US embassy cable - 03ABUDHABI4889

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 004889 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP; NEA/PPD; NEA/RA; INR/R/MR; PA; 
INR/NESA; INR/B; IIP/G/NEA-SA 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE 
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA 
USCINCCENT FOR POLAD 
LONDON FOR GOLDRICH; PARIS FOR O'FRIEL 
BAGHDAD FOR OFFICE OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OIIP, KMDR, TC 
SUBJECT:  MEDIA SUMMIT IN THE UAE 
 
 
1.  SUMMARY:  THE MEDIA SUMMIT IN DUBAI (OCTOBER 7-8, 2003) WAS 
HELD UNDER THE AUSPICES OF SHEIKH MOHAMMED BIN RASHID FOR THE 
THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR.  THIS YEAR'S HEADLINE WAS "WAR AND THE 
MEDIA."  AMONG THE SENIOR OFFICIALS WHO SPOKE IN THE OPENING 
CEREMONY INCLUDED SHEIKH MOHAMMED BIN RASHID, SHEIKH ABDULLAH BIN 
ZAYED, AND THE GERMAN CHANCELLOR GHERHARD SCHROEDER WHO WAS ON AN 
OFFICIAL VISIT TO THE UAE.  A GREAT DEAL OF THIS YEAR'S SESSIONS 
AND WORKSHOPS FOCUSED ON THE ROLE OF ARAB MEDIA IN THE WAR IN 
IRAQ.  THE GENERAL ENVIRONMENT IN THE SUMMIT AND SPEAKERS' 
COMMENTS WAS VERY ANTI-AMERICAN.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  IN HIS OPENING SPEECH, SHEIKH MOHAMED BIN RASHID, URGED THE 
UNITED STAND TO STOP THE CONTINUOUS ISRAELI AGGRESSION ON THE 
PALESTINIANS AND CONDEMNED THE RECENT ISRAELI ATTACKS AGAINST 
SYRIA CONSIDERING IT AS A DESTRUCTION OF THE WHOLE PEACE PROCESS 
IN THE MIDDLE EAST.  HE ADDRESSED THE JOURNALISTS SAYING: "IN THE 
CURRENT CENTURY, YOUR RESPONSIBILITY IS GREAT, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE 
THE INFLUENCE OF NEWS ON PUBLIC OPINION IS MUCH MORE STRONGER 
THAN ANY OTHER INFLUENCE." 
 
3.  SHEIKH ABDULLAH BIN ZAYED PRESENTED THE KEYNOTE ADDRESS.  HE 
CONSTRUCTIVELY CRITICIZED NEWS REPORTING IN THE ARAB WORLD, HE 
NOTED: "BEING ABSOLUTELY FRANK, WE CAN STATE SIMPLY THAT THE ARAB 
MEDIA FAILED TO EXPOSE THE TRUE NATURE OF IRAQI REGIME BEFORE THE 
WAR."  HE ADDED: "ALL OF US WERE AWARE THAT THE REGIME WAS BUILT 
ON TERRORISM AND SUPPRESSION, LAUNCHED MORE THAN A WAR AGAINST 
ITS NEIGHBORS AND OCCUPIED A NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES AND TRIED TO 
WIPE IT OUT OF THE POLITICAL DICTIONARY.... THE ARAB MEDIA DEALT 
WITH THE REGIME AS IF IT WERE SAFE AND SOUND, AND WENT ALONG WITH 
ITS EFFORTS TO PORTRAY THE IMPENDING CONFLICT ONLY AS A WAR 
BETWEEN WESTERN POWERS AND AN ARAB REGIME THAT WAS READY TO 
CONFRONT AND DEFY THEM IN THE NAME OF ARAB DIGNITY AND 
SOLIDARITY.... THE ARAB MEDIA WAS DISTANT FROM REALITY AND 
THEREFORE, CONTRIBUTED IN MISLEADING THE PUBLIC OPINION BY 
PROVIDING IT WITH UNREALISTIC CONCEPTIONS OF PROBABLE 
CONSEQUENCES OF THE DISPUTE THAT SEEMED INEVITABLE AND 
IMMINENT....WE AS ARAB MEDIA HAVE TO BE OBJECTIVE.  NOTHING MUST 
PREVENT US FROM CRITICIZING OURSELVES AND REVIEWING OUR 
EXPERIENCES IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE A KNOWLEDGEABLE ARAB MEDIA THAT 
DOES NOT MISLEAD THE READERS, AND INTERPRETS, BUT DOES NOT 
DISTORT, FACTS." 
 
4.  ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING SESSIONS WAS CONDUCTED ON THE 
FINAL DAY OF THE SUMMIT WERE IN RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS SUCH AS 
"DOES THE WESTERN MEDIA STILL SEE THE ARAB WORLD THROUGH A 
DISTORTED EYE?  DOES THE ARAB MEDIA VIEW THE WESTERN MEDIA WITH 
DISAPPOINTMENT AND MISTRUST?  HOW FAR APART ARE THE TWO 
VIEWPOINTS?  HOW CAN THEY BE RECONCILED?"  THE MAJORITY OF THE 
SPEAKERS NOTED THAT THE ARAB MEDIA PLAYED A CONSTRUCTIVE ROLE 
DURING THE WAR IN IRAQ.  ARAB SPEAKERS CONCLUDED THAT THE ARAB 
MEDIA, AND MAINLY THE TV NEWS SATELLITE CHANNELS (AL-JAZEIRAH, AL- 
ARABEYAH, ABU DHABI TV AND AL-HAYAT-LBC) HAVE ENDED WESTERN 
MONOPOLY ON THE NEWS THAT IS PRESENTED TO US DAILY.  HOWEVER, THE 
SPEAKERS CRITICIZED THE U.S. FOR RESORTING INTO THE SO-CALLED 
MEDIA EMBEDDING WHICH IN SHORT KEPT ALL MEDIA OUTLETS UNDER THE 
US MILITARY CONTROL. 
 
5.  ONE OF THE SPEAKERS, DR. HISHAM SHARABI BLAMED THE BUSH 
ADMINISTRATION FOR THE CURRENT RIFT BETWEEN EAST AND WEST AND 
DESCRIBED THE AMERICAN ADMINISTRATION AS ANTI-ARAB.  DR. SHARABI 
LAMENTED "WHAT FOLLOWED WAS A HIGHLY RACIAL HATE CAMPAIGN AGAINST 
ARABS AND MUSLIMS WITH THE WESTERN PRESS PITCHING IN TO MAKE 
THINGS WORSE."  MARTIN WOOLLACOTT, ANOTHER SPEAKER DURING THE 
SAME SESSION, ADMITTED THAT "'A DEGREE OF DISAPPOINTMENT' EXISTED 
AMONG ARAB JOURNALIST ON THEIR WESTERN COUNTERPARTS," HE ALSO 
ADDED THAT "IT WAS TIME FOR THE TWO SYSTEMS TO SEEK CONVERGENCE, 
SCOPE FOR WHICH IS PLENTY." 
 
6.  DURING THE SAME SESSION AND IN ANOTHER SESSION THAT HOSTED 
PAN-ARAB ONE OF THE SESSIONS FOCUSED ON THE U.S. MIDDLE EAST TV 
NETWORK EXPECTED TO START BROADCASTING IN DECEMBER.  DR. HISHAM 
SHARABI NOTED: "THIS PROJECT IS DOOMED TO FAILURE BECAUSE THE 
MESSAGE IS BAD AND THE CONTENT IS BAD".  HE THOUGH THAT THE 
AMERICAN-ARAB RELATIONSHIP HAS NEVER BEEN AS BAD AS IT IS NOW 
UNDER THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION. COMMENTING ON THE RADIO SAWA AND 
THE METVN, AN IRAQI SHIITE ATTENDING THE SUMMIT NOTED THAT "IF 
YOU DO NOT LIKE WHAT YOU SEE IN THE MIRROR DO NOT BLAME THE 
MIRROR FOR WHAT YOU DO NOT LIKE TO SEE OR EVEN BREAK IT.  INSTEAD 
GO AND CORRECT WHAT IS WRONG IN YOUR FACE."  FEW SPEAKERS NOTED, 
"THE ANTI-AMERICAN ENVIRONMENT HAS NEVER BEEN IN THIS PART OF THE 
WORLD AS BAD AS IT IS NOWADAYS." 
 
ALBRIGHT