KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION: ABU GHRAIB PHOTOS

UNCLAS KUWAIT 000586

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, 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
PARIS FOR ZEYA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KPAO PREL KDEM KMDR KU

SUBJECT: KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION: ABU GHRAIB PHOTOS


Selected Headlines
--------------


1. Thursday, 16 February 2006

-- Al-Qabas front page "A new version of torture photos taken at Abu
Ghraib"

-- Al-Qabas p. 35 "Australian television shows new photos of the Abu
Ghraib scandal"; "The American used children to pressure the
fathers"

-- Al-Rai Al-Aam p. 24 "Australian Television aired new photos of
violations against Abu Ghraib prisoners"

-- Al-Watan p. 30 "Australian Television aired new photos of
American prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib"; "An American soldier
confesses to using children to pressure their fathers"


2. Friday, 17 February 2006

-- Arab Times front page "Ghraib images threaten to inflame anger"

-- Al-Rai Al-Aam p. 24 "The Pentagon is worried about the effect of
airing photos of prisoner abuse by its troops at Abu Ghraib on the
Islamic world"

Block Quotes
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3. Saturday, 18 February 2006

-- Dr. Sajid Al-Abdaly wrote in the moderate daily Arabic language
Al-Rai Al-Aam under the title "Which is a greater matter?": "Despite
international condemnation of the conduct of American and British
troops in Iraq and despite the fact that both governments ensure
that violators are held accountable, the conduct continues, which
leaves us with several dangerous possibilities. The first
possibility is that the occupation's soldiers break down as a result
of the psychological pressures of battle and the constant state of
war under which they live. This drives them to act in violation of
all the ideals their governments announce. The second possibility
is that these soldiers came lacking the morals and values and were
not in need of falling under the pressure of popular resistance to
free themselves of all morals. This makes these armies
fundamentally the same as savage African militias, the only
difference is that their outer appearance is much more polished, and
their governments told a big lie in the beginning. The third and
most likely possibility is that these armies consist of a mixture of
all the above-mentioned elements. In the end, I believe that it is
the duty of all Arab and Muslim peoples, forget the governments, to
revolt and to hold mass demonstrations against American and British
interests. This would avenge the blood and dignity of the Iraqi
Muslim people. Those who revolted and demonstrated against the
blasphemous cartoons should know that the blood of a Muslim is more
precious to God than if the Kaaba were to be knocked down
stone-by-stone."

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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/

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LEBARON