KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION -- U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS -

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 001116 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 -- U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS - REACTION TO RESULTS -------------- SUMMARY -------------- Thursday, November 6, 2008 ¶1. (U) On Thursday, November 6, all Kuwaiti Arabic language dailies ran front-page headlines about the U.S. election results. All headlines characterized the election of Democratic candidate Barack Obama to the presidency as being positive or historic, while others offered congratulations to the American people. The vast majority of editorials that ran on the results of the elections were also positive. Editorials went on to opine that domestically and internationally, President-elect Obama will face many challenges. While all editorials characterized the win as positive, several wondered what in the new administration's policies towards the Middle East would change, particularly with regards to oil imports and alternative energy. ¶2. (U) Major Headlines Liberal Al-Qabas: America reinvigorates America with Obama Pro-Government Al-Anbaa: Yes he did Pro-Government Al-Seyassah: The First Black person in the White House: America is on the Cusp of a New Dawn Newly established liberal Awan: Obama changes America Liberal Al-Rai: Obama is Number One Conservative Al-Watan: Obama... Congrats Abu Hussein Alam Alyawm: A Black Man in the White House Shiite influenced Al-Dar: A lesson in Democracy Arrouiah: Kuwaitis: Electing Obama means stability in the region Kuwait Times: Obama rides the Winds of Change The Al-Watan Daily: Obama Makes History, Kuwait Extols Victory Arab Times: America renews promise of hope ¶3. (U) Block Quotes -- Deputy Chief Editor of the conservative Arabic language daily Al-Watan, Mr. Waleed Al-Jassem, editorialized on the last page (11/06): Headlined, 'A Black Man in the White House,' Mr. Al-Jassem wrote: "The Republicans were the ones who actually prepared America for a black president. They were the ones who appointed the first black Secretary of State Colin Powell, and they were the ones who followed up that appointment with Secretary Rice. When the Democrats were in power, they appointed former Secretary Albright to that position. Abraham Lincoln, the President who freed the slaves, was a Republican, and not a Democrat. Here in Kuwait we are fighting about who gets Kuwaiti citizenship and from whom it should been taken away. In contrast, in the United States an immigrant by the name of Barack Hussein Obama assumes the most important seat in the whole world. One wonders where we are relative to what the Americans have achieved!" -- Carrying the headline, 'Obama... the Historic Transformation,' daily columnist and political analyst Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Najjar editorialized in the conservative Arabic language daily Al-Watan: "The victory of President-elect Obama is a turning point in the history of the United States, as well as for the general public in America. Americans have the right to be proud of this moment because it represents a patriotic diffusion of civil rights and a real diversion from racism. This will have a positive effect on how other nations view the American people. The American nation gave its votes to the candidate Obama because of his qualifications and his superior presentation of policy solutions and ideas during his campaign; a campaign that overshadowed all other campaigns across the United States." -- Political activist and daily columnist in the liberal Arabic language daily Al-Rai, Dr. Wael Hasawi, opined: "The nightmare of President Bush and eight years of neo-conservatives ruling the entire world with an iron fist, just like the Roman reign, has gone. The United States is a country ruled by institutions and not just an individual or a certain party. However, the change that Americans sought after the many setbacks during the past eight years of Bush's presidency will no doubt influence the Obama Administration. He represents a core change in the U.S. mentality that used to admire Anglo-Saxons, but now it had KUWAIT 00001116 002 OF 002 replaced them with an African-American immigrant." -- Carrying the headline "Every Success has its Reasons," Dr. Hamed Al-Hmoud, a columnist in the liberal Arabic language daily Al-Qabas, wrote (11/06): "The United States succeeded in electing Barack Obama because of America's efficient and fair system. This system includes immigrants and also provides them with employment opportunities. It was also a success because of Obama's special personality, which was able to benefit from those opportunities. However, some objective circumstances contributed in electing Obama the President of the United States including: the chaos that President Bush created during his tenure. The second circumstance raises the issue of a chaotic American policy that was caused by President Bush's team. The third reason is due to the mistakes that John McCain committed during his campaign, including choosing an inexperienced women for the vice-presidency after meeting with her only for a couple of times. The last reason is due to the economic crisis that hit the international banking systems." -- Ahmad Ali Al-Baghli, also a regular Al-Qabas columnist, compared the American and the Kuwaiti elections and their outcomes stating (11/06): "The United States chose a black person of African origin as its president. It is better at following what is right [than Kuwait]. However, we failed to apply the same principle in our country, even though we claim that we are religious and pure people. In Kuwait, a number of MP's insisted on abolishing the primaries as well as tribal elections so that they will be able to completely dedicate their loyalty to their tribes! Imagine if Obama were to win a primary election which only included African-Americans. No black person would subsequently ever dream of reaching the White House! If hypothetically speaking, Obama had won that election in that manner, a race war would have broken out in America! When would we [in Kuwaitis] learn a lesson from the historical American election? The American election rejected race, national origin, tribe, self, and sectarianism as issues, and instead embraced nationalism." -- Salma Al-Ajmi, a columnist in the pro-government Arabic which daily?, wrote an article under the headline "Martin the Dream and Obama the Expansion." She noted (11/06): "Obama is election in the midst of two wars. He will be facing the economic war internally and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan externally, in addition to domestic and foreign policy. However, will Obama's agenda towards the Middle East be a little different than his predecessors?" Al-Ajmi also wondered "where do we [in the Middle East] stand in regards to Obama's intentions to allocate 150 billion USD to alternative energy? What would be the destiny of the current Middle East issues? Will the issues stay the same American policy is the policy of the American lobby in addition to the new administration? One question remains: Are we willing to learn from this democracy or we always tend to stick to our bureaucracy?" ********************************************* * 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/ ********************************************* * JONES