US embassy cable - 03KUWAIT5184

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 005184 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INR/R/MR, NEA/ARP, NEA/PPD, PA, INR/NESA, IIP/G/NEA-SA, 
  INR/B 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE 
LONDON FOR GOLDRICH 
PARIS FOR O'FRIEL 
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA 
CINCCENT FOR CCPA 
USDOC FOR 4520/ANESA/ONE/FITZGERALD-WILKS 
USDOC FOR ITA AND PTO/OLIA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OIIP, KU, KDMR 
SUBJECT: KUWAIT SPECIAL MEDIA REACTION, NOVEMBER 12: NOV. 6 POTUS SPEEC 
 
1. President Bush's November 6 NED speech has garnered mixed 
placement in Kuwait's Arabic press, with some major papers 
putting the speech in the back pages of the international 
section as opposed to the front-page treatment POTUS 
statements are usually accorded in Kuwait. (Comment: we 
think this reflects the laid-back, non-political pace of 
Kuwaiti journalism during Ramadan as opposed to any 
ideological or policy interpretation by the editors. End 
Comment.) Headlines generally focus on the President's call 
for democratic change in the Arab world and his mention of 
Kuwait as among those moving towards democracy. Most of the 
brief and rather superficial editorial commentary included 
in the reportage views the speech as an effort to shore up 
US domestic support for ongoing operations in Iraq and/or as 
a veiled warning to Iran and Syria not to obstruct US 
policies. 
 
2. Perhaps reflecting the lassitude that pervades Kuwait's 
editorial offices at this point in Ramadan, number one 
Arabic daily "Al Rai al Aam" imports an article by Lebanese 
writer Khairallah Khairallah, who blasts the speech as 
destabilizing to the region and dismissive of the 
Palestinians. 
 
3. Two local op/eds have appeared thus far: one by liberal 
University of Kuwait Dean Ali Al-Tarrah, and another by "Al- 
Siyassah" editor-in-chief Ahmad Al-Jarallah. Al-Tarrah notes 
the President's statement that Islam is not incompatible 
with democracy and declares that "rescuing the Islamic world 
from the (current) crisis requires presenting a modern 
vision of Islam, one which makes use of Western democratic 
values." Editor-in-chief Al-Jarallah says the POTUS speech 
reflects US determination "to create a democratic model in 
Iraq for the region," and that it is time for Arab countries 
to "act according to Western ideals of democracy, human 
rights, and freedom." 
 
4. Following are headlines and commentary: 
 
November 7, 2003 
 
-- Headline:  "Bush denounced the Syrian and Iranian legacy 
of oppression and called for a `democratic revolution' in 
the Arab World. He praised Kuwait and five other Arab 
counties, and said Islam does not clash with American 
strategy." 
(From Al-Seyassah, prominently placed on the front page with 
a photo of the President) 
 
The newspaper editorialized that Bush purposely divided the 
region into two blocs: those moving towards democracy and 
the others whom he threatened with punishment. The paper 
also noted that the President did not mention Israel, either 
positively or negatively. 
 
-- Headline:  "Bush admits that supporting tyrannical 
regimes stirred anti-American feelings that nourished 
terrorism." 
(From Al-Rai Al-Aam, prominently placed on the front page) 
 
-- Headline:  "Bush: We supported tyranny in the region for 
sixty years." 
(Al-Watan, front page) 
 
-- Headline:  "Bush: Freedom is coming to the Middle East." 
(From Al-Qabas, page 33, international news section: brief 
report, prominent headline) 
 
-- Headline:  "Bush to Arab leaders:  End decades of 
depravation and suppressed anger." 
(Al-Anba, page 17: brief report, prominent headline) 
 
November 8, 2003 
 
-- Headline:  "In his speech, the President indirectly 
defied Egypt and warned Iran and Syria.  Saudi Arabia and 
the Palestinians: Bush should have ended the Israeli 
aggression and transferred the authority to the Iraqis." 
(Al-Qabas, page 35, international news: with a photo of the 
President delivering his speech) 
 
The newspaper reported that "in an attempt to justify the 
war [in Iraq] from a political and ethical perspective after 
failing to find WMD, and in light of the increasing 
criticism for his policy in Iraq, President Bush stated that 
`Iraqi democracy will succeed.'" The newspaper also 
editorialized that "the speech was an attempt to convince 
Americans that the financial and human price paid in Iraq is 
ethically and politically justified because freedom deserves 
the struggle." 
 
-- Headline:  "Bush: the Iraqi model will succeed and will 
be a model for the entire region.  The Middle East is the 
focus for American policy in the upcoming decades and Islam 
is harmonious with the principles of democracy." 
(Al-Watan, page 28: half-page story with a photo of the 
President, Secretary Powell, and Secretary Rumsfeld) 
 
The newspaper editorialized that "Bush's speech is the most 
recent attempt to justify the war on Iraq as a requirement 
for the adoption of democracy in the region at a time when 
he is being criticized for the increasing losses among the 
American forces." 
 
-- Headline:  "Bush challenges Iran, Syria, and Egypt to 
adopt democracy and praises positive developments in 
Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia." 
(Al-Rai Al-Aam, page 28, international news) 
 
The newspaper published a front-page political analysis by 
Lebanese writer Khairallah Khairallah who argued that the 
speech "was the most dangerous statement made by the 
President concerning the region." The analysis claimed that 
the President was more "aggressive toward Syria" and some 
Palestinian leaders than towards Iran. The report criticized 
the President's speech for not mentioning the word 
"occupation." Khairallah argues that if the President had 
mentioned that "his administration supports the end of the 
Israeli occupation of Palestine and the Golan heights, his 
speech would have been more comprehensive and the mission of 
his administration in the region would have been less 
difficult." 
 
5. Editorial opinion: 
 
--"President Bush's Speech and the Necessity for Political 
Reforms in the Region." 
Liberal Dean of Kuwait University's College of Social 
Sciences, Dr. Ali Al-Tarrah, wrote in Al-Seyassah (11/09): 
"President Bush's speech on the situation in Iraq and the 
Middle East stressed the importance of democracy and the 
need for political reform in the region in order to end the 
increase in extremist ideology. There is no doubt that 
democracy is a concept of Western origin, but nevertheless 
it does not contradict Islam. As a matter of fact, the 
principles of Western democracy share many points of 
commonality with the principles of Islam. It is wrong to 
think that secularism is a precondition for democracy. 
Religion could also play an important role in democratic 
policies, as is the case in the United States. Rescuing the 
Islamic world from the [current] crisis requires presenting 
a modern vision of Islam, one that makes use of Western 
democratic values. Human rights must also be emphasized 
because most Islamic societies, even the Iranian model, 
violate human rights." 
 
-- "America in Iraq" 
Editor-in-chief of Arabic daily Al-Seyassah, Ahmad Al- 
Jarallah opined (11/8): "President Bush's words reiterated 
that he will not leave Iraq before accomplishing his goal of 
establishing a democratic country to serve as a model [to 
the region]. Such laudable objectives are infuriating those 
who have been hurt by the American success in Iraq, despite 
their attempts to fuel violence and terrorism in the 
country. What the President is saying is not only America's 
view, but also that of the West, based on democracy, human 
rights, and freedom. It is now the turn of Middle East 
countries to act according to Western ideals.  In all cases, 
American and Western goals are ethical, based on reforms and 
the interests of the people of the region and the stability 
of its regimes. These goals are different from the goals of 
previous decades which were directly linked to colonizing 
countries, robbing their fortunes, and exploiting their 
people." 
 
 
URBANCIC