US embassy cable - 03AMMAN6562

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 006562 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARN, NEA/PA, NEA/AIA, INR/NESA, R/MR, 
I/GNEA, B/BXN, B/BRN, NEA/PPD, NEA/IPA FOR ALTERMAN 
USAID/ANE/MEA 
LONDON FOR GOLDRICH 
PARIS FOR O'FRIEL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
 
TAGS: KMDR JO 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON IRAQ AND MIDDLE EAST 
 
                        Summary 
 
-- Lead stories in all papers today, October 14, focus 
on King Abdullah's visit to Singapore to attend the 
Asian Economic Summit, and highlight a number of 
domestic activities, including the Jordanian Economic 
Forum.  Front-page reports in all papers continue to 
highlight developments on the Iraqi front as well as 
the Palestinian-Israeli front, particularly focusing 
on the Israeli "massacre" in Rafah.  Over the weekend, 
papers highlighted the October 10 meeting that took 
place between Israelis and Palestinians at the Dead 
Sea to talk about peace process issues. 
 
                 Editorial Commentary 
 
-- "Jordan and Iraq: two aspects to their 
relationship" 
 
Chief Editor Taher Udwan writes on the back page of 
independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm 
(10/14):  "Jordan's relationship with Iraq, under the 
foreign occupation, has two aspects.  The first is a 
political aspect.  This is represented by the fact 
that Jordan does not recognize the governing council 
in Baghdad but nevertheless deals with it, which is 
not only a Jordanian approach, but also one that is 
endorsed by the Arab League, the U.N. General Assembly 
and the Organization of the Islamic Conference.  Yet, 
Jordan alone opposes Ahmad Chalabi, who is considered 
Washington's ally in the governing council.  It is 
also represented by the fact that Jordan opposes a 
federation in Iraq, as proposed by America and the 
governing council.  Jordan also opposes sending 
Turkish, Syrian, Iranian, Saudi or Jordanian troops to 
Iraq, on the principle that it does not serve Iraq and 
the Iraqis.  In addition, Jordan wants a speedy 
transfer of authority to the Iraqis..  The second 
aspect of the relationship with Iraq under occupation 
is one that raises much unspoken controversy among 
Jordanians, such as the training of thousands of Iraqi 
policemen or helping in the rebuilding of some civil 
institutions there.  There are those who believe that 
Jordan is `hasty' in undertaking these steps, and that 
patience is in order until the volatile events in Iraq 
are resolved, and yet, there is no real Jordanian 
popular opposition to these steps.  Some compare 
Jordan's relationship with Iraq (under occupation) 
with its relationship with the West Bank and Gaza 
(under occupation), in terms of contributing to the 
people's steadfastness and maintaining nationalism." 
 
-- "Running from Iraq" 
 
Daily columnist Fahd Fanek writes on the back page of 
semi-official, influential Arabic daily Al-Rai 
(10/14):  "The U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld 
yesterday gave up the task of reconstructing Iraq and 
said that it is an issue left for the Iraqis to 
decide.  As for the U.S. Secretary of State, he has 
been working hard to transfer the security task in 
Iraq to the United Nations and to Arab and 
international peacekeeping forces.  America's 
objective is no longer to bring good things but to 
ease losses, and all this is due to the resistance, 
which has just started.  The U.S. administration 
presented the aggression against Iraq as part of the 
war on international terrorism.  The result was the 
destruction of a stable country that did not exercise 
terrorism and did not have relations with terrorist 
organizations, and turning it into an open arena for 
terrorist organization.  In other words, America waged 
war to get the terrorists out of Afghanistan and then 
waged another war to find a new location for them in 
Iraq.  Where is the Iraqi democracy that America 
claimed would be a model to be followed for the entire 
region?  Where is the reconstruction that American 
companies thought would be an easy task?  Where is the 
security and stability in the region that America 
claimed Iraq impedes?  What happened to the peace 
process in Palestine that Iraq was supposedly 
hindering?  The American project in Iraq is completely 
bankrupt.  The question is whether America will run 
backward or forward." 
 
-- "The Palestinian-Israeli dialogue in Jordan" 
 
Daily columnist Sultan Hattab writes on the op-ed page 
of semi-official, influential Arabic daily Al-Rai 
(10/14):  "The Dead Sea meeting is important because 
the interlocutors were either in official positions, 
like some of the Palestinian delegates, or were very 
close to the Israeli decision-making levels, or even 
from the heart of the Israeli political parties..  The 
content of the document is a step forward in this grim 
reality where Sharon continuously forfeits his 
responsibilities by continuing the aggression.  The 
U.S. administration, which is in alliance with the 
Israeli right-wing and performs the Israeli role more 
than the Israelis themselves, should stop a little to 
see that there are Israeli and Palestinian parties who 
are still gripping the thread of hope leading to 
dialogue and agreement.  If the U.S. administration 
and the Arabs would support this effort to make of it 
a solid mutual initiative, then there might be a way 
to work forward, instead of this complete loss in the 
roadmap, which has already been uprooted and deformed 
by Sharon." 
 
-- "The hour of truth: no hope for peace" 
 
Chief Editor Taher Udwan writes on the back page of 
independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm 
(10/13):  "The decision to send Turkish forces to Iraq 
and the escalation of the Israeli-American military 
and political intervention policy in Syria and Lebanon 
are indications for the serious potential for wars and 
confrontations to spread.  Since no one cares anymore 
about the fate of the roadmap of the Palestinian 
cause, the language that prevails now is that of 
threats and military campaigns, as we see in Iraq and 
in the West Bank and Gaza.  These are campaigns where 
citizens pay a huge price, where houses are broken 
into, where women and children are made scared and 
where men are arrested because they reject the foreign 
occupation.  This is the current image of the east 
part of the Arab world following the fall of Baghdad 
and following this entrenched alliance between the 
U.S. president and the Israeli Prime Minister.  With 
this image, the Dead Sea meeting between Israelis and 
Palestinians seems to be out of context and a weak 
lost voice among the thundering noise of Israeli tanks 
in Rafah and Jenin..  In short, this region, which has 
been drowned with the idea of the need to get rid of 
the Iraqi dictator on the pretext of establishing 
security and stability, is now facing the hour of 
truth, namely that security, stability and peace are 
lost now because the Arab land has turned into arenas 
for the invading Americans, British and Israelis and 
because colonialist schemes have been revitalized once 
more." 
HALE