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

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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."




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