US embassy cable - 05MUSCAT842

UNCLAS MUSCAT 000842 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/ARPI, NEA/PPD, NEA/P, INR/R/MR 
 
LONDON FOR GOLDRICH 
PARIS FOR ZEYA 
USCENTCOM FOR PLUSH 
FOREIGN PRESS CENTER FOR ASILAS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO, KMDR, OIIP, MU, Public Affairs 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: DEMOCRACY, MEDIA MISTAKES, AND IRAQ 
 
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Speed Limits 
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1. The government-owned Arabic daily "Oman" carried an editorial 
on May 17 entitled "The Limits of Democracy": 
 
"The trend among most societies nowadays is to concentrate on the 
large-scale spread of democracy.  Public participation, freedom 
of thought and expression, and the preservation of individual 
rights and duties are noble aspirations, but must be accomplished 
without dictatorial pressure.  The limits on democracy accepted 
in Arab and Islamic countries are those endorsed by the people 
themselves.  Freedom, security, stability, and positive public 
participation should be the goals, not a canned democratic system 
imposed by external forces with suspect motives." 
 
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Mistakes Were Made 
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2. On same day, the privately-owned Arabic daily "al-Watan" 
published an editorial by the Egyptian writer Abdullah Hamood 
entitled "No Smoke Without Fire": 
 
"After everyone in the world heard about the Quran's desecration 
at the hands of American troops in Guantanamo, `Newsweek' 
published an apology saying that it made a mistake, and that the 
U.S. military investigation failed to find any evidence 
supporting the allegations.  Based on the angry reactions of 
Muslims in different parts of the world, we must ask the 
question: is there any smoke without fire?  Did the incident 
actually take place?  If so, many Americans will feel that the 
only `mistake' was in publishing the story." 
 
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Fingers On Iraq's Pulse 
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3. "Al-Watan" also ran an editorial on May 21 under the headline 
"Hidden Hands in Iraq": 
 
"Given the controversy stirred up by the publishing of Saddam 
Hussein's pictures in a London tabloid, it seems that there are 
hidden hands trying to move Iraq off course.  Perhaps this is an 
effort to distract attention from the recent losses suffered by 
the invaders.  Whatever the reason, these hidden hands are helped 
by political realities on the ground: the new Iraqi government 
cannot provide security as promised, and the foreign troops could 
not establish stability as prescribed by international law." 
 
STEWART