MEDIA REACTION: IRAQ AND THE U.S. OCCUPATION; REPORT ON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 001413 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP; NEA/PPD; NEA/RA; INR/R/MR; PA; INR/NESA; INR/B; RRU-NEA IIP/G/NEA-SA WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE; NSC SECDEF FOR OASD/PA USCINCCENT FOR POLAD LONDON FOR ERELI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OIIP KMDR TC SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: IRAQ AND THE U.S. OCCUPATION; REPORT ON TENET; BUSH'S PEACE CONFERENCE ¶1. SUMMARY: A UAE writer in "Al-Khaleej" opines that America has become bored as a result of its failure to accomplish its objectives in Iraq. "Al-Khaleej" does not believe that dragging other countries, such as Britain, the U.N. and recently France, into Iraq will help solve the Iraqi crisis and that the only solution is a programmed withdrawal of occupation forces. An Iraqi Kurdish writer in "Al-Ittihad" refers to a U.S. academic report that examined Iraq scenarios, post 2010. The report suggests the creation of a new dictator, much like Saddam Hussein, and the writer wonders how this new model would be accepted by Iraqis. The writer questions how valuable this new dictator will be when he cannot stop the Americans from stealing Iraq's wealth. "Al-Khaleej" views Bush's peace conference, which is supposedly aimed at reaching a settlement between Israel and the Palestinians, as doing nothing but buying time for Israeli Generals in order to prepare for new catastrophes against Arabs. The editorial in "Gulf News" believes that the CIA Inspector General's report unfairly makes George Tenet a scapegoat because it singled him out as incompetent. End Summary. ¶2. Under the headline "American boredom", UAE national, Dr. Abdullah Al-Suweiji, wrote 08/20 in "Al-Khaleej" (circulation 90,000): "America is bored as a result of its failure to accomplish its objectives, as well as the no-war and the no-peace status in Iraq, after attempting to get the CIA and the Mossad involved in the terrorist attacks in Iraq, in order to drag Iraq to a civil/sectarian war." "The only way out of American boredom is to establish a Palestinian state and resolve the problem of the Palestinian refugees, stop its double standards and its support for the Jewish state, and build a democratic system and not a sectarian system in Iraq and oust the "Israeli" Mossad from the Iraqi territories. Otherwise American boredom will increase, and the quagmire will become like a "Bermuda Triangle" in the Middle East, swallowing anything that approaches it." ¶3. Under the headline "Entry, exit, and a miracle solution [in Iraq]", the editorial in Sharjah-based Arabic daily "Al-Khaleej" (circulation 90,000) 08/22 read: "It seems that Iraq is becoming a place of entry and exit... Paris is the latest to enter Iraq, before that UN was allowed by the occupation to enter the country... Britain is about to exit, and that will be a big slap in the face of the American administration" "No matter who enters Iraq and who leaves it, nothing will help Iraq and Iraqis but a programmed exit of the occupation and an entry of the Iraqis to their country to re-establish peace and security." ¶4. Under the headline "Who is the next Iraqi Dictator?", an Iraqi Kurdish writer and consultant in science and technology, Mohammed Aref, wrote a 08/23 op-ed in Abu Dhabi-based Arabic semi-official daily "Al-Ittihad" (circulation 65,000): "The U.S. invaded Iraq in order to eliminate Saddam and spread democracy in Iraq. A U.S. academic report [ed. associated with a group at New York University] by U.S. political scientists suggests that the only solution to Iraq is that the next Iraqi president should be a dictator. However, what is the use of a dictator when he cannot stop the Americans from stealing Iraq's wealth (Pentagon alone took 300 trillion dollars)? The report implicitly believes that the Iraqi army should be strong in order to revolt against the Iraqi president and impose a new dictator on Iraq. How can a new model that recreates Saddam's rule be accepted by Iraqis? ¶5. Under the headline "Tyrannical intentions of the aggression", the editorial in Sharjah-based Arabic daily "Al-Khaleej" (circulation 90,000) 08/23 read: "Bush's peace conference that will suggest settlement between Israel and the Palestinians is doing nothing but buying time for Israeli Generals. The talks among Israelis every now and then on their war preparation against Syria, Gaza and Lebanon and the U.S. military ABU DHABI 00001413 002 OF 002 aid of 30 billion dollars to Israel shows that Israelis are manipulating the U.S. with settlement slogans in order to prepare for new catastrophes against Arabs." ¶6. Under the headline "The old blame game again", the editorial in Dubai-based English daily Gulf News 08/23 reads: "... For the CIA Inspector General to single out the former chief, George Tenet, as being - for want of a better word - incompetent, then it would seem that a scapegoat is being made for what is apparent to all." "The CIA Inspector General's report tells us nothing that was not already known - other than to castigate Tenet so severely (and unfairly). Aware of the faults within the organization, remedies have already been put in place, the main one being the establishment of a Homeland Security Department. Yet even this new body looks as if it will be just another bureaucratic level between operatives and decision-makers." QUINN