MEDIA REACTION: CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE; MILITARY AID;

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MUSCAT 000773 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/PPD, NEA/PI, AND INR/R/MR STATE PASS USTR FOR N. MOORJANI, J. BUNTIN LONDON FOR TSOU PARIS FOR ZEYA USCENTCOM FOR PLUSH FOREIGN PRESS CENTER FOR SILAS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OIIP KPAO KMDR MU SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE; MILITARY AID; IRAQ The weather changes, increase of the American military aids to " Egypt, ISRAEL and the Gulf Countries and Iraq -------------- CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE - WHY NOW? -------------- ¶1. Government-owned daily "Oman", August 4 (circulation 38,000); editorial: "The Weather Changes": The invitation of American president George Bush came yesterday for the great powers to hold a meeting next September in Washington to discuss climate change, in an attempt to put in place long-term goals to reduce the emission of gases that cause the rise in the earth's temperature. This invitation is like a shadow of hope for the people for a better life on earth, especially after the diminishing of the Kyoto Agreement due to the previous American situation. But the recent studies show that the increase in the number of cyclones in the world is due to the weather changes resulting from the increase of the temperature of the earth, and the U.S. itself might be the main place that will suffer from these cyclones. Perhaps that is the reason which led the U.S. president to pay attention to the seriousness of the matter? ... In any case the invitation for this conference comes at a time of great importance, due to the huge weather changes witnessed by the world... -------------- U.S. ARMS - "CARING AMERICAN VIGILANCE" -------------- ¶2. "Oman" on August 2 carried an unusually saracastic column, "Booby-Trapped Generosity", on August 2: You cannot imagine my happiness when I heard about the increase of the American military aid to 'Egypt, ISRAEL and the Gulf Countries' because this aid comes at the right time as our Arab world is in peace all over the region -- Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, Somalia, and some parts of Sudan. Our Arab world is only in need of additional weapons to be added to the previous ones that enabled the arms companies in the West to survive and steal the treasuries of nations which have suffered from hunger and suffocating economic crisis. The exclusive sponsor of peace sees that they are in need of more weapons from its keen and caring eye for the safety of each Arab person from the Ocean to the Gulf. A couple of days ago I woke up to the news of this caring American vigilance. The principal nations of this merciful world will provide huge military contracts of more than twenty billion dollars! ... In frank speaking it will not be an innocent gift with the aim of maintaining the peace and stability of these countries, but booby-trapped presents with the aim of protecting the American welfare in those countries. The Arab citizen is in need of simple things for these billions: easy and free medical treatment, a university education for his son, a suitable house to accommodate him after a long working day, a society that brings him near the scientific and technical advance in the world; a world where the bullet does not come before wheat nor the tank before bread and the modern warring techniques before the latest technology. The Arab World is in need of equipment to help it survive, not to take life from it. -------------- IRAQ: TROOP NUMBERS AND THE WILL TO SUCCEED -------------- ¶3. Arabic private daily "Al Watan" (ciculation 42,000),July 2; "Exhaustion of the Repblican party in Iraq": Senator Richard Lugar's emarks in last week's papers made a great effectrather like thunder in the hot summer of Washington. This famous Republican leader mentioned that he no longer believes in the usefulness of the strategy of increasing U.S. forces in Iraq, calling for the start of reducing the military role of U.S. forces in Iraq. Besides him, other Republican leaders expressed similar feelings and threatened to oppose the policies of their party toward Iraq if there are no signs of clear achievement by September. Should such a withdrawal from Iraq begin, it would help improve the popularity of President Bush, as well as the chances of his party... Yet the increase of the number f the American forces in Iraq shows some signs o slight advance in the current efforts of the U.S., and the number of victims has gone down by half since January of this year. Therefore the obligation to support a plan to increase the forces and make the new security strategy a success is the main solution for the political fate of the Republicans. MUSCAT 00000773 002 OF 002 GRAPPO