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 -------------- ¶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." ********************************************* * 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