US embassy cable - 05AMMAN49

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 000049 
 
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 IRAQ, TSUNAMI AND THE 
MIDDLE EAST 
 
                        Summary 
 
-- Lead stories in all papers today, January 4, 
highlight a variety of domestic, regional and 
international issues.  On the regional front, reports 
focus on the Iraqi elections and the Iraqi Defense 
Minister's remarks "not ruling out" their 
postponement.  Reports also highlight the "beginnings 
of unrest" among the Israeli settlers as Israel's 
withdrawal nears.  Stories continue to report on the 
aftermath of the Asian tsunami. 
 
                 Editorial Commentary 
 
-- "The Israelis are threatening unrest" 
 
Center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour 
editorial comments (01/04):  "Now it becomes apparent 
why Sharon had devised the unilateral plan to withdraw 
from Gaza Strip.  He wanted to present the withdrawal 
as a pure Israeli measure agreed upon by the Israelis 
for the higher good and benefit, and not as a measure 
that would otherwise indicate a peace agreement with 
the Palestinians or the implementation of the roadmap 
that was formulated by the United States in agreement 
with the European Union, Russia and the United 
Nations..  Listening to statements made by Israeli 
settlements heads of counsels shows the depth of their 
rejection and their readiness to wage a real battle 
against the withdrawal plan..  This crisis, which is 
threatening serious divisions, is happening when the 
main purpose is actually to achieve Israel's security 
and get rid of the burden of its presence in the Gaza 
Strip.  Imagine if the situation had to do with West 
Bank settlements or even establishing an independent 
Palestinian state with Jerusalem as the capital; a 
civil war would very much be possible..  All this is 
because of the political overbidding that took place 
in Israel in recent years, allowing politicians to 
achieve their popularity at the expense of Israel's 
real chance for establishing peace with the 
Palestinians and the entire Arab world.  We do not 
know and we do not care about the cost that the 
Israeli government is going to end up paying in return 
for altering impressions formed among the people of 
this region and the world with regard to the Israelis 
readiness or eligibility for making peace.  We do care 
however that the international community would realize 
the lie in claiming that the Palestinians are the ones 
who are obstructing peace." 
 
-- "The Arabs did not collect donations!" 
 
Chief editor Taher Udwan writes on the back page of 
independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm 
(01/04):  "The majority of victims that fell in the 
Sumatra earthquake are Muslims . and yet there were no 
calls from mosques, civil society institutions or 
charity organizations in the Arab countries asking for 
donations for these victims..  On the contrary, we 
heard some speakers take advantage of this disaster 
and channel it towards being redemption and celestial 
anger, as if those poor people of Asia have been 
preoccupied with living a life of sin!  Of course some 
Arab governments organized assistance, such as the 
Jordanian government.. But this is not enough.  The 
Arab reaction was deficient and inadequate to the 
scale of the humanitarian disaster that befell Asian 
people very close to Arabs and to Islam.  This 
deficiency shows to a large extent the damage 
inflicted upon the Muslim charity organizations in the 
Arab countries that suffered from extensive pressure 
and pursuits by the U.S. administration after the 9/11 
attacks, leading to the closure of well-known 
organizations that were involved in international 
assistance..  On the other hand, the frozen status of 
Arab communities and the absence of any role for the 
civil society institutions in them create a state of 
apathy and indifference, leading in turn to the 
proliferation of explanations that portray the victims 
of disasters as being punished." 
 
-- "What a shame" 
 
Columnist Nahed Hattar writes on the op-ed page of 
independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm 
(01/04):  "Ever since April 2003, we had been 
imploring the Jordanian government to envision the 
Iraqi situation and not to slip into a piecemeal view 
its policies vis--vis Iraq and not to follow in the 
footsteps of the Americans without seeing the road 
ahead.  We had said that Jordan's strategic interest 
lies in not acknowledging the political formations 
that were and are being established by the American 
occupation in Iraq..  We said and continue to say that 
the Iraqi resistance is rooted, escalating and 
organized, that it cannot be squashed and that there 
is no political solution without its involvement.  We 
had requested so many times that lines of 
communication be open with the resisters, particularly 
with the major force behind the Iraqi resistance, 
namely Al-Baath party, and that political coordination 
with Jordan's traditional allies in Iraq continue, in 
order to safeguard Jordan's strategic interests in 
Iraq.  The Americans marched from one formula to 
another and from one failure to another, and the 
Jordanian government followed in their footsteps until 
it has finally hit a wall..  The Jordanian government 
could have had great influence in Iraq had it not 
followed the Americans, had it presented independent 
initiatives, had it provided assistance and moral 
support to the Iraqi people, and had it opened 
communications with the Baathists, the Islamists, etc. 
But it did not.  It did not even condemn the mass 
extermination operations against the people of 
Fallujah at the hands of the occupation and its 
temporary government." 
HALE