US embassy cable - 05MUSCAT1512

UNCLAS MUSCAT 001512 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/ARPI, NEA/PPD, NEA/P, INR/R/MR 
 
LONDON FOR TSOU 
PARIS FOR ZEYA 
USCENTCOM FOR PLUSH 
FOREIGN PRESS CENTER FOR SILAS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO, KMDR, OIIP, MU, Public Affairs 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: NOBEL PRIZE, IRAN, MIDDLE EAST 
 
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No Bull: Nobel Is Noble 
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1. The privately-owned Arabic daily "al-Watan" published an 
editorial on October 9 entitled "Has Alfred Nobel's Mission Been 
Achieved?": 
"Granting the Nobel Peace Prize to the International Atomic 
Energy Agency and its director, Dr. Mohammed al-Baradei, is in 
itself a noble message.  However, we have noticed that there are 
a few world leaders who try to subvert the IAEA's mission by 
saying that God has inspired them to wage war, or by saying that 
preemptive strikes are required to prevent terrorism.  The 
awarding of the Nobel Prize should reinvigorate hope in 
international organizations like the IAEA so that they can work 
for the welfare of the entire world.  The Middle East should be 
cleansed of all weapons of mass destruction, and the first target 
should be Israel's nuclear program." 
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The Pyongyang Model 
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2. "Oman," the government-owned Arabic daily, ran an editorial on 
October 9 entitled "An Arab Initiative For Solving The Iranian 
Nuclear Dilemma": 
"The Iranian nuclear dilemma has reached a critical stage.  The 
Americans and the Israelis appear to have abandoned any 
possibility of a settlement through dialogue.  Even the Arabs, 
who are nearest to this issue, seem content to merely express 
their concerns...  In order to get out of this stalemate, the 
Arabs should call for a six-party dialogue in the mold of the 
North Korean negotiations.  The six parties would be the Arab 
group, Europe, the United States, Turkey, Russia, and Iran.  Such 
an Arab initiative might be the gate through which peace is 
achieved...  It is true that the Iranian case is different from 
the Korean situation.  But Iran can continue to threaten the 
region for more than a hundred years, and this is a strategic 
fact which should not be ignored." 
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Where There Is Smoke 
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3. On October 8, "al-Watan" featured an editorial under the 
headline "Extinguishing The Fire In Iraq Doesn't Mean Setting The 
Middle East Ablaze": 
 
"It seems that the lessons of the bloody invasion of Iraq have 
not produced stability or any other positive results in the area. 
Despite this, we hope that America and its allies are successful 
in protecting themselves from terrorist conspiracies.  However, 
all indicators suggest that Washington is focusing now on the 
targeting of Syria and Iran, mostly to satisfy Israel.  If Bush's 
popularity continues to plummet, it is possible that he will use 
the security of the Middle East as a tool to buttress the 
political campaigns of his party.  But it is absurd to try and 
put out the fire in Iraq by igniting blazes in the rest of the 
Middle East." 
 
BALTIMORE