ALGERIANS VIEW POTUS TRIP WITH CAUTION, CYNICISM

C O N F I D E N T I A L ALGIERS 000075

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2018
TAGS: PREL KPAL AG
SUBJECT: ALGERIANS VIEW POTUS TRIP WITH CAUTION, CYNICISM

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Thomas F. Daughton;
reasons 1.4(b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: President Bush's recent trip to the Middle
East attracted considerable if mostly cynical press coverage
in Algeria, though the government issued no official
statement. In general, press coverage and our MFA contacts
indicate that Algerian expectations for the trip were low,
specifically on the issue of the creation of a Palestinian
state by 2009. Privately, our MFA contacts told us that the
current humanitarian crisis in Gaza is damaging any good will
that may have come from the President's trip, making the trip
look like a fig leaf to allow the Israelis to blockade and
retaliate against Gaza using whatever means they choose.
Given the consistent Algerian focus on the plight of the
Palestinians as presented on Al Jazeera television, it is
unlikely that anything short of a full and final peace
agreement will elicit any formal support for the POTUS
initiative or the Annapolis process from the Algerian
government. END SUMMARY.

PRESS REPORTS CYNICAL, LOOKING BEYOND BUSH
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2. (U) Both French- and Arabic-language media said the
President's trip followed two tracks: one focused on Iran,
the other on regional Middle East issues. Concerning Iran,
the media highlighted Iran's nuclear program and President
Bush's efforts to counter it by enlisting the support of
Middle Eastern countries. French-language media noted U.S.
efforts to promote reform and democracy in the Middle East,
as well as the importance of nuclear energy and weapons in
the region. Media also remarked that the visit sought to
push Arabs to compromise with Israel, following the perceived
failure of the Annapolis Conference, and that it was used as
a platform to boost the image of Republicans in the 2008
presidential election campaign. Finally, some press opined
that Gulf monarchs attached little importance to the visit
because they were already looking beyond the Bush
administration's final year.

GOVERNMENT: TRIP "GREEN LIGHT" FOR ISRAEL IN GAZA?
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3. (C) While the local media were quite vocal on the visit,
the Algerian government was officially silent. The new U.S.
desk officer at the MFA confirmed to us on January 20 that
the MFA had not issued a formal statement or taken a position
of any kind regarding the trip. Privately, MFA Director
General for Arab Affairs Abdelhamid Bouzaher told the
Ambassador on January 22 that there were important reactions
behind the scenes. Bouzaher said that current images showing
the condition of Palestinians in Gaza were voiding any good
will that may have resulted from President Bush's recent
trip. He said that Israeli actions towards Gaza, especially
the blockade, were seen as "collective punishment" that
unfairly affected innocent people. Bouzaher told the
Ambassador that some of his MFA colleagues, as well as some
Arab diplomats to whom he had spoken, believed that President
Bush has used the trip as cover to give Israel a "green
light" to act against Gaza.
FORD