KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION - PEACE PROCESS, KUWIAT-U.S. SECURITY

UNCLAS KUWAIT 001188 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/PA, NEA/AIA, NEA/PI, INR/NESA, R/MR, I/GNEA, B/BXN, B/BRN, NEA/PPD, NEA/IPA LONDON FOR NEA WATCHER PARIS FOR NEA WATCHER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO XF KU MEDIA REACTION SUBJECT: KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION - PEACE PROCESS, KUWIAT-U.S. SECURITY AGREEMENT, TIP REPORT Block Quotes -------------- Sunday, July 29, 2007 -- Under the headline, "Too Late for the Peace Process" Mubarak Al Hajri wrote in Arabic daily Al Rai, (07/29): "President Bush is going back to his old broken record that calls for the creation of the Palestinian state... But the Palestinian people have gone through their worst times during this president's term. Bush has given Israel the green light to do as it pleases with no need to be accountable for its actions. Hamas won the elections by popular support, but the White House rejected the results. This is a clear indication that Washington does not believe in democracy if it clashes with its own interests." -- The moderate Arab daily Al Rai published an opinion by Saud Al-Mansour headlined, "For How Long will Military Agreements Continue to Be Secret" (07/29): "The security agreement between Kuwait and the U.S. is so secret that not even MPs who represent the Kuwaiti people are privy to its content. The people of this country recognize that this enormous logistical expenditure that Kuwait offers to the United States comes at the expense of Kuwait's infrastructure, security and sovereignty... Bilateral exchanges with superpowers are necessary. However, blind submission without any consideration to cost and interests should be rejected." -- Pro-government Al- Seyassah published an opinion by former Shiite Member if Parliament Hussein Al-Qallaf, headlined, "The Formula" (07/30): "The Israeli-Palestinian peace process is a broken record and a diabolical lie that will not deceive any Arab or Muslim with a modicum of understanding." -- Under the headline, "Humans Market," Member of Parliament Dr. Hassan Abdullah Jawhar opined in the moderate Arabic daily Al Jarida (07/30): "Although the U.S. is the last one who should be pointing to human rights abuses around the world, the accusations in the Trafficking in Persons report about Kuwait are almost all true... But the Kuwaiti government's reaction to the suffering of thousands of Asian immigrants is very strange. The more public announcements that denounce this phenomena, and the more promises to tighten the regulations that govern their affairs, the more violations we see... We look forward to the day that the government announces that Kuwait is free from polio, AIDS, Bird Flu, and trafficking in persons." -- An Op-Ed headline, "Arab Moderation Is the Palestinians' Only Hope," by Chairman of the Diplomacy Centre for Research, Dr. Abdullah Bshara in the daily conservative Al Watan concluded, (07/30): "The meetings that will take place in Cairo this week with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and officials from the region SIPDIS represent an historic opportunity. Negotiations must be pushed forward to find acceptable solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Otherwise Iran will continue to thrive on the current chaos by lending assistance to desperate suicidal fundamentalists." ********************************************* * For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s Visit Kuwait's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ ********************************************* * LENDERKING