MEDIA REACTION: COMMENTARY ON CHENEY AND AHMADINEJAD

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 000843

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RRU-NEA
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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KMDR TC
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: COMMENTARY ON CHENEY AND AHMADINEJAD
VISITS TO UAE


1. SUMMARY: A UAE intellectual in "Al-Khaleej" is highly critical
of the recent visits of both Vice President Cheney and Iranian
President Ahmadinejad. He feels both visitors exploited the UAE's
"generosity and hospitality" in order to voice "arrogant" messages.
Another UAE intellectual in "Al-Khaleej" criticizes Cheney's "double
standard" as he speaks of the liberation of fifty million people
from dictatorship, but does not mention the suffering of the Iraqi
people. End Summary.


2. Under the headline "UAE's generous hospitality and its less
generous guests", UAE intellectual, Dr. Abdul-Khaliq Abdullah, wrote
in a 05/22 op-ed in "Al-Khaleej":

"Although the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi was, as usual, very kind and
generous in its reception of its guests, these visitors undercut its
hospitality and did not meet it with equal courtesy. Cheney lacked
courtesy and etiquette. He acted arrogantly and used his recent
visit to the UAE to direct threats against Tehran, reiterating that
America would not allow Iran to extend its hegemony in the Arab Gulf
or possess nuclear weapons. This lack of courtesy equally applies
to Ahmadinejad, who behaved as if he were addressing his popular
base in Tehran, and was not a guest in a Gulf Arab country that
believes in non-alignment. He used his visit to the UAE to vow that
Iran would respond strongly to any violence and American military
aggression. The outcome of the confrontation of Iranian-American
rhetoric in the UAE is an increased atmosphere of political tension
and war in the Gulf region, a region already suffering from security
and political turmoil. Dick Cheney, known as the extremist hawk in
the American administration, is a hated American political figure
who has contributed to the increasing waves of enmity towards
America all over the world. He represents the ugly and rigid face
of America and represents the arrogance of power in its worst case.
This arrogance has led to repetitive foolish acts including the
invasion of Iraq and likely a fourth war in the Arabian Gulf."

"Cheney, considered the most powerful Vice President in American
history, is still living under his illusion of a victory in Iraq.
He is unwelcome wherever he goes. He is a bad omen, always carries
bad news, and does not master any language except that of threats
and intimidation. On the other hand, the extremist Iranian
President was never keen to win the countries of the region, nor did
he show any diligence in his first visit to the Emirates. He came
without carrying any positive initiative to resolve the crisis of
the three UAE islands occupied since 1971. Ahmadinejad has
destroyed many bridges of understanding and cooperation built by his
predecessor, the moderate reformist President Mohammad Khatami.
Iranian-Gulf relations were at their best under President Khatami.
The current Iranian President set relations between Tehran and the
Gulf back ten years. Although he was offered a rare historical
opportunity, perhaps the final, to repair the damage and build
confidence, he failed drastically. It seems that both guests, the
extremist Ahmadinejad and the more extremist Cheney, have not made
good use of their recent visit to the region. However, it seems
clear that UAE diplomacy came away with a huge success. It
reiterated the UAE's absolute political non-alliance, which must be
continuously reiterated in the face of the existing military
confrontation between Washington and Tehran. The UAE is capable of
gaining the love and respect of all and is also capable of
establishing good relations with all. There is no need to side with
one party against the other."



3. Under the headline "Who holds them accountable for what they
say?" a UAE academic and columnist, Dr. Abdullah Al-Suweiji, wrote
in his weekly column on 05/21 in Sharjah-based Arabic daily
"Al-Khaleej":

"Dick Cheney... and all members of the American Administration
contradict themselves and say things far from their political ends
as they deliver their messages to the world. In fact, this reflects
the extent of their confusion and the seriousness of the situation
in Iraq... While Cheney speaks of the liberation of fifty million
people from dictatorship, he does not mention the four million Iraqi
refugees, tens of thousands dead, hundreds of thousands wounded and
disabled and the Iraqi widows and orphans... He sees with one eye
only and therein lies the American catastrophe, stupidity or

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conspiracy."



SISON