US embassy cable - 05AMMAN634

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 000634 
 
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 PRESIDENT BUSH'S 
INAUGURATION 
 
                 Editorial Commentary 
 
-- "The inaugural speech of the second term" 
 
Daily columnist Urayb Rintawi writes on the op-ed page 
of center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour 
(01/22): "We would have liked to believe what Bush 
said in his inaugural speech, because freedom and 
democracy are values for which the people of this 
region have yearned since the end of Ottoman rule. 
But what we see in Iraq and Palestine, and what we 
hear about American collusion in unjust practices by 
most Arab and Muslim regimes under the pretext of 
fighting terrorism, makes us convinced that these 
words are mere ideological smokescreens used by the 
second Bush administration to cover the ugly practices 
of Washington and its allies against all Arabs." 
 
-- "The freedom of Bush Jr. and the freedom of the 
world" 
 
Daily columnist Nahed Hattar writes on the op-ed page 
of independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al- 
Yawm (01/23): "Bush Jr. announced that he would devote 
the years of his second term to spreading `freedom' in 
the world.  Given the heinous crimes that Americans 
have committed against the freedom of the people of 
Iraq and Palestine and other states that are afflicted 
by American aggression, this sounds like a bad joke. 
But Bush Jr. means what he says.  He is determined to 
spread the freedom of the American Empire to enslave 
nations.   Bush Jr. dreams of freedom for American 
troops to invade `rebellious' countries.  He dreams of 
freedom for American troops to commit mass murder, 
mass arrests, torture and destruction..  He dreams of 
freedom for American capitalism to destroy all 
restrictions and borders that protect national 
markets.  He dreams of freedom for American barbaric 
`culture' to nullify other cultures and to Americanize 
the world..  He dreams of freedom for America's 
immoral support for Zionism and its crimes against the 
Palestinian people..  Yes, Bush Jr. dreams of the free 
American capitalism over a planet of slaves.  That is 
why the freedom of the world means, first and 
foremost, standing up to America's freedom and 
defeating it by resistance, by boycotts, by spreading 
the word.  Reining in the White House has now become a 
global necessity." 
 
-- "Bush, the world president" 
 
Daily columnist Fahd Fanek writes on the back page of 
semi-official, influential Arabic daily Al-Rai 
(01/23): "What is new in Bush's speech is that it 
assumes that he is president of the whole world, not 
only of the United States.  He has a divine program to 
change the world and wants to spread democracy and 
freedom in the entire world.  In this sense, his 
speech amounted to the declaration of the American 
Empire that would lord it over the six continents and 
five oceans.  But President Bush has no mandate to 
change the world.  His attempt to change one state, 
Iraq, has so far been an utter failure.  If he wants 
to treat the world as he treats Iraq, most likely the 
world would refuse, since it has not asked Bush to 
save it from itself. As for the outlaw states to which 
Bush refers, one fears that the United States under 
Bush has become one of them.  Bush would do well to 
remember that half of the Americans wanted to change 
him, and that most of the people of the world reject 
his arrogant and individualistic policies..  But, 
finally, Bush acknowledged the widening gap between 
the United States and its allies, and promised to 
bridge it through dialogue and cooperation.  He also 
promised to work for peace in the Middle East.  It 
remains for his deeds to match his words." 
 
-- "The New president of the United States" 
 
Columnist Aida Najjar writes on the op-ed page of 
center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour 
(01/24):  "I listened carefully to President Bush's 
inaugural speech.  I found nothing new.  In fact, I 
found that the Arabs had been placed in his `little 
pocket' and moreover, that the entire world has been 
set under the rule of the American empire!  I had 
thought that the `new' president would learn from the 
`old' president, would acknowledge the wrong and go 
back to the path of righteousness.  This did not 
happen.  His threats towards us, Arabs, were very 
clear, as they were also towards the `evil' states, 
and he still insists on interpreting the concept of 
freedom his own way..  The world is going to be more 
dangerous under the old-new Bush administration at a 
time when the poor are looking for food, health and 
education and when people under occupation, as in 
Palestine and Iraq, are looking for security and peace 
to achieve a life where there is real freedom and 
democracy, and not according to American concepts." 
 
-- "The holy missions of Bush and Zarqawi" 
 
Daily columnist Bater Wardam writes on the op-ed page 
of center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour 
(01/25): "If I were to address one question to 
President Bush, I would ask him: `do you truly believe 
all what you say about your role in spreading freedom 
and democracy in the world?' I believe that his answer 
to this question would show the truth about the 
mindset of the U.S. President and his way of thinking. 
Most people around George Bush affirm that he believes 
himself to have been chosen by God for a holy mission, 
to spread democracy and fight terror as defined by 
American Zionist criteria.  He therefore believes that 
all his actions are virtuous, and that he cannot be in 
error even when he causes the death of hundreds of 
thousands of innocent people.  May God help the people 
of this region and the world against the holy missions 
of George Bush and Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi, which will 
only bring destruction, and may God grant us the 
courage to confront both projects in every field." 
HALE