US embassy cable - 04AMMAN3388

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003388 
 
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: SPECIAL MEDIA REACTION ON IRAQI PRISONER 
ABUSE 
 
                        Summary 
 
-- The lead story over the past two days, May 1-3, 
focused on the published pictures depicting the abuse 
of Iraqi prisoners at the hands of American and 
British troops.  Lead stories highlight the U.S. and 
British official reaction as well as the worldwide 
reaction of condemnation. 
 
                 Editorial Commentary 
 
-- "Abu Ghareeb: America's real image" 
 
News analyst Fahd Kheetan writes on the inside page of 
independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm 
(05/02):  "A cold reaction from Bush considered the 
perpetrators as a minority that do not reflect the 
true image of occupation troops.  Bush is right. 
These are really a minority.  Their actions in Abu 
Ghareeb are nothing compared to what the majority of 
the American occupation troops are doing:  invading 
homes, arresting children, raping women (according to 
western media reports), killing in cold blood a whole 
family in Fallujah; tens of incidents every day in 
Iraqi cities that are more ugly than the actions of 
the Israeli occupation in Palestine.  Jalal Talabani's 
comment on the Abu Ghareeb pictures is far worse than 
that of Bush's reaction.  Talabani considered what is 
going on in Abu Ghareeb as natural if compared to what 
used to happen during Saddam Hussein's rule.  But 
Talabani forgot to tell us what was the point of the 
American war of liberation for Iraq if Iraqis were 
going to live under worse conditions than those of 
Saddam's rule.  In the minds of Arab citizens, Abu 
Ghareeb's pictures exactly match the ugly image of 
America, the occupier and the invader.  All this talk 
by America of democracy and a greater Middle East is 
being exposed as a lie in Iraq and in Palestine before 
that.  No one trusts America's projects for 
development in the region or its `innocent' motives 
for helping the people of the Middle East.  It is 
unbelievable that a country that acts so horrifically 
in Iraq would ask us to believe its efforts for 
protecting human rights and freedoms..  America is 
upset at the truth and not at the pictures -- the 
truth that is being relayed by Al-Jazeerah and other 
satellite stations..  The war of liberation is a hoax 
and the pictures of Abu Ghareeb prison are telling the 
truth." 
 
-- "From Nafha to Abu Ghareeb: the methods are the 
same" 
 
Daily columnist Sultan Hattab writes on the op-ed page 
of semi-official, influential Arabic daily Al-Rai 
(05/02):  "To those who admire the U.S. civilization 
being practiced in Iraq and to those who watch and 
welcome the liberation of Iraq, we ask them what their 
opinion is with regards to the crimes that summarize 
the ugly image of the American who exercises his hobby 
and his culture in Abu Ghareeb prison.  Do they agree 
that the perpetrators are Nazis with everything that 
this description means and that their bogus 
merchandise of democracy and human rights is now being 
exposed, revealing crimes not known even in the middle 
ages?  The American President, who came on television 
wearing the mask of surprise, is the one who bears the 
responsibility for the torture of the Iraqi people, 
for prolonging their suffering and for abusing them.. 
What is happening in Abu Ghareeb, Basra and many other 
locations of the American and British occupation 
forces exposes the false claim of liberation and 
reveals the face of the criminal..  What is happening 
in Iraqi prisons is exactly what happened and 
continues to happen in Israeli prisons.  The 
perpetrator is one..  Torturing Iraqis is torturing 
our souls and consciences.  They are Arabs just like 
us left to face a criminal occupation, just as the 
Palestinians people had been left.  How long will the 
criminals continue to deal with as a wolf handles a 
sheep?" 
 
-- "Washington's dilemma from Al-Jazeerah to Abu 
Ghareeb" 
 
Daily columnist Urayb Rintawi writes on the op-ed page 
of center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour 
(05/02):  "The American dilemma in Iraq is turning 
into a state of general confusion that imposes itself 
upon the Bush administration and eats away at what is 
left of Washington's credibility, the morality of its 
political system and its noble values of freedom and 
democracy..  They [the Americans] are ashamed of their 
image in the media, but they are not ashamed of their 
deplorable actions that are as good as war crimes. 
Their dead conscience is not disturbed as they cause 
the death of hundreds and thousands of innocent people 
in Gaza and Baghdad.  Instead of looking at themselves 
in the mirror, they go searching for justifications 
for their crimes, pointing the fingers of 
responsibility at the escalating feelings of hatred 
for them in the Arab and Muslim worlds." 
 
-- "America's real image!" 
 
Center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour 
(05/01) editorializes:  "According to information 
available from western sources, the American-British 
occupation authorities in Iraq are perpetrating war 
crimes and horrific violations of human rights on a 
very wide scale, and it seems that the pictures 
broadcast by CBS are not extraordinary or out of 
context..  All this confirms one truth: this is 
America's real image, however it tries to beautify it 
and portray itself as the leader of the free world!" 
HALE