Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06RIYADH6976
2006-09-04 06:38:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Riyadh
Cable title:  

POLITICAL POETRY PRAISES HEZBOLLAH

Tags:  PREL PGOV PTER PINR KISL SA PHUM 
pdf how-to read a cable
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FM AMEMBASSY RIYADH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1211
INFO RUCNISL/ISLAMIC COLLECTIVE
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 0893
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 4742
RUEHJI/AMCONSUL JEDDAH 7667
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 4264
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC
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).

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