US embassy cable - 05MUSCAT560

UNCLAS MUSCAT 000560 
 
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: MEDIA REACTION: AMERICAN ATTEMPTS TO DIVIDE ARABS, LOSS 
OF U.S. CREDIBILITY 
 
 
----------------- 
The Wounds Of War 
----------------- 
 
1. On April 2, the government-owned Arabic daily "Oman" carried 
an editorial entitled "The Third Sorrow": 
 
"We have healed from our first wound which was Iraq, we are still 
smarting from the situation in Darfur, but now it seems a third 
wound is being inflicted on us Arabs as a collective.  This most 
recent wound is the UN Security Council resolution to convict any 
person found to be a war criminal in the International Court of 
Justice, including those who participated in the war in Darfur. 
However the resolution does not take into account long-standing 
issues and cultural rifts in Sudan.  There is much concern that 
this resolution will do more harm than good.  The Security 
Council failed to realize that this resolution creates an 
opportunity for individuals to seek personal retribution simply 
by claiming that a person is a war criminal.  This resolution has 
already begun to divide Sudan, further igniting the flames of 
hatred that exist there, by offering an opportunity for revenge." 
 
-------------------------- 
Resolving Our Own Problems 
--------------------------- 
 
2. The privately-owned Arabic daily "al-Watan" published an 
editorial on April 4 entitled "Events in our Region": 
 
"Sudan has recently become the source of great discussion in the 
international arena, replacing Syria who had been at the top of 
the list for approximately two months.  Prior to Syria, Iraq, 
Saudi Arabia, and Libya topped the list.  The reason for Sudan's 
top position on the list is that people in our region are more 
aware of what is happening around them, and are calling on the 
international community to act.  We know that Washington is a 
superpower that wants to force its plans on the region.  We also 
know that Washington wants to divide the Arab world politically. 
To avoid Washington's intervention, we should address the issues 
that effect our region proactively." 
 
--------------------------------- 
No WMD's Lead to Lost Credibility 
--------------------------------- 
 
3. On April 4, the government-owned Arabic daily "Oman" carried 
an editorial entitled "When You Lose Credibility": 
 
"A few days ago the Americans confessed to having put forth 
misleading CIA reports that stated that Iraq possessed weapons of 
mass destruction.  The Americans, including President George 
Bush, insisted that they were going to find the weapons sooner or 
later and tried earnestly to assure the rest of the world the 
weapons existed.  However, this confession proves again the lack 
of credibility of the U.S. in regard to the war in Iraq.  The 
misleading information that is being referred to is the 
information that former Secretary of State Colin Powell provided 
in his famous appearance at the UN Security Council days before 
the war started.  Millions of people watched this broadcast along 
with images of the locations where the U.S. claimed that weapons 
of mass destruction were located.  It is not surprising that 
everything the U.S. said was wrong." 
 
BALTIMORE