SPECIAL MEDIA REACTION: CHENEY'S VISIT TO REGION

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TAGS: OIIP KMDR TC
SUBJECT: SPECIAL MEDIA REACTION: CHENEY'S VISIT TO REGION


1. SUMMARY: Vice President Cheney's visit to the UAE enjoyed
widespread coverage in both the Arabic and English language press.
This included several pages of photos covering bilateral meetings.
Editorials and opinion pieces were generally skeptical of Vice
President Cheney's visit to the region and speculated on his
objectives. Some saw his visit as a sign of desperation, on the
part of the Administration, to find a solution in Iraq. Others saw
his visit as a prelude to an attack on Iran. End Summary.



2. Unsigned editorial under the headline "Trips of desperation", in
Sharjah-based Arabic daily "Al-Khaleej" (circulation 90,000) 05/10:

"Dick Cheney arrived in Baghdad as part of a surprise visit hoping
to cause a breakthrough to relieve the pressure that the U.S.
administration is being put under. How he will break the deadlock
seems to be a source of confusion and frustration. He acts like a
war extremist who wants to run away from the irreplaceable solution,
which is a programmed withdrawal of his troops from Iraq, and
instead advocates the further use of force and pressures the Iraqis
and those who have anything to do with Iraq."

Cheney thinks that with a magician's brush he can alleviate the
American predicament, so that he can say to the American people that
the U.S. administration is making progress in achieving stability.
In order to accomplish this, he calls on Iraqis to redouble their
efforts to achieve national reconciliation. The concept that the
achievement of stability lies in the abolition of the Deputies'
summer vacations proves that Cheney does not know how to reach his
objectives. There is a contradiction in what he asks for. National
reconciliation implies that all parties agree on a unified program.
Perhaps the most important part of this program is to restore the
sovereignty and independence which the occupation kicked out. The
goals of national reconciliation are totally incompatible with
Cheney's objectives."

"Cheney wants to legalize the occupation by striking deals with
Iraqi forces. He seeks to establish laws enabling U.S. oil
companies, to which he is an essential representative, to monopolize
Iraqi energy sources. He also wants to make the various facets of
the Iraqi economy exclusive to American companies to implicitly keep
the occupation in Iraq. Such issues violate the essence of
sovereignty and can not be accepted by any Iraqi entity. Real
agreement between the Iraqi parties will not be in the interest of
the occupation. Even if there was an agreement between the
individuals that serve the interests of the occupation, it will not
guarantee the desired results, as it would not affect the behavior
of the various Iraqi parties."

"It would be ridiculous to imagine that holidays affect the
achievement of an agreement. Parties will remain stalled in
negotiations if the agreement does not meet their basic needs, or
quickly agree, if their goals are met. Perhaps Cheney is in a
predicament after he emphasized that the military alone is not
enough and that political and economic issues should be taken into
consideration. Maybe the man, who has chosen military might as the
final rule in settling crises, has become capable of seeing wisdom
in a political breakthrough. However, such wisdom comes too late.
Following his killing of the Iraqi people and the destruction of
their nation, Cheney has no room for any wisdom but to give in to
the demands of all the peoples of the world: it is high time to
schedule the withdrawal from Iraq."


3. Unsigned editorial under the headline "An opportunity for further
understanding" in Abu Dhabi-based Arabic language daily "Akhbar
Al-Arab" (circulation 25,000) on 5/10:

"Many regional capitals understood, following the Sharm Al-Sheikh
meeting, that the U.S. administration had begun to take a more
pragmatic and flexible approach with Damascus; to work to separate
it from Tehran and bring it closer to the general position of other
Arabs. The capitals were happy with this change, however,
Washington rushed to erase this position towards Damascus when
Cheney hasted to the region to build an isolating wall between the
nations of the region and Syria. This is to reiterate that U.S.
policy vis-`-vis Syria remains unchanged and will never change and
that what happened in Sharm Al-Sheikh was no more than political

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maneuvering that should not be interpreted as a change in position.
Cheney began his tour in Iraq to reassure the government of Nouri
Al-Malki and his aides that Washington remains committed to staying
in Iraq, to support the new security plans, and remain tough with
the enemies of Iraq and the U.S.; especially Syria and Iran. Iraqi
officials will be more open to isolating Syria, but cannot digest
isolating Iran, due to the security, financial, political and
sectarian ties that make dealing with Iran an extremely sensitive
issue. This explains Washington pressure on Malki to place Iran in
the same category as other rogue states and enemies."

"Cheney's visit carries numerous messages to numerous parties, the
most important of which is that what happens inside the U.S.,
between the White House and the Congress, does not affect the plans
in place for Iraq, Syria and Iran. Cheney believes that such an
approach pleases the region, in fact, the nations of the region
desire traditional stability, governed by balanced relations that
sponsor strategic, multilateral and bilateral relations among
nations. They think that the nations of the region are in a much
better position to realize their own interests and the best way to
achieve them. The Sharm Al-Sheikh meeting was welcomed by the
nations of the region as an attempt to solve all pending tensions
and crises through peaceful diplomatic means, especially the Iraqi
issue. Cheney's visit to the region presents a good opportunity to
reach a joint understanding on the multiple political, security, and
humanitarian issues that are related to Iraq."


4. Op-ed by Saad Mehio under the headline "Unusual man on an
unusual tour (Part 2)" in Sharjah-based Arabic language daily
"Al-Khaleej" (circulation 90,000) on 5/11:

"Dick Cheney is not a normal political figure nor a normal Vice
President. Therefore, his Middle Eastern tour will not be normal.
The man is often referred to in Washington as the real authority at
the White House. This is true in every aspect and not only in
foreign policy. His authority comes from the president's absolute
confidence in the wide network of alliances that he manages with the
neoconservatives and fundamentalist Christians. However, Cheney
will be remembered by records of history for the principle of
pre-emptive war. He is the godfather of this principle and the
invasion of Iraq represents only its fist phase. Cheney was behind
what was known as the "coup" at the White House in 2002, when he
poured cold water on the American parties involved in a hot debate
over Iraq, including James Baker, Colin Powell and other generals
who opposed military action against Iraq simply because it did not
represent any threat to the U.S. He declared that the threat
existed: Iraq soon could acquire nuclear weapons and may give them
to terrorist groups. Cheney asserts that the principle of
pre-emptive wars will remain the main axe of American foreign policy
in the post 9/11 era. He believes that the principles of deterrence
and containment, which prevailed during the cold war, are not enough
and that the U.S. can pursue the principle of pre-emptive war due to
its technological and military supremacy. Bush and Cheney's
supporters believe that such principles will lead to further
American involvement in world affairs; starting with the Middle
East. Following what happened in Iraq, does Cheney remain committed
to his pre-emptive wars?"


5. Op-ed by Saad Mehio under the headline "Unusual man on an unusual
tour (Part 2)" in Sharjah-based Arabic language daily "Al-Khaleej"
(circulation 90,000) on 5/12:

"We are making progress, but we have a long way to go. I think
everyone believes that we have some security problems and security
threats in Iraq". Is it possible that American Vice President
Cheney describes the fiercest and bloodiest war in the 21st century
as a 'security problem'? For a moment this sounds astonishing, but
after a while all wonders quickly vanish when we realize that Cheney
actually views the war in Iraq in this way. Why? Because he
considers it, despite its violence and the high cost to American and
Iraqi victims, as only a temporary footnote in an integrated
scenario for how the new world order and world security should be.
What is this scenario? It is of course the pre-emptive war that we
talked about yesterday. It is the one which the Vice President came
to the Middle East to supervise the implementation of. It is true
that Cheney is the man of pre-emptive wars, but those who believe
that the Democrats, despite the fuss they make on the war in Iraq,
reject this Republican principle are wrong. All they want is to

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implement it in a more cautious way and with fewer American losses.
The war in Afghanistan was in fact a successful example of this
war... Cheney's visit to the region comes in the midst of a loud
noise between the Republicans and Democrats over Iraq, but most
likely this will only be a summer cloud, because no one in
Washington wants a real withdrawal from Iraq and no one wants to
remove the principle of "pre-emptive war" from the agenda of
America's strategic interests in the world. It is therefore, a
mistake to consider Cheney's current visit to the region as a
Republican counter offensive against the Democrats' attack on the
Middle East that was initiated by the visit of the Speaker of the
House. Cheney's visit has a local agenda, but the architect of
Bush's principles has more objectives. These objectives are
directly related to the coming phase of the pre-emptive wars."


6. Op-ed by Dr. Esam Noman headlined "Bush between destructive
August and violent September" in Sharjah-based Arabic language daily
"Al-Khaleej" (circulation 90,000) on 5/12:

"The likely timing of the strike against Iran is next August, after
which the Bush Administration will have completed its intensive
campaign to induce Iran to reconsider its current policy on the
issue of uranium enrichment and other contentious issues with
America and Europe. One of the important American highlights is to
dispatch Dick Cheney on an Arab tour. During this tour the American
Vice-President will seek to persuade Iraq's neighboring countries to
support the American security plan and to convince the Iraqi Sunni
leaders to end the "rebellion" and join the political process. He
will also work to mobilize support in the region for efforts towards
stopping Iran's nuclear enrichment program, along with threatening
tones towards issuing a third resolution by the UN Security Council
to punish Iran in the event of its refusal to halt its uranium
enrichment."




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