US embassy cable - 03ABUDHABI5342

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 005342 
 
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; NSC 
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA 
USCINCCENT FOR POLAD 
LONDON FOR GOLDRICH, PASS TO MOC; PARIS FOR O'FRIEL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OIIP, KMDR, TC 
SUBJECT:  MEDIA REACTION:  THE ARREST OF SADDAM 
 
 
1.  SUMMARY:  THE ARREST OF SADDAM HUSSEIN DOMINATED COVERAGE IN 
UAE PRINT AND ELECTRONIC MEDIA.  AN EDITORIAL IN "AL ITTIHAD" 
NOTED THAT NOW THERE IS A NEW FREE IRAQ AFTER SADDAM WAS 
CAPTURED.  UAE COLUMIST ABDULLAH RASHEED MENTIONED IN "AL 
ITTIHAD" THAT IT IS BETTER THAT SADDAM WAS CAPTURED BY THE 
AMERICANS NOT THE IRAQIS.  UAE COLUMNIST AYSHA AL MARRI NOTED IN 
"AL ITTIHAD" THAT IT IS GOOD THAT SADDAM DID NOT KILL HIMSELF SO 
HE WON'T BE COMFORTED BY DEATH.  AN EDITORIAL IN "AL KHALEEJ" 
NOTED THAT NOW AFTER SADDAM HAS BEEN CAPTURED, THE OCCUPATION HAS 
TO END.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  UNDER THE HEADLINE "OCCUPATION DOES NOT MAKE THE FUTURE," 
SHARJAH-BASED PAN-ARAB DAILY "AL-KHALEEJ" EDITORIALIZED 12/17: 
 
"... THROUGHOUT HISTORY, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS NICE 
OCCUPATION OR FRIENDLY OCCUPATION OR BENEFICIARY OCCUPATION OR 
OCCUPATION THAT PROVIDES HUMANE SERVICES OR FREE LOTTERY 
OCCUPATION... IF THE IRAQIS DON'T WORK AS ONE HAND AND ONE HEART 
WITH THE ARABS AND ALL THE GOOD PEOPLE IN THE WORLD TO PROVIDE A 
GUIDE FOR ENDING THE OCCUPATION AND HASTENING THE PROCESS OF 
HANDING OVER IRAQ TO IRAQIS. THEN WE WILL HAVE A SECOND PALESTINE 
WHILE ARABS ARE SLEEPING AND WEEKS ARE BECOMING MONTHS, MONTHS 
ARE BECOMING YEARS, AND YEARS ARE BECOMING DECADES." 
 
3.  NOTING THAT NOW THERE IS A NEW FREE IRAQ AFTER THE CAPTURE OF 
SADDAM, ABU DHABI-BASED SEMI-GOVERNMENT "AL ITTIHAD" 
EDITORIALIZED 12/17: 
 
"IRAQ AFTER SADDAM IS DEFINITELY A NEW IRAQ PROSPERING IN 
FREEDOM. THE FOUNDATION STONE IN THE NEW ERA SHOULD BE FROM THE 
INSIDE, FROM THE IRAQI GROUND AND THE IRAQI PEOPLE WHO LIVED 
THROUGH THE TERROR OF THE PREVIOUS ERA, AND TODAY A NEW FUTURE IS 
BEING BORN. IRAQIS WITH ALL THEIR PARTIES ARE REQUESTED TO 
UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ERA THEY ARE LIVING IN AND ITS 
SENSITIVITY BECAUSE TODAY, AFTER THE DAWN CAME OUT AND THE FALL 
OF THE TYRANT, MORE THAN AT ANY OTHER TIME, THEY HAVE THE 
OPPORTUNITY OF CHOOSING THEIR OPTIONS AND DECIDING ON THEM 
WITHOUT ANY FEAR.  THE NEXT STEP FOR IRAQ IN THIS NEW ERA SHOULD 
COME FROM THEIR BROTHERS, GIVING THEM SUPPORT AND HELP WITHOUT 
HESITATION." 
 
 4.  NOTING THAT IT IS BETTER THAT SADDAM DID NOT KILL HIMSELF, 
UAE COLUMNIST AYSHA AL MARRI WROTE IN "AL ITTIHAD" ON 12/17: 
 
"...GOOD WHAT HE DID, HE COMFORTED US FROM ILLUSIVE HEROISM. 
GOOD WHAT HE DID, SO HE WILL REMAIN AN IMAGE OF A COWARD TYRANT. 
WHY THE CRYING ABOUT THE MERCY BULLET THAT HE DID NOT SHOOT INTO 
HIMSELF, SINCE DEATH IS COMFORT?  LET HIM REMAIN ALIVE SO HE WILL 
BE PROSECUTED IN A CIVILIZED WAY; LET HIM BE A MODEL FOR OTHER 
ARAB EXECUTIONERS.  LET HISTORY FOLD ANOTHER PAGE OF BLOODY 
HISTORY WRITTEN IN BLOOD AND GUN-POWDER, AND THE IMAGE OF A 
HUMILIATED OLD MAN, NOT AN IMAGE OF A TYRANT WILL REMAIN IN THE 
MEMORIES..." 
 
5.  MENTIONING THAT IT WAS GOOD LUCK THAT THE AMERICANS CAPTURED 
SADDAM AND NOT THE IRAQIS, UAE COLUMNIST ABDULLAH RASHEED WROTE 
IN "AL ITTIHAD" ON 12/17: 
 
". IT IS OUR GOOD LUCK THAT THE AMERICANS CAPTURED THE RAT 
BECAUSE THEY PROTECTED HIS DIGNITY ALTHOUGH HE DOES NOT HAVE ANY 
AND THEY PROTECTED HIS HUMANITY ALTHOUGH HE DESTROYED THE 
HUMANITY OF 26 MILLION IRAQIS.  I, PERSONALLY, THANKED GOD THAT 
HE WAS CAPTURED ALIVE BY THE HANDS OF JUSTICE BECAUSE I WANT TO 
ENJOY WATCHING HIM HUMILIATED WHEN HE SITS IN THE CHAIR OF 
PROSECUTION IN FRONT OF THE PROSECUTOR, JUDGE, AND THE LAWYER OF 
MILLIONS OF VICTIMS WITH HUNDREDS OF TV CAMERAS AROUND HIM. WITH 
THE WHOLE WORLD FOLLOWING HIS TRIAL BECAUSE OF ALL THE SHAMEFUL 
CRIMES HE COMMITTED AGAINST IRAQIS." 
 
6.  UNDER THE HEADLINE "WHAT IS AFTER SADDAM!" UAE COLUMNIST 
DR.ABDULKHALEQ ABDULLAH WROTE ON 12/16: 
 
". SADDAM HUSSEIN IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF A DESTRUCTIVE LEADER. 
SADDAM HUSSEIN WILL ENTER HISTORY JUST AS HE WANTED AND PLANNED, 
HE WAS A MANIAC WHEN IT CAME TO HISTORY AND BEING IN THE HISTORY 
BOOKS THAT WILL RECOGNIZE HIM AS A DESTRUCTIVE, NOT CONSTRUCTIVE 
LEADER.  SADDAM WILL GO DOWN INTO MODERN HISTORY JUST LIKE OTHER 
TYRANTS SUCH AS HITLER, WHO CAUSED THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND THEN 
THE DIVISION OF GERMANY TO WEST AND EAST, AND POL POT IN 
CAMBODIA, WHO CAUSED THE DEATH OF TWO MILLION INNOCENT PEOPLE 
WITH NO REASON EXCEPT THAT HE WANTED TO IMPOSE HIS PURIFYING 
IDEOLOGY. ALL THROUGHOUT HISTORY, IRAQ WAS RULED BY MANY LEADERS 
FROM DIFFERENT PARTIES, SOME DESTRUCTIVE SOME CONSTRUCTIVE AND 
THEY LEFT THEIR LEGACIES, POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE, BEHIND.  BUT 
SADDAM WAS THE WORST. THE IRAQI PEOPLE SHOULD BE REALLY HAPPY NOW 
FOR WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO SADDAM.  BUT THEY SHOULD NOW DEAL WITH 
SADDAM'S LEGACY WITH NO REVENGE, IT IS IMPORTANT TO DEAL WITH THE 
AFTER SADDAM ERA CALMLY AND SOBERLY SINCE IT IS GOING TO BE A 
DIFFICULT ERA.  WHAT IS REQUESTED FROM THE IRAQIS IS TO WORK 
TOWARDS UNITY FIRST.  THE UNITY OF IRAQ IS THE CENTRAL OPERATION 
IN THE POST SADDAM PERIOD.  THE UNITY OF THE PEOPLE, THE NATION, 
AND THE DIFFERENT PARTIES AND GROUPS IS THE ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE 
AND CONSTRUCTING A FREE INDEPENDENT DEMOCRATIC IRAQ." 
WAHBA