US embassy cable - 03OTTAWA2260

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 002260 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAN, WHA/PDA 
WHITE HOUSE PASS NSC/WEUROPE, NSC/WHA 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: KPAO, KMDR, OIIP, OPRC, CA, TFUS01, TFUS02, TFUS03 
SUBJECT:  MEDIA REACTION: MIDDLE EAST; IRAQ; NORTH 
KOREA 
 
 
MIDDLE EAST 
1.   "The liberties taken by Israel's wall" 
The leading Globe and Mail opined (8/8): "...U.S. 
opposition to the wall - not the right to build it, but 
the path it is taking - may have forced Israel to drop 
a plan to extend it about 30 kilometres into the West 
Bank to include the large Jewish settlement of Ariel. 
Nevertheless, the Bush administration is reportedly 
considering the imposition of limited economic 
sanctions against Israel for other incursions. It need 
not come to that. Israel should heed the concerns of 
the international community and adjust its plans for 
the wall, minimizing the seizure of Palestinian land 
and forgoing construction along the Jordan Valley. This 
would help build confidence between the two sides just 
as further strains are showing between Mr. Sharon and 
Mr. Abbas.... Israelis have an absolute right to be 
free of terror, but this should not come at the expense 
of Palestinian land." 
 
IRAQ 
2.   "A league of self-deceit" 
Under the sub-heading, "Arab states shouldn't criticize 
Iraq's fledgling democracy," the nationalist Ottawa 
Citizen commented (8/8): "...Rather than 
face up to their own responsibilities for what has gone 
wrong, too many Arab leaders prefer to fault others - 
imperialism, globalization, Americans, Jews 
- for the repressiveness, poverty and despair that 
characterizes much of the Arab world.... [W]ith Saddam 
gone, would the Arab League refuse to recognize 
a body that is the most representative Iraq has ever 
known? Could it be because Arab leaders fear that a 
'successful' Iraqi experiment in democracy will expose 
their own illegitimacy? If the United States 
transforms Iraq into even a modestly democratic, 
constitutionally-ordered society, every Arab leader 
will face reformist pressures. It's as if the Arab 
League wants post-Saddam Iraq to fail in order to 
justify the continuance of their own authoritarian 
regimes.... In refusing to welcome Iraq's governing 
council, the Arab League has showed that many in the 
Arab elite continue to wander in the deserts of denial, 
maintaining their power and masking their failings by 
refusing to face the geo-political realities of today's 
Middle East." 
 
NORTH KOREA 
3.   "Some reasons for hope on North Korea this time" 
The left-of-center Vancouver Sun observed (8/6): "After 
insisting for nine months that it would engage only in 
bilateral talks with the United States 
- with no other country at the same table - North Korea 
agreed on the weekend to multilateral talks on the 
future of its nuclear weapons program. That's important 
because the Americans were just as stubbornly refusing 
to engage in the bilateral talks the North Koreans 
wanted. We don't know for sure what prompted North 
Korea to be the one to blink. Nonetheless, we applaud 
this diplomatic breakthrough for several reasons.... 
[I]t's a relief that North Korea has finally agreed to 
sit down with Russia, China, Japan, South Korea and the 
U.S. to figure out ways of dismantling its nuclear 
program in exchange for economic aid and assurances 
that it won't be 
attacked. But our optimism is tempered because 
Pyongyang isn't known as a government that keeps its 
word.... A White House spokesman acknowledges that 
there will be opportunities during the multilateral 
meetings for North Korea and the U.S. or any other 
party to talk directly to each other. Such a flexible 
attitude could go a long way towards convincing North 
Korea to give up its nuclear dreams. So while the 
Chinese and the Russians are twisting Mr. Kim's arm, 
Japan, South Korea - already a major donor of aid to 
the North - and the U.S. can and should be easing his 
discomfort by offering economic assistance. Enticements 
alone haven't worked, and neither has the 
threat of force. But offering the carrot and wielding 
the stick together have a much better chance of 
success." 
 
CELLUCCI