US embassy cable - 03AMMAN839

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 000839 
 
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 GOLDRICH 
PARIS FOR O'FRIEL 
USCINCCENT//CCPA, USCENTCOM REAR MACDILL AFB FL 
STATE PASS TO AID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
 
TAGS: KMDR JO 
SUBJECT: SPECIAL MEDIA REACTION ON SECRETARY POWELL'S 
UN SPEECH 
 
                     News Reports 
 
-- Secretary Powell's U.N. speech yesterday received 
extensive coverage in the Jordanian press, though it 
competed for front-page space with the announcement of 
Jordan's general budget for the year 2003.  All daily 
newspapers carried wire service reports about the 
Secretary's speech and featured photos of the 
 
SIPDIS 
Secretary during his speech.  Reports were highlighted 
 
SIPDIS 
under banner color headlines.  Further details and 
photos related to the Secretary's presentation were 
carried in inside pages in all papers. 
 
-- Apart from two commentaries, no editorial 
commentary was yet noted on the topic (note: 
Secretary Powell's presentation began at 5:30 p.m. 
 
SIPDIS 
local time, concluding after the filing time of most 
of Jordan's opinion writers.) 
 
 
Banner Headlines 
 
-- Al-Dustour:  "Powell presents `information' that 
Baghdad describes as `allegations'". 
-- Al-Arab Al-Yawm:  "Powell presents `the pretexts' 
for launching the war, while the Security Council 
continues to be divided". 
-- Al-Rai:  "Powell's report accuses Iraq of owning 
banned weapons and of dealing with Al-Qa'eda". 
-- Jordan Times:  "Powell presents US case for war". 
 
                 Editorial Commentary 
 
-- "Unconvincing evidence" 
 
Centrist, influential among the elite English daily 
Jordan Times (02/06) editorializes:  "Powell's 75- 
minute presentation contained little that was new. 
Many people will question the authenticity of these 
documents, and their mere presentation is unlikely to 
change many minds.  Yet, even if we give the United 
States the benefit of the doubt, these new elements 
did not amount to convincing evidence of Iraqi non- 
compliance, or that Iraq presents any real or imminent 
danger to any party.  On Powell's claims that Iraq has 
close links with Al-Qa'eda, we have to wonder why it 
is that reports from all of the leading intelligence 
agencies over the past two years consistently 
contradict this view.  Powell presented precious 
little evidence in this regard, but made allegations 
which can only increase irrational fears about 
terrorism at a time when the war on terrorism is 
faltering precisely because the United States has 
incomprehensibly shifted the focus to Iraq.  The 
battle against terrorism requires serious attention to 
the root causes that fuel support for such violence. 
Creating new myths about `evil' individuals in order 
to achieve a political goal does not help, especially 
when the United States has a poor record of catching 
such individuals once it has built-up their 
reputations with sensational charges.  We have every 
reason to believe that the Iraqi crisis can be solved 
by peaceful means and insist that all parties, 
including the United States and Iraq, should work 
tirelessly for that outcome." 
 
-- "A few hours before saying `I got it'" 
 
Columnist Jawad Bashiti writes on the op-ed page of 
independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm 
(02/06):  "Powell's evidence is aimed to convince 
those who are skeptical and unsure about the crime of 
the twenty-first century that the United States is 
preparing to commit against the Iraqis and against 
humanity.  The world has only to show the slightest 
bit of confidence and belief in Powell's evidence to 
be dragged, willingly or not, into a crime that is 
exactly like the Hiroshima crime in terms of the 
perpetrator, the tools, the victims and the 
consequences.  The Bush administration has no other 
means to convince the American people of the necessity 
of this war except to scare and frighten it of the 
possibility of a new terrorist attack by Al-Qa'eda 
with chemical and biological weapons supplied by 
Saddam Hussein.  The Americans must be made to view 
this war as a preventative measure.  Without this link 
between Saddam Hussein's weapons and Osama bin Laden's 
terrorism, the Bush administration would not be able 
to frighten its citizens and then convince them that 
war is inevitable." 
 
-- "A long American report" 
 
Columnist Mohammad Kawash writes on the back page of 
independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm 
(02/06):  "The charges presented by the U.S. Secretary 
of State in his long report were weak and unconvincing 
to make a cover for a U.S.-launched war against Iraq. 
Despite this, we believe that Secretary Powell's 
presentation was the leader towards announcement of 
imminent war on Iraq.  The United States must keep in 
mind that Arab and western countries want to stop the 
war and want to resolve the crisis peacefully, 
diplomatically and politically." 
GNEHM