SPECIAL MEDIA REACTION: POTUS REMARKS ON MIDDLE EAST

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 001190

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TAGS: OIIP KMDR TC
SUBJECT: SPECIAL MEDIA REACTION: POTUS REMARKS ON MIDDLE EAST
CALLING FOR INTERNATIONAL MEETING THIS FALL



1. SUMMARY: President Bush's July 16 call for an international
conference on the Middle East receives relatively sparse coverage in
the UAE's print media. "Al-Khaleej" voices skepticism regarding the
peace conference, and notes that peace is impossible before the end
of Bush's presidency. The editorial states: "all that Bush wants is
to serve the Zionist Entity and to have Arabs run towards Israel."
Another UAE writer in "Al-Khaleej" notes that Bush is concerned with
terrorism in Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Israel, but not
about the Indian-Israeli agreements involving long range missiles.
He writes: "This fact underscores the American hypocrisy and its
double standards policies which states that it is ok for Israel to
have ballistic missiles, but if other countries try to possess
ordinary military capabilities just to defend themselves then it is
forbidden for them even if it was for peaceful reasons." A Saudi
writer in "Al-Ittihad" says there is a "less than zero" chance for a
peace deal. He opined that President Bush has never been credible or
serious about the peace process. End Summary.


2. Under the headline "Bush and the Art of Floating," the
editorial in Sharjah-based Arabic daily "Al-Khaleej" (circulation
90,000) 07/18 reads:

"It seems that George Bush, who is sinking in the Iraqi quagmire,
has not found a way to float a bit except to entertain himself with
the Palestinian issue by renewing his talks about his vision of a
Palestinian state which seems to be closer to one of the seven
wonders of the world. To float, many need help from Bush to avoid
being dragged by him into sinking along with him in his mobile
quagmires. But it is almost impossible for them to float away from
him because of Bush's internal and external stalemates and due to
the fact that Bush is still dedicating himself and his policies to
the service of the Zionist occupation in Palestine, which he insists
to be called "the Jewish state."... The idea of having a two-state
country was launched by Junior Bush 5 years ago, so how would he
possibly accomplish in the final months left of his presidency what
he was not been able to do in the past 5 years? The matter is out
question especially that Bush is completely biased to his Zionist
partners and there are some who say that Ehud Olmert, the war
criminal who has recently visited the White House, was behind this
idea of the international conference. So what does Bush want? He
is desperately struggling for more Arab countries to run towards
Israel, for more discord in the Palestinian arena and on the Arab
level, and to consolidate his idea that the conflict in the region
is actually between extremists and moderates so as to write off the
Arab struggling with the Zionist entity, to disarm the resistance,
and to keep the occupier at where he has occupied."


3. Under the headline "Bush and the new Middle East conference", a
UAE writer, Ahmed Ibrahim, wrote on 07/18 in "Al-Khaleej":

"...He speaks without listening to himself or contemplating on what
is written or said about him... He is still determined to have a
new born Middle East and send to the Middle East the same characters
(Rice) carrying with them the carrot and stick at the same time,
against Arabs and Palestinians respectively, in an absolute support
of the Zionist entity. So many times in the past has he tried with
Israel to form alliances and divide the areas, but they failed,
because the Middle East was always ungovernable and rebellious. If
the matter was so easy, Bush would have been able to establish the
Iraq he has always dreamed of the night he entered Baghdad but Iraq
is still Iraq, which we all know, where Bush is still facing his
bitter failure... .Bush is concerned about "Israel" but is not
concerned about the Arab countries even though these Israeli
missiles and the other weapons of mass destruction threaten Arabs
whether these Arab states remained in their old territories, or
became part of the new Middle East."


4. Under the headline "The President lies again", a Saudi
intellectual, Dr. Khalid Al-Dakheel, wrote a lengthy 07/18 op-ed in
Abu Dhabi-based Arabic semi-official daily "Al-Ittihad" (circulation
65,000):

"What is the chance of a peace deal in the region in the coming two
years?" He immediately answers by saying, "There is a consensus in
the region and in capitals which directly deal with the expected
peace including Washington and the Jewish state that the chance is
less than zero". The writer adds that there is also a zero chance to

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achieve a peace deal in the coming six years. He states "The reason
is so simple; the Arabs including the Palestinians want peace and
they have proved that, [but] the Israelis do not want peace at this
time. Americans side with the Israelis for political reasons in many
cases but also for religious reasons in some cases." The writer
adds, "The President's sudden speech last Monday has nothing new at
all," the writer says. "It is just boring repetitions of slogans
and empty promises. The reason behind this speech is the coup in
Gaza and the nearly complete collapse of the American policy in
Iraq." The writer notes: "The president starts his speech by
reminding us that he is the first president who calls for a
Palestinian state. It is true that he did this in 2001 but he has
not been credible. Six year later, there is no indicator that he is
serious in establishing a Palestinian state." The writer concludes:
"The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth cited sources at the Prime
Minister's office saying that the White House has coordinated the
topics of the President's speech with them. If this is true, which
is likely, then George Bush is actually selling air to the Arabs,
publicly and bluntly."

SISON