US embassy cable - 04AMMAN10307

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 010307 
 
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 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
 
TAGS: KMDR JO 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON US FOREIGN POLICY, IRAQ AND 
TSUNAMI 
 
 
SIPDIS 
 
                        Summary 
 
-- Lead stories in all papers today, December 30, 
focus on the car bombing in Riyadh yesterday, as well 
as the aftermath of the bombing in Baghdad the day 
before.  Papers continue to highlight the aftermath of 
the tsunami disaster in Asia. 
 
                 Editorial Commentary 
 
-- "Scandals or crimes?" 
 
Columnist Khalil Sawahiri writes on the back page of 
center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour 
(12/30):  "Ever since 9/11, the American media has 
been creative in the coinage of new media expressions, 
designed to cover American aggressiveness and its 
Jewish fundamentalist intentions and hide its military 
and criminal tendencies..  The most serious lie of all 
is that of fighting terrorism, a loose term that has 
come to mean fighting the resistance in Palestine, 
Iraq, Afghanistan and other part of the world. 
Resisting occupation is now terrorism, while America 
has launched its own terror campaign to fight Islamic 
terrorism, and so the lies get mixed up with the 
truths, leaving the American people unable to 
determine what is right and what is wrong..  The 
American era is a time of crimes, scandals and 
horrors; the era of the empire of lies that are bound 
to be exposed to the misled American people." 
 
-- "The Asia disaster and America's suspicious stand" 
 
Columnist Ibrahim Absi writes on the op-ed page of 
center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour 
(12/30):  "Because the assistance declared by filthy 
rich countries, like the United States and the 
European Union, was not up to standard in relation to 
the horrible disaster that befell a number of south 
and south-east Asian countries . the U.N. assistance 
official lost his temper and accused these countries 
of being thrifty and irresponsible..  How can we 
understand the U.S. claims of being responsible for 
peace and security in this world, when the tsunami 
disaster has threatened peace and security in South 
East Asia?  How can we understand the fact that the 
United States sets up military airlifts costing 
billions of dollars to strike one country or another, 
but keeps quiet when it comes to salvaging what is 
left of these Asian countries that were struck by a 
first-class humanitarian disaster?  Maybe the United 
States only moves when it has a vital interest to 
serve..  We have the right to ask such questions.  We 
also have the right to demand that, after this 
disaster, the United States stops its talk about 
moral, humanitarian and democratic responsibility 
towards the people of this world, since it deals its 
humanitarian positions on double standards: one for 
the Anglo-Saxon people, including the Zionists, and 
the other for the Muslim people, who are not worth 
helping as far as the United States is concerned. 
Having said that, why do the other Asian and Muslim 
countries themselves not move to come to the aid of 
the suffering Asian countries, since the United States 
refuses to provide ample assistance?" 
 
-- "The massacres of Iraqi police .. why?" 
 
Columnist Jamil Nimri writes on the back page of 
independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm 
(12/30):  "With ease, an armed group surrounds the 
Iraqi national guard, captures 12 of them and shoots 
them in cold blood.  This was one of many operations 
that happened on the same day, killing tens of these 
poor Iraqis..  Exterminating the Iraqi police and 
forces is not going to nullify the occupation, rather 
it will sustain it in view of the lack of any 
alternative authority that might take over.  Many 
people view the bloodshed of Iraqis as legitimate 
because the Iraqi force that is being built is viewed 
as being pro-occupation.  This is a simplification 
that violates the basic truths of the status quo.  The 
resistance is a combination and a variety of people, 
some of whom belong to terrorist groups with no 
potential political agenda..  So, let us not list 
these easy massacres against the national guard and 
policemen under the title of the resistance..  After 
all, empowering the Iraqi forces and imposing domestic 
security will eliminate the need for the occupation 
forces.  True, the resistance is gaining strength and 
expanding, but the bloody targeting of Iraqis serves 
nothing, rather it entrenches the division and racial 
hatred." 
HALE