KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION - INTERPRETING LEBANON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 003320 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: KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION - INTERPRETING LEBANON Block Quotes -------------- Wednesday, August 16, 2006 -- "Who are the Fascists?," was the title of Aseel Abdul Hamid Amin's piece in progressive Arabic daily Al-Qabas in which he commented (8/16): "Fascism has become a description of all those who adopt or express views that run contrary to liberal ideology. Many use it to discredit political rivals and accuse them of being anti-democratic. George Bush used this term to describe Islamists. While the United States of America is regarded as a great democracy, the pressing question remains: who are the fascists?" -- "Wish you had Cognizance," was the title of liberal writer Abdul Latif Al-Daij's piece in progressive Arabic daily Al-Qabas in which he penned (8/16): "Followers of Hezbollah in Kuwait issued a press release calling for people to adopt the culture of resistance and anti-normalization. This press release is a serious invitation to spread the culture of violence through civil society. They want to transform Kuwait in its entirety into an official terrorist cell. They want to spread anti-Americanism through all of society and [enmity toward] what they call the Zionist entity." -- In "Master of War and Peace," Dr. Abdul Mohsen Yousef Jamal editorialized in progressive Arabic daily Al-Qabas (8/16): "Lebanon came out of the battle victorious thanks to God, the leadership of the master of resistance, the resilience of the south Lebanese, and the solidarity of the Lebanese people as a whole. The war ended but the guile of night and day will not, and the froth of the Jews and American conspiracies will not stop, rather it will spread new webs." -- In "Shame on you," Salah Al-Fadly remarked in moderate Arabic daily Al-Rai Al-Aam (8/16): "Every time I hear a Lebanese or Arab 'politician' calling for disarming Hezbollah and deploying the Lebanese army in the south, I remember the Palestinian Security Forces in their underwear after the Israeli army forced them to remove their uniforms. This was done to humiliate them after the Israeli army stormed their headquarters in Ramallah and stripped them of even their light weapons. This scene would have been repeated were it not for Hezbollah in the south." -- Under the title "Has the Struggle with Israel Entered a New Stalemate or is there a Settlement in the Horizons?" Political Science professor Dr. Shafiq Nazem Al-Ghabra inquired (8/16): "The current generation of Israelis that participated in this last war is a generation that grew up in conditions of economic affluence. This generation fought against Hezbollah and has respect for the courage of Hezbollah's fighters. At the same time, they fought a war that they have never seen before or prepared for. Is Israel readying itself for more wars, or is it preparing for the possibility of settlement with all its adversaries; Palestinians, Lebanese, Syrians, and Arabs? Is Israel preparing for an historical settlement with the Arab world or will it continue to fight to no end, achieving unclear victories and losses and more death around it?" -- "The Grand Conspiracy," was the title of Khawla Al-Ateeqi's piece in moderate Arabic daily Al-Watan where she held that (8/16): "Those denying the conspiracy theory against the Muslim world are either short-sighted and ignorant to what is happening around the world or they are blinded by self-serving or ideological purposes. In the violent war in Lebanon, whether we support the resistance or not, I think even the blind see and understand everything." -- Columnist Mahmoud Karam inquired in pro-government Arabic daily Al-Seyassah under the title "The Victors in the Culture of Death" (8/16): "Have you asked yourselves [referring to Arab leaders] until when you will lie and why do you not confess to your peoples that you lost the wars? And, that you will fail in and lose the wars you seek. Why do you not try to confess your mistakes and losses, why not say that you have carried on a war for sixty years and achieved KUWAIT 00003320 002 OF 002 nothing?" ********************************************* * 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/ ********************************************* * LEBARON