US embassy cable - 05AMMAN9453

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 009453 
 
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 EGYPT, IRAQ AND MIDDLE EAST 
 
                        Summary 
 
-- Lead story in all papers today, December 7, 
continues to highlight reports related to Saddam 
Hussein's trial.  Front-page reports feature color 
photos of a defiant Saddam with headlines quoting his 
"go to hell" remarks to the court. 
 
      Editorial Commentary on Egyptian Elections 
 
-- "After the success of the Muslim Brotherhood in 
Egypt" 
 
Chief Editor Taher Adwan writes on the back-page of 
independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm 
(12/06):  "Reactions in the Arab media to the success 
of the Muslim Brotherhood in attaining second place in 
the [Egyptian] parliamentary elections after the 
ruling party indicates the importance of what is going 
on, not only because Egypt is the largest Arab 
country, but also because the Muslim Brotherhood is 
not just an Egyptian movement, but an Arab and global 
one..  This is not the first time that the Muslim 
Brotherhood attains parliamentary seats in Egypt. 
They have been there as independents or as part of 
other party lists.  Yet, this is the first time that 
they are present in their own capacity as the 
Brotherhood, having waged the electioneering battle 
with their own slogans and their own Egyptian 
constituents..  Furthermore, this success by the 
Brotherhood in the largest Arab country has not this 
time stirred any negative reactions from Washington or 
western capitals that are preoccupied with fighting 
'radical Islam'.  On the contrary, there was more than 
one indication from the U.S. administration, most 
important of which is Rice's remarks, to the effect 
that America does not oppose the presence of Islamic 
'extremists' in positions of authority if they abide 
by the rules of the democracy game.  It seems that the 
Arab world is on the threshold of a new era where the 
Brotherhood takes up parliamentary and political 
positions.  This leads to the conclusion that the 
Brotherhood will have a political role to play in 
Iraq, as well as in Palestine since Hamas announced 
its participation in the municipal and legislative 
elections.  If we add to that the Brotherhood's role 
in Egypt and its elections, then hints of America's 
'courting' of the Brotherhood in Syria cannot go 
unnoticed as Washington seeks for popular opposition 
to the Syrian regime..  In short, all pretexts for 
banning the Brotherhood from taking part in the 
political reform process are unconvincing.  Where 
would political pluralism be then?" 
 
-- "The Islamists and the duality of involving and 
excluding them" 
 
Daily columnist Rakan Majali writes on the back-page 
of center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour 
(12/06):  "In the beginning of his second term in 
office, President Bush expressed admiration for the 
ideas of Jewish political thinker Sharinski of 
imposing democracy as the only solution for the 
problems of the Middle East, and started to show 
enthusiasm and even obsession about the birth of a new 
Middle East under his administration and started to 
call for in-depth and comprehensive changes in the 
Arab and Muslim worlds, considering democracy a ready- 
made magic recipe that could be exported to societies 
in isolation of their specificity, circumstances and 
nature.  Although President Bush did not backtrack 
from his demands for democracy for the region, he has 
started reconsidering and recalculating the 
consequences of implementing democracy, particularly 
in view of the success achieved by the Islamists 
through the ballot boxes..  Judging from the elections 
in Egypt, it is clear that the U.S. administration has 
started in recent months to conduct direct and 
indirect contacts with the Islamists in the Arab world 
and to convince the ruling regimes to involve them in 
the elections in a limited matter and under the 
ceiling of the ruling authority and through specific 
constraints that would achieve their presence in the 
political scene but without allowing the repetition of 
the massive success of the Islamists in Algeria." 
 
             Editorial Commentary on Iraq 
 
-- "Cherchez the dollar!" 
Daily columnist Nahed Hattar writes on the back-page 
of independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al- 
Yawm (12/06):  "The latest scandal of the American 
'reconstruction' of Iraq is this official program to 
publish paid advertisements in the form of articles 
and news reports praising the occupiers in the 'free' 
Iraqi media.  The Iraqi media, under Saddam Hussein, 
was totalitarian and hardline and expressed the one 
viewpoint of the authority.  That was known and clear 
and you could accept it or simply ignore it.  It did 
not fool you.  But the media 'freedom' that was 
brought by the American occupation is based on 
deceit..  This funding program does not apply to Iraq 
alone.  The first years of the third millennium have 
witnessed an extensive plan of media promotion for the 
American empire under liberalistic slogans.  This plan 
included financing the establishment of media 
organizations, implicitly and explicitly, as well as 
the open and declared programs that organize visits 
and courses in the United States for Arab journalists. 
This multi-faceted explicit and implicit activity has 
led to the rise of the phenomenon of clear support for 
the colonization and occupation in the Arab media and 
culture and animosity for the Arab national liberation 
movement." 
 
   Editorial Commentary on Palestinian Israeli Peace 
                        Process 
 
-- "Netanya operation: a necessary response to 
Sharon's practices" 
 
Columnist Yaser Za'atreh writes on the op-ed page of 
center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour 
(12/07):  "It was not strange that the Palestinian 
Authority was quick to condemn the Netanya operation, 
as it is required to do so by means of the agreements 
and pledges it made.  However, the denunciation by any 
other Arab party for the operation seems neither 
logical nor acceptable.  Our understanding of the 
official Palestinian condemnation of the operation 
does not in any way eliminate our rejection of the 
prevailing approach to Sharon's program that continues 
to advance and move along without any convincing 
reactions or responses..  Under these circumstances, 
the opposition forces had to have a reaction and a 
response..  As for the [Palestinian] Authority and its 
reaction to what is going on, the situation seems to 
frightening, because it is doing nothing, neither to 
confront the episodes of assassinations and arrests, 
not to defy the episodes of violations related to the 
settlements, the taking of land and the continued 
building of the wall." 
HALE