JORDAN: MEDIA REACT TO KING'S U.S. VISIT

UNCLAS AMMAN 000952

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ELA, NEA/PPD, IIP/GNEA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KPAO KMDR JO
SUBJECT: JORDAN: MEDIA REACT TO KING'S U.S. VISIT


1. SUMMARY: Wednesday's newspapers in Jordan led with extensive
coverage of the President's meeting with King Abdullah at the White
House Tuesday. Beneath banner headlines reading "Jordan, U.S. See
Eye To Eye On Peace," reports stressed the two leaders' commitment
to moving the Middle East peace process forward. Initial op-ed
commentaries lauded the President's expression of strong support for
the two-state solution. As additional op-ed commentaries appear in
coming days, post will transmit further media reaction reports. END
SUMMARY.


2. All newspapers published Wednesday in Jordan led with extensive
front-page coverage of the President's meeting with King Abdullah.
Beneath banner headlines and sub-headlines summarizing the major
points of the two leaders' discussion, coverage appeared alongside
several color photos conveying a tone of friendship and rapport
between the two leaders. The headline by the Jordan Times was
representative: "Jordan, U.S. See Eye To Eye On Peace." The content
of the reports on the White House meeting relied heavily on the
official version provided by the Jordan News Agency.


3. News reports carried extensive quotes from the two leaders' joint
press availability, highlighting their emphasis on "the importance
of moving within the framework of effective steps to end the
conflict and establish comprehensive and just peace in the region."
The King is quoted as stressing the President's "full commitment" to
Jordan and the Arab countries to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli
conflict. The President is quoted as praising the King's peace
efforts in the region and the world. Reports also highlighted the
President's description of the Arab Peace Initiative as "a
constructive beginning," as well as his "strong support for the
two-state solution."


4. (U) Initial editorial commentary:

-- "The Jordanian-American Summit Meeting"

Chief editor Taher Odwan comments in the April 22 edition of the
independent, opposition Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm, "Obama's clear
reference to the two-state solution at this point in time represents
a response to remarks made by Netanyahu and Lieberman who do not
conceal their objection to the establishment of a Palestinian state
and to the Arab initiative, as well as their rejection of peace
process mechanisms, which the former U.S. administration had
adopted, such as the Roadmap and the Annapolis meeting. Yet, the
pan-Arab mission of the King in Washington is not the end of the
road, but rather it opens the doors wide for Arab countries to
shoulder their responsibilities towards the Palestinian cause and
the restoration of occupied lands. This requires a speedy Arab
action to put in place mechanisms for the Arab action and to follow
up on the important outcomes of the King-Obama meeting, as well as
to follow up on developments in the American stand and the
American-Israeli relationship."

-- "The King Is Best to Represent the Nation"

The main editorial in the April 22 edition of the government-aligned
Arabic daily Ad-Dustour opines, "President Obama's emphasis on the
two-state solution correlates with the Arab stance and the
international decisions, and constitutes a decisive response to
Netanyahu's attempts to evade and bypass the international
decisions.... The importance of the American position stems from
the dangerous nature of the stage through which the region is going
after the victory of the Israeli right-wing party and its rejection
to acknowledge the Palestinian partner and the Annapolis agreements
that call on Israel to stop the settlement activity and for
establishing two states. This [position] needs to be translated
into action on the ground with effective steps.... By carrying the
Arab stand vis-`-vis the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to the
American President, the King proved to be the best to represent the
nation and the best to adopt its causes, especially the Palestinian
cause, which is considered the Arabs' central cause whose fair
solution on the basis of the two states and the return of the
refugees is the only way out of the dark tunnel."

-- "The King's Meeting with Obama: Dotting Difficult Words"

Senior columnist Sultan Hattab in the April 22 edition of the
leading, government-owned Arabic daily Al-Rai observes, "Personal
relations and admiration achieved by chemistry or joint convictions
may not be enough to overcome the great difficulties when the
persons concerned are responsible for countries and peoples and when
the pending issues are as major and complex as the Middle East
issue. Yet, personal relations do play an important role.... The
royal mission is not easy. It helps Obama answer the question of
what the Arabs want from the United States in this conflict. The
answer that the King is providing might be one of its kind in terms
of coherence, specificity and summary. Obama will find help in
this, because for a long time the Arab parties would differ.... The
Arabs now agree on a solution that is based on the establishment of
two states, which they believe is necessary for the security and
stability of the region and for U.S. interests.... Obama can also
help the King ... by exercising the pressure that is capable of
establishing the two-state solution, because this solution does not
only ensures the establishment of the Palestinian state, but also
supports the Jordanian national security by moving it away from the
Zionist schemes and from threats of going back to the 'transfer'
policy."

-- "The King in America: the True Face of Challenges":

Columnist Abdullah Abu Rumman in the April 22 edition of Al-Rai
asserts, "The King's move towards the United States comes amidst
complex situations and contexts. It is a move that did not target
the new U.S. administration alone, but also the American society,
its organizations, and lobbying and influential centers in order to
rally support for the Palestinian cause, to re-establish its maximum
priority, and to remind everyone that it is the 'core of the
conflict' in the Middle East, and that the absence or
procrastination of a just solution is the thing that feeds the
challenges and dangers in areas where the new U.S. administration
sees the maximum priorities."

-- "A Message of Peace"

The main editorial in the April 22 edition of the elite,
small-circulation English daily Jordan Times opined, "Bilateral
ties, going from strength to strength after 60 years since first
initiated, were part of the discussions between the two heads of
state, as were Iran, Afghanistan, terrorism in the region, the
impact of the economic crisis on the two countries and international
cooperation. But, above all, in the U.S. as a representative of the
Arabs, first and foremost, King Abdullah made it clear that "we
believe that it is important for all of us to keep our eyes on the
prize, and the prize is peace and stability for all the people of
our region". The first Arab ruler to meet the new US president at
the White House, the King carried with him the offer of the entire
Arab world: comprehensive peace with Israel in exchange for the
return of lands occupied by force and a just settlement to the
Palestinian refugee problem.... It is laudable that Obama considers
the Arab initiative a very constructive start. But this peace offer,
which was formulated at the Beirut Arab summit of 2002, cannot be
expected to be forever valid. Israel will have to respond to it if
it is serious about peace. Obama, who remains committed to the
two-state solution, is well aware that the parties cannot "talk
forever, that at some point steps have to be taken so that people
can see progress on the ground. And that will be something that we
will expect to take place in the coming months".... He, however,
sees, "not just in Israel, but within the Palestinian territories,
among the Arab states, worldwide... a profound cynicism about the
possibility of any progress being made whatsoever", a bleak
assessment, indeed, of the state of affairs. His determination,
then, is not enough to revive the deadlocked peace process,
especially now that intransigent right-winger Benjamin Netanyahu is
prime minister of Israel. Obama made it clear that neither Jordan
nor the United States can do things instead of the Israelis and the
Palestinians, but that the two parties involved in the conflict will
have to make decisions not to perpetuate the conflict "in which
generations of Palestinian and Israeli children are growing up
insecure, in an atmosphere of hate".

BROWN