MEDIA REACTION: Ex-Syrian Leader's Comments, Economic

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SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: Ex-Syrian Leader's Comments, Economic
Progress, Errors of History

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Ex-Syrian Leader's Comments
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1. The privately owned daily "Al-Watan" published an editorial
on January 1 under the title "Behind Khadam's Separation":

"The former Syrian vice president Abdul Halim Khadam's clashes
with fellow Syrian leaders date to former president Hafiz al-
Asad's time, but his disputes increased during Bashar's term.
What forced Mr. Khadam to come out from his silence and reveal
his feelings? Why does his statement occur when the Syrian
leadership is facing a ferocious campaign from the United States,
and pressures from the Europeans about Lebanon, Iraq and internal
issues? Why has he kept silent all this time about what he
called facts regarding Syrian/Lebanese relations? Can he deny
his responsibility for events in Lebanon, when he handled that
portfolio for such a long time? These are some of the questions
that need answers."

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Economic Progress
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2. "Al-Watan" published an editorial on January 2 entitled
"Another Chapter of Achievement":

"His Majesty Sultan Qaboos has launched another chapter of
achievement in Oman by decreeing the country's seventh five-year
plan. He also issued another royal decree ratifying the state
budget for 2006. The preparation for the new plan went through
much analysis and research until the cabinet and the parties
contributing to it came up with the final draft. There is no
doubt that the national economy has taken giant steps during
Oman's 35-year renaissance [since 1970, when Sultan Qaboos took
power], which has increased the total domestic revenue and per
capita income 23 times."

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Errors of History
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3. Government-owned daily "Oman" carried an op-ed piece by Omani
columnist Abdullah Al-Ulyian on January 2 entitled "About
History, Its Transformation and Political Events":

"The events and horrible transformations that shook the world and
the ideological changes of people are worth noting and taking
into consideration, because they are real and have tremendous
implications. Who thought that in less than a century Germany
would reunify, Russia would disintegrate, Japan would become an
economic powerhouse and America would be attacked? All events
could not be predicted by analyses because a thinker or a
researcher cannot judge beforehand how a certain culture or a
society ends up in any given period. America is trying to create
a new historical era in the Middle East according to its own
vision, goals, and programs without benefiting from historical
experiences and their variables. In the past, when countries
have imposed force on others and deprived them, they imploded.
America's intention to establish a new model for the Middle East
starting with Iraq merely speeds up its own demise, based on the
model of past tyrants."

STEWART