US embassy cable - 03ABUDHABI1229

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 001229 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP; NEA/PPD; NEA/RA; INR 
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA 
USCINCCENT FOR POLAD 
LONDON FOR GOLDRICH; PARIS FOR O'FRIEL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OIIP, KMDR, TC 
SUBJECT:  MEDIA REACTION:  IRAQ, PRESIDENT BUSH'S REMARKS ON THE 
ROADMAP, AND AFGHANISTAN. 
 
1.  SUMMARY:  PRESIDENT BUSH'S MARCH 14 REMARKS ON THE ROADMAP 
FOR MIDDLE EAST PEACE GENERATED EXTENSIVE COVERAGE IN LOCAL AND 
REGIONAL MEDIA.  "AL-ITTIHAD" DESCRIBED THE REMARKS AS A RENEWAL 
OF HOPE FOR ENDING THE SUFFERING OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE. 
CONVERSELY, AN "AL-KHALEEJ" EDITORIAL BELIEVES THE REMARKS MERELY 
REPRESENT A POISONED CARROT ON THE EVE OF A U.S. ATTACK AGAINST 
IRAQ.  FURTHER EDITORIALS COMMENTED ON THE SITUATION FACING THE 
U.S., WHICH SEEMS TO BE THE ONLY COUNTRY FOR WAR AGAINST IRAQ. 
SIMILARLY, AN 'AKHBAR AL ARAB' EDITORIAL DESCRIBED THE U.S. AS 
'ISOLATED' IN ITS DETERMINATION FOR WAR.  ON A MUCH NEGLECTED 
TOPIC, A 'GULF NEWS' EDITORIAL CHARACTERIZES AFGHANISTAN AS 'THE 
STATE FORGOTTEN.'  FINALLY, DR. TARIQ SAYF TELLS SADDAM TO "GO TO 
HELL."  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  COMMENTING ON THE MARCH 14 REMARKS OF PRESIDENT BUSH AND 
PRIME MINISTER BLAIR ON THE ROADMAP TO MIDDLE EAST PEACE, SHARJAH- 
BASED PAN-ARAB "AL KHALEEJ" EDITORIALIZED ON 3/15: 
 
"... THE STATEMENTS OF BUSH AND BLAIR LAST NIGHT ON PALESTINE 
REPRESENT ONLY A POISONED CARROT ... TO PAVE THE WAY FOR A 
DESTRUCTIVE WAR AGAINST IRAQ AND THE ENTIRE ARAB WORLD ... 
WHOEVER WANTS TO RE-IMPOSE THE DARKNESS OF OCCUPATION WOULD 
REALLY NOT ALLOW A SOLUTION TO PALESTINE SINCE IT IS THE CORE OF 
CONFLICT.  THE WAR AGAINST IRAQ IS ONLY PART OF A WIDER PLAN THAT 
AIMS TO WIPE OUT PALESTINE AND PASS IT ON TO THE ZIONISTS." 
 
3.  DESCRIBING THE INCREASINGLY NEGATIVE ARAB ATTITUDE TOWARDS 
THE CRISIS IN IRAQ, DUBAI-BASED BUSINESS-ORIENTED "AL BAYAN" 
EDITORIALIZED ON 3/15: 
 
"... ARABS SHOULD REALIZE THAT DEFENDING IRAQ IS A PART OF 
DEFENDING THEMSELVES SINCE THE OCCUPATION PLANS DO NOT ONLY 
TARGET BAGHDAD BUT ALL ARAB CAPITALS.  THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS 
ANNOUNCED HONESTLY WHEN INDICATING THE NEED TO CHANGE THE MAP OF 
THE WHOLE REGION ACCORDING TO THEIR BENEFITS AND THOSE OF ISRAEL. 
THERE IS NO SOLUTION EXCEPT TAKING A SERIOUS ARAB STAND IN ORDER 
TO STOP THE ANTICIPATED WAR, SO AMERICAN MILITARY ACTIONS WON'T 
TARGET ANOTHER VICTIM AFTER FINISHING ITS PLANS AGAINST IRAQ." 
 
4.  NOTING A NEW HOPE FOR SOLVING THE PALESTINIAN ISSUE IN BUSH'S 
MARCH 14 REMARKS AT THE WHITE HOUSE, ABU DHABI-BASED SEMI- 
GOVERNMENT "AL ITTIHAD" EDITORIALIZED ON 3/15: 
 
"... STATEMENTS MADE BY PRESIDENT BUSH ON A PLAN TO REALIZE PEACE 
IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND AN INDEPENDENT PALESTINIAN STATE RENEWED 
HOPES TO END THE TRAGEDY OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE AND STOP THEIR 
SUFFERING ... THE PRACTICAL AND IMPORTANT STEPS THAT SHOULD BE 
TAKEN TO DECLARE A PALESTINIAN STATE LIVING SIDE BY SIDE WITH A 
SECURE AND RECOGNIZED ISRAEL SHOULD START NOT WITH THE 
PALESTINIANS WHO ARE, ACCORDING TO THE BUSH/BLAIR VISION, UNDER 
OCCUPATION, BUT WITH AN INTERNATIONAL REQUEST FOR ISRAEL TO CARRY 
OUT THE TENS OF INTERNATIONAL RESOLUTIONS WHICH THEY HAVE 
IGNORED.  THE HOPE OF THE PALESTINIAN DREAM HAS BEEN RENEWED AND 
THE ONLY THING LEFT IS TO MOBILIZE ALL EFFORTS TO ACHIEVE IT AND 
TURN SUCH A DREAM INTO A LIVING REALITY." 
 
5.  COMMENTING ON THE SITUATION FACING U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. 
BUSH, "AL BAYAN" EDITORIALIZED ON 3/14: 
 
"... A NOTABLE AMERICAN DEMOCRAT, JIM MOURAN, REVEALED THE TRUTH 
BY ACCUSING AMERICAN-JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS OF PUSHING WASHINGTON 
TO LAUNCH A WAR AGAINST IRAQ.  HE ALSO ADDED THAT JEWISH-AMERICAN 
LEADERS COULD STOP THE WAR IF THEY DESIRED!  THE LONDON 'TIMES' 
STATED YESTERDAY:  'THE HAWKS IN THE U.S. ADMINISTRATION ARE 
PRESSURING HIM INTO WALKING A PATH OF WAR WITH OR WITHOUT UN 
APPROVAL.' ... PRESIDENT BUSH SEEMS TO BE UNDER A ZIONIST SIEGE 
AND IS SURRENDERING TO ALL PRESSURE THAT WILL TRAP HIM INTO AN 
ATTACK AGAINST IRAQ." 
 
6.  DESCRIBING THE U.S. AS 'ISOLATED' IN ITS POLICY TOWARDS IRAQ, 
ABU DHABI-BASED PAN-ARAB DAILY "AKHBAR AL ARAB" EDITORIALIZED ON 
3/13: 
 
"... WHAT IS STRANGE ABOUT THE IRAQI CRISIS IS THE TRANSFORMATION 
OF THE SITUATION, SINCE AFTER TOTAL ISOLATION, BAGHDAD NOW ENJOYS 
WIDE SYMPATHY FROM ALL NATIONS OF THE WORLD, NOT OUT OF SUPPORT 
FOR THE EXISTING IRAQI REGIME, BUT OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE 
PRINCIPLES, ETHICS, AND CHARTERS THAT SUPPORT PEACE AND REJECT 
WAR.  ON THE OTHER HAND, ALL COUNTRIES ARE BEGINNING TO SEE THE 
'DISHONESTY' OF AN AMERICAN POSITION RUSHING TOWARDS A WAR 
AGAINST IRAQ WITH NO LEGAL OR OBJECTIVE REASON ..." 
 
7.  DESCRIBING AFGHANISTAN AS 'THE FORGOTTEN STATE', DUBAI-BASED 
ENGLISH-LANGUAGE DAILY "GULF NEWS" EDITORIALIZED ON 3/15: 
 
"... JUST OVER A YEAR AGO, KARZAI'S GOVERNMENT WAS PROMISED $4.5 
BILLION AT THE TOKYO DONORS CONFERENCE, BUT TO DATE ONLY $1.8 
BILLION HAS BEEN HANDED OVER.  AFGHANISTAN IS SINKING BACK INTO 
THE DECENTRALIZED CHAOS UNDER WHICH REGIONAL LEADERS WILL RUN 
THEIR AREAS, PAYING LIP SERVICE TO THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT IN 
KABUL, WHILE MOVING AHEAD ON THEIR OWN, RAISING THEIR OWN 
REVENUES WHERE THEY CAN.  WITHOUT STRONG INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT, 
THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO GET THE CONTROL THAT 
IT NEEDS.  AT THE VERY LEAST THE INTERNATIONAL DONORS SHOULD 
DELIVER WHAT THEY PROMISED.  AFGHANISTAN NEEDS BETTER TREATMENT 
THAN TO BE FORGOTTEN AS THE UNITED STATES MOVES ON TO ITS NEXT 
TARGET." 
 
8.  TELLING SADDAM TO "GO TO HELL," DR. TARIQ SAYF, A UNIVERSITY 
PROFESSOR, EDITORIALIZED IN "AL ITTIHAD" ON 3/9: 
 
"  THE ARAB FEARS OF WAR CAN BE SUMMED UP AS FOLLOWS:  THE FEAR 
OF U.S. DOMINATION OVER THE REGION, FEAR OF THE U.S. SUCCESS IN 
TAKING CONTROL OF THE RESOURCES OF OIL, AND THE FEAR OF THE 
QUESTION OF POLITICAL CHANGE ...  AS FOR U.S. DOMINATION AND 
CONTROL, I DO NOT THINK THE INTERNATIONAL ORDER, WHICH IS BASED 
ON THE UNILATERAL CONTROL OF A SOLE SUPERPOWER, EXCLUDES THE GULF 
REGION ... INSTEAD OF ENGAGING IN MEANINGLESS ARAB VITUPERATIONS, 
WE SHOULD KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH THE DOMINANT U.S. DEVIL ... 
 
CONCERNING OIL, DURING AND AFTER THE GULF WAR, SOME OF THE PEOPLE 
... SAID THAT THE UNITED STATES HAD INSTRUCTED SADDAM HUSSEIN TO 
ENTER KUWAIT TO ENABLE IT TO TAKE CONTROL OF OIL IN THE GULF 
EASILY.  THE FOLLOWING YEARS PROVED THAT THIS IS NOT TRUE ... THE 
STRANGE THING IN THIS RESPECT IS THAT ARAB THINKERS FROM OUTSIDE 
THE GULF ARE THE ONES WHO PAY THE GREATEST ATTENTION TO OIL, AS 
IF OIL IS A PART OF ARAB FUNDS. 
 
THE THIRD FEAR IS EXPRESSED BY POLITICAL REGIMES AND SOME OF 
THEIR THINKERS ... HERE, SOME PEOPLE THINK THAT THE AMERICANS 
HAVE A MAGIC WAND FOR DEMOCRACY.  THE TRUTH IS THAT THE UNITED 
STATES HAS SO FAR NOT MANAGED TO CHANGE THE POLITICAL STYLE IN 
MANY COUNTRIES.  SO HOW IS IT GOING TO IMPOSE THAT ON IRAQ AND 
OTHER (ARAB) COUNTRIES?  YET, EVERYBODY KNOWS FOR SURE THAT 
POLITICAL CHANGE IS DEFINITELY FORTHCOMING, SINCE THERE ARE 
DOMESTIC REASONS FOR IT AND IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE IMPOSED ONLY 
BY THE UNITED STATES. 
 
LET US SET ASIDE THESE ARAB REASONS AND JUSTIFICATIONS AND ASK 
THE FOLLOWING QUESTION:  HAS ANY SANE ARAB PERSON TRIED TO ASK 
HIMSELF - OR HAS ANYBODY ASKED HIM FOR HIS OPINION - ABOUT WHAT 
HAS BEEN HAPPENING TO THE IRAQI PEOPLE SINCE 1958, OR 
SPECIFICALLY, WHEN THE IRAQI PEOPLE REACHED THE CATASTROPHIC 
STAGE OF ITS HISTORY UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF SADDAM HUSSEIN?  HOW 
CAN A PEOPLE, WHOSE SIZE IS RELATIVELY SMALL AND THAT POSSESSES 
HUGE POTENTIAL AND UNLIMITED RESOURCES, LIVE UNDER THIS MISERABLE 
SITUATION? ... DID SADDAM SEEK ANYBODY'S ADVICE ON WHAT HE DID? 
THEN LET HIM GO TO HELL AND LET HIS REGIME COME TO AN END.  HE 
HAS DESTROYED HIS PEOPLE'S ABILITY TO BRING ABOUT A CHANGE, AND 
THERE IS NO ARAB POWER THAT CAN TOPPLE HIM." 
 
WAHBA