US embassy cable - 05MUSCAT398

UNCLAS MUSCAT 000398 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/ARPI (TROBERTS), NEA/PPD (CWHITTLESEY), NEA/P 
(FFINVER), INR/R/MR 
LONDON FOR GOLDRICH 
PARIS FOR ZEYA 
USCENTCOM FOR PLUSH 
FOREIGN PRESS CENTER/ASILAS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO, KMDR, OIIP, MU, Public Affairs 
SUBJECT: AMERICAN HUMAN RIGHTS, AN ARAB SUMMIT AND THE ISRAELI- 
PALESTINIAN CONFLICT 
 
 
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2004 Human Rights Report - Oman Responds 
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1. On March 5, the Privately-owned Arabic daily "Al-Watan" 
carried an editorial by Atif Abul Jawad, an Egyptian journalist 
entitled "The Sad Joke": 
 
"The 2004 Human Rights Report published by the U.S. Department of 
State is an expos on the status of human rights world wide. 
However, one of the unfortunate things about the report that 
severely tarnishes its credibility is that it harshly criticizes 
Iraqi soldiers for violating the human rights of Iraqi citizens 
during the initial American invasion.  Ironically, the report 
does not include a single sentence about the heinous human rights 
abuses that Iraqi prisoners suffered at the hands of U.S. 
soldiers.  America acknowledges no responsibility for those 
actions.  America's failure to take responsibility for the 
actions of her soldiers means that the 2004 Human Rights Report 
does not have the moral standing that previous reports have had." 
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American Presence, Arab Resistance 
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2. The government-owned Arabic daily "Oman" published an 
editorial on March 5 entitled "American Initiatives in the Region 
between Acceptance and Rejection": 
 
"Why are Arab political leaders so passive about the American 
initiatives in the region?  Why do our leaders want to satisfy 
America by any means?  Are they afraid that standing up to 
America could jeopardize their ability to remain in power? 
America is engaging in psychological warfare against the region 
by pressuring Iran, and causing Syria to announce its 
dissatisfaction with reforms in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. .  It is 
clear that the United States is a great military and economic 
power. However this does not mean that it has the right to use 
force to make the world conform to its wishes.  Power has its 
limitations and America has exceeded them.  Our leaders need not 
confront America in the military sense; rather they should 
initiate serious dialogues that move them away from their current 
policy of quiet appeasement.  Arab countries must not compete to 
for America's favorable attentions at the expense of their 
greater interests.  We -- Arab Countries -- must unify and stand 
with Syria, Lebanon and Iraq at the upcoming Arab summit in 
Algeria, against American initiatives in the region." 
 
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Equal Threats, Unequal Response 
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3. On March 6, "Al-Watan" published an editorial by Omani 
journalist Saud Al-Harthy entitled, "Political Duplicity is clear 
on the Iranian Nuclear Issue": 
 
"The American administration should ask itself why its reaction 
to North Korea's nuclear program is different from its reaction 
to Iran's program.  Some experts believe that America would never 
have waged war against Iraq if it actually believed that Iraq had 
nuclear weapons.  Hence, some experts ask whether the U.S. hopes 
to use the pretext of nuclear weapons as an excuse to attack 
Iran. Iran may not be as big a threat as the U.S. says." 
 
BALTIMORE