POLITICAL POETRY PRAISES HEZBOLLAH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RIYADH 006976 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/03/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PINR KISL SA PHUM SUBJECT: POLITICAL POETRY PRAISES HEZBOLLAH Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Michael Gfoeller for reasons 1.4 (b) a nd (d). ¶1. (C) Al Hayat newspaper published on August 26 a political poem entitled "Lebanon," which was written by Dr. Ghazi Al-Qusaibee, Minister of Labor and key advisor to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. Al-Qusaibee, a famous poet and writer in the Arab world, is commonly known as a secular liberal and sometimes accused of being an "agent" of the Americans. Unpopular with the religious community, Al-Qusaibee has occupied numerous positions in the Government. He was formerly the Minister of Water and Electricity, as well as the Saudi ambassador to Bahrain and Britain. It is widely rumored that Al-Qusaibee lost the ambassadorship to Britain because of a poem he wrote in 2002 that espoused views contrary to the official SAG position. In that poem, he criticized the U.S. and praised suicide bombers -- specifically, female Palestinian suicide bomber Ayat Al-Akhas, whom he described as a martyr. ¶2. (C) COMMENT: The literary quality of the verse in the Lebanon poem is very high, and some local Saudi contacts suggested that Al-Qusaibee wrote it in order to gain popularity with the secular, liberal element of the population. Several said the poem is actually in praise of a Hezbollah victory, which, they said, Al-Qusaibee describes as a victory for all Arab and Muslim countries. However, his sarcastic reference to a "victory with a thousand killed souls and 20 thousand injured" and the accompanying "wailing of women" calls into question whether he means this was a victory -- or a tragedy. One contact said that Al-Qusaibee refers to Lebanon as a "saint" because, despite the hardships faced by the country, it is still the "most loved" by Arabs and the country most accepting of diverse political views. It was also thought that the mention of the "mother of civilization" was a sarcastic reference to the U.S. While the public mood in Saudi Arabia regarding the crisis in Lebanon has quieted somewhat, there clearly remains a great deal of empathy for the Lebanese people. There is also an undercurrent of support among the population for Hezbollah that is largely unspoken -- despite vocal criticism of Israel and the U.S. Al-Qusaibee's poem, said some of our contacts, merely expresses what many Saudis think about Hezbollah, but do not say. It is also disturbing that, as one of King Abdullah's closest advisors on issues other than those relating to labor, Qusaibee's views could well reflect -- although to what extent is unknown -- those of the King. END COMMENT. ¶3. (U) BEGIN TRANSLATED POEM TEXT: Every day you die and live Die and live As if - you alone - are The intimate friend of life The passionate lover of death Every day we come to you To hug the newborn in his cradle Then recite his death ceremony We bury you in the grave Then bring life to you again We wonder about these repeated miracles A saint you are as in mythologies Forgiving the killers Kissing the hand of the criminals Carrying your colored cedar Bandaging it in your hands From the bows of the enemies The stabs of the proud companions Peace be upon you When you are alone Treating with patience the revel of cannons Putting out the flames of fire with our tears Sending your heart to beat Within the ribs of those bereaved of their children Peace be upon you At a Qana wedding where the Mother Of Civilizations has danced - on the blood of children With the ecstasy of harlots We - May God be with you - witness That you are the symbol of heroism and sacrifices We swear that we are the victorious We flee happily with your victory - we split among us your victory We welcome victory with cries of joy You embrace your victory with a thousand killed souls RIYADH 00006976 002 OF 002 And 20 thousand injured And a capital staged with death Covered with silence Except the wailing of women We - May God be with you - swear that With you, we defeated the usurpers With you, we waded into horror With you, we slapped arrogance Peace be upon you You fight for the Arabs and the Persians God, you are great Antar of this time The time of leadership And comics. END TRANSLATED POEM TEXT. GFOELLER