US embassy cable - 05AMMAN7990

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 007990 
 
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 TSOU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
 
TAGS: KMDR JO 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON MIDDLE EAST 
 
 
                        Summary 
 
-- Lead stories in all papers today, October 6, 
continue to highlight stories related to developments 
in Iraq and the Palestinian territories.  All papers 
highlight reports about King Abdullah's mediation 
efforts to set a meeting between the Palestinian 
President Mahmoud Abbas and the Israeli Prime Minister 
Sharon on or about October 10. 
 
                 Editorial Commentary 
 
-- "The trick of reform" 
 
Columnist Manar Rashwani writes on the op-ed page of 
independent, centrist Al-Ghad Arabic daily (10/06): 
"What do we mean by reform and how do we implement it? 
The most familiar and granted answer is represented in 
the word 'democracy', but is it really democracy? 
Let's say that it is the correct answer and that it is 
the key to everything we have wanted and been waiting 
for.  Here's another question: what is the democracy 
that we seek to implement really?  Is it just 
legislative and municipal elections in accordance with 
the concept of democracy that the United States is 
promoting in our countries and that yielded nothing 
but a model of 'illiberal democracy'?  Then again, 
what about our endless debate with regard to the 
relationship between Islam and democracy?  This last 
question is part of the bigger and present issue of 
the role of religion in the Arab and Muslim society, a 
matter that will dictate posing another question about 
the form of Arab reform: will it be secular or 
religious, extremist or moderate?  The best answer to 
the question of reform may just be democracy, with all 
its features, particularly respect for human rights 
and basic freedoms, as well as political pluralism and 
the majority rule.  Yet, we must wonder:  what are we 
to do with regard to human rights at the level of 
minority groups, be they ethnic, religious or 
sectarian?  And what are we to do about poverty and 
unemployment, the responsibility for which we put on 
the shoulders of our governments that surrendered to 
the so-called 'economic reform' programs?  Can we 
really declare a unilateral disengagement from the IMF 
and the World Bank?  It seems that any attempt to find 
serious answers to the above questions will yield 
disappointment.  We allege that all so-called 
'reformist' Arab movements are no more than attempts 
to affect change that does not necessarily mean 
reform.  In fact, they may very well lead to the re- 
creation of oppression and tyranny under new names and 
with unfamiliar faces.  Our proof of this allegation 
is the absence of a genuine and comprehensive Arab 
reform project that includes all social, economic, 
political and cultural aspects and presents a 
futuristic vision capable of accurately identifying 
human values". 
 
-- "Too much talk, too little deeds" 
 
Chief Editor Ayman Safadi writes on the back-page of 
independent, centrist Arabic daily Al-Ghad (10/06): 
"The Arabs fear Iran's influence in Iraq and it is a 
legitimate and justified fear.  Yet, the 
responsibility for the growth of the Iranian presence 
in Iraq is borne, in part, by the Arabs who were 
absent from Iraq at the same time when Iran was 
realizing the opportunity it had to strengthen its 
presence there.  Iran succeeded in benefiting from the 
dismantling of the Iraqi state following the ousting 
of the former regime....  In return, the Arab 
countries exerted no effort towards developing its 
relations with the new Iraq.  The Arabs adopted the 
same old tradition in their policy towards Iraq that 
they had followed with so many other issues:  too much 
talk, too little deeds.  The Arabs did not bother to 
make any initiatives towards Baghdad.  As for the 
Iraqis, they felt let down by their neighbors, a 
feeling that grew into skepticism and doubt of the 
Arab countries' intentions towards them and worry of 
any Arab initiative that intervenes in their affairs. 
After almost two and half years since the fall of the 
Saddam Hussein regime, the Arab League is making a 
move towards Iraq in an effort to convene a general 
Iraqi conference that seeks to achieve national 
reconciliation.  The move is late, but not so much so 
that it is impossible to achieve results towards 
getting Iraq out of its crisis.  The Iraqis will 
appreciate the initiative if the Arab League deals 
with them on the basis of respect for their self- 
determination right and of a realistic approach that 
the past is gone and buried....  The Arab world is now 
paying the price for its delay in forming its policies 
on Iraq in accordance with the new facts on the ground 
following the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime.  The 
opportunity is still here to set things right, and 
yet, any effort to put the Iraqi-Arab relations back 
on the right track requires an Arab realization that 
the Iraqis will only accept any Arab role if it 
clearly states respect for the right of the Iraqis to 
choose the future they want". 
 
-- "Karen Hughes?!" 
 
Columnist Amin Mashaqbah writes on the op-ed page of 
leading semi-official Arabic daily Al-Rai (10/06): 
"We say here that the problem does not lie with the 
American people but with the policies in effect in the 
Middle East, particularly those adopted after 9/11. 
The new empire has been declared in the Middle East 
with clear and open strategic objectives for everyone 
to see, starting with the disarmament of weapons of 
mass destruction, through the fight against terrorism 
and extremism and the removal of dictatorial regimes, 
and ending with control over oil sources and the 
preservation of Israel's security and survival.  Thus 
Afghanistan and Iraq were occupied and the new 
American model for democracy was established.  And 
ever since the arrival of the conservative right wing 
into power, the Zionist ideologies were linked to 
American policies in the region.  This is dividing 
line that must be recognized.  The Zionist agenda 
controls the American decision-making process.  As an 
Arab citizen, I'm not against American interests, but 
I am against the loss of peoples' legitimate rights 
and self-determination rights.  The American policies 
are making Karen Hughes' mission of improving the U.S. 
dark image very difficult....  They say that they 
understand the Palestinian issue and talk about the 
need to establish a Palestinian state, but the U.S. 
administration has set free Sharon's hand to wipe out 
all forms of legitimate resistance for the Palestinian 
people on the pretext of fighting terrorism.... 
Hughes says that no one wants war, but who was it that 
launched the war on Iraq and continues to wage it? 
Who started the war on Afghanistan?  Who is supporting 
the war in Palestine and the Occupied Territories?  We 
are against terrorism, form and content, but who 
created the terrorism and the extremism other than the 
American policies, actions and wars in the region. 
Therefore, the majority of the people in this region 
believe that improving the American image cannot be 
done except by improving and changing the U.S. 
policies on the ground." 
HALE