITED STATES AND ITS INTERESTS AND ITS LEADERSHIP IN THE WORLD." HALE