TFLE01: KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION - HEZBOLLAH AND AMERICA

UNCLAS KUWAIT 002938 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/PA, NEA/AIA, NEA/PI, INR/NESA, R/MR, I/GNEA, B/BXN, B/BRN, NEA/PPD, NEA/IPA LONDON FOR TSOU PARIS FOR ZEYA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO XF KU MEDIA REACTION SUBJECT: TFLE01: KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION - HEZBOLLAH AND AMERICA Block Quotes -------------- Sunday, July 23, 2006 -- "Hezbollah, a Lost Card in a Storm" Editor-in-chief of pro-government Arabic daily Al-Seyassah Ahmed Al-Jarallah's commentary on the front page (7/23): "Hezbollah is impotent in the sense that it is unable to withstand the pressure by Syria and Iran to stand against the plans of the United States to democratize the Middle East. At the same time it is unable to openly involve Iran and Syria in Lebanon's dilemma. In the end Hezbollah will be left alone and rendered incapable of continuing the war against America's democratization process." -- "By Land" is Ali Al-Roz's piece in moderate Arabic daily Al-Rai Al-Aam (7/23): "Between the 'Greater Middle East' that the American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke of and the funeral processions in Lebanon, Israel is massing troops in order to shift from its air and sea criminal campaign to a land invasion. The estimates of how far into Lebanon it should go differ, ranging from the Litani River or to take up more strategic positions. It seems that Rice's new 'Middle East' raised the ceiling on Israel's objectives that once were randomly scattered." -- "Change Your Name Sir" is the title under which Salah Al-Fadly penned in moderate Arabic daily Al-Rai Al-Aam (7/23): "If the reason some oppose Hezbollah is that what it did was adventurous and hasty, then this is naove and a departure from the crucial issues. They consider the losses of a tourist season more important than the dignity of the nation. Some oppose what Hezbollah did simply because of its name and because its leader dresses in traditional Islamic attire and is named Hassan. If this was not the case, they would have considered him a legend. If he wanted to win them over, which he does not, all he has to do is change his name and dress." -- "Will Hezbollah Win?" is how Ahmed Mohamed Al-Fahd commented in moderate Arabic daily Al-Watan (7/23): "If Hezbollah wins by hiding underground and not advancing towards Palestine and if it achieves what it wants through indirect negotiations with the Zionists to free the Lebanese prisoners, then its victory is phony to the fullest meaning of the word. The Lebanese prisoners have many ways of getting out of prison other than the abduction of soldiers. The Lebanese prisoners would rather stay in prison than go back to a Lebanon that has been destroyed and that has gone back to where it was 20 years ago due to Nasrallah's ways of negotiation." -- "New Middle East: One That Is Stubborn" is the title of Columnist and member of the Kuwait Journalists Society Dr. Ayed Al-Manaa's piece in moderate Arabic daily Al-Watan (7/23): "It is Condoleezza Rice's right to dream of the birth of a 'New Middle East,' one that is born out of the womb of human suffering inflicted upon millions of Lebanese. But dreams are not real. And if the American Secretary of State is trying to ease the birth pains and spread the news of a unique newborn, the reality speaks of something entirely different. What is happening in Lebanon is not a difficult birth; it is a full fledged war with the objective of destroying Hezbollah." ********************************************* * For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s Visit Kuwait's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ ********************************************* * TUELLER