US embassy cable - 03ABUDHABI1377

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 001377 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP; NEA/PPD; NEA/RA; INR/R/MR; PA; 
INR/NESA; INR/B; IIP/G/NEA-SA 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE 
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:  WAR IN IRAQ, IRAQI CIVILIAN 
CASUALTIES, AND ABU DHABI TV WAR COVERAGE 
 
 
1.  SUMMARY:  THE WAR IN IRAQ AND IRAQI CIVILIAN CASUALTIES IN 
BASRA AND HALABJA DOMINATED COVERAGE IN UAE PRINT AND ELECTRONIC 
MEDIA.  AN "AL ITTIHAD" EDITORIAL BLAMED THE IRAQI REGIME FOR THE 
WAR, AND A SAME-DAY ARTICLE REPORTED UAE FEDERAL NATIONAL COUNCIL 
SPEAKER AL KINDI AS SAYING THE SAME.  AN "AKHBAR AL ARAB" 
EDITORIAL ASSERTED THAT THE DURATION AND INTENSITY OF THE WAR 
SURPRISED AMERICAN OFFICIALS.  A "GULF NEWS" EDITORIAL COMMENTED 
ON U.S. PLANS FOR A POST-WAR IRAQI GOVERNMENT AND URGED UN 
ASSISTANCE.  AN "AL BAYAN" EDITORIAL CLAIMED THE WORLD IS OPPOSED 
TO THE WAR.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  HEADLINES FOR 3/23 INCLUDE: 
 
--"AL KHALEEJ," "GULF TODAY," AND "AL BAYAN" CARRIED FRONT PAGE 
COLOR PHOTOGRAPHS OF WOUNDED IRAQI CIVILIANS.  "AL KHALEEJ" AND 
"GULF TODAY" ALSO CARRIED A FULL INTERNAL PAGE OF SIMILAR 
PHOTOGRAPHS. 
--"HUNDREDS IRAQIS WOUNDED AND KILLED BY AMERICAN WEAPONS OF 
DESTRUCTION," "DAY AND NIGHT BOMBING OF BAGHDAD AND ATTACKS ON 
BASRA, TIKRIT, KHOURMAL, AND HALABJA" AND SUB HEADLINES: 
"ISRAELI WEAPONS USED IN ATTACKS" AND "SHOCK AND AWE ORIGINALLY A 
JEWISH IDEA WITH AN AMERICAN IMPLEMENTATION."  (AL KHALEEJ) 
--"BAGHDAD IS BURNING" AND "IMAGES OF IRAQ FUEL ARAB AND WORLD 
FURY."  (GULF TODAY) 
--"BLOCKS ON ROAD TO BAGHDAD," "WORLD PROTESTS WAR ON IRAQ," AND 
"IRAQIS WELCOMING TROOPS - FRANKS."  (GULF NEWS) 
--"ALLIES CLAIM BIG GAINS," AND "LIFE IN UAE NORMAL, SAY MOHAMMED 
(BIN RASHID AL MAKTOUM, CROWN PRINCE OF DUBAI AND MINISTER OF 
DEFENSE)."  (KHALEEJ TIMES) 
--"COALITION FORCES DRAWING CLOSER TO BAGHDAD" AND "FORCES 
CONTROL NASIRIYYAH AND UM QASR AND ENCIRCLE BASRA."  (AL ITTIHAD) 
--"AMERICAN ATTACKS BURN BAGHDAD" AND "HUNDREDS OF CIVILIAN 
CASUALTIES, INCLUDING 57 IN HALABJA."  (AL BAYAN) 
 
3.  ABU DHABI TV'S LIVE COVERAGE OF THE WAR CENTERS IN BAGHDAD 
WITH ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY FROM THE ABU DHABI TV NEWS CENTER. 
ABU DHABI TV CONTACTS REPORT THAT ADTV'S FOOTAGE FROM BAGHDAD AND 
ELSEWHERE IS CURRENTLY USED IN OVER 160 COUNTRIES.  ABU DHABI TV 
DID NOT/NOT CARRY FOOTAGE OF THE CIVILIAN CASUALTIES IN BASRA AND 
HALABJA AS ON AL JAZEERA.  ALSO, AL JAZEERA AND ABU DHABI TV WERE 
THE ONLY ARAB MEDIA TO ASK QUESTIONS TO GEN. TOMMY FRANKS DURING 
HIS 3/22 PRESS BRIEFING IN DOHA. 
 
4.  ON 3/23, ABU DHABI-BASED SEMI-GOVERNMENT "AL ITTIHAD" 
REPORTED UAE FEDERAL NATIONAL COUNCIL (FNC) SPEAKER SAEED AL 
KINDI AS SAYING "THIS SITUATION OF WAR AND INSTABILITY IN THE 
WORLD WAS CREATED BY THE IRAQI REGIME WHO DID NOT RESPOND TO 
SHEIKH ZAYED'S INITIATIVE." 
 
5.  NOTING THE BEST SOLUTION FOR THE CURRENT CRISIS, "AL ITTIHAD" 
EDITORIALIZED ON 3/23: 
 
"... BLIND, DEAF, AND PROUD, THE RULERS OF BAGHDAD JUST IGNORE 
ALL ADVICE GIVEN TO THEM BY THE DEVOTED PEOPLE OF THE ARAB 
NATION.  THEY WERE WARNED THAT THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR ACTIONS 
COULD LEAD TO A CRISIS.  THEY WERE ALSO ASKED TO BE WISE IN ORDER 
TO SOLVE THIS CRISIS, WHICH WAS A RESULT OF YEARS OF THEIR OWN 
ACTIONS ... WE HOPE THEY LEAVE NOW WHILE THEY STILL HAVE THEIR 
DIGNITY AND BEFORE THEY ARE FACED AND SURPRISED WITH THE 
HUMILIATION OF IMPRISONMENT, WHICH AWAITS THE DEFEATED IN ANY 
WAR.  WE HOPE THEY LEAVE NOW AND ABANDON THE RUINS OF THEIR 
PALACES AND THE HEADQUARTERS OF THEIR STUBBORNNESS AND CRUELTY." 
 
6.  COMMENTING ON THE SURPRISING DURATION AND INTENSITY OF THE 
WAR, ABU DHABI-BASED PAN-ARAB DAILY "AKHBAR AL ARAB" 
EDITORIALIZED ON 3/23: 
 
"... AMERICAN OFFICIALS CONFESSED THAT THIS IS GOING TO BE A HARD 
AND LONG WAR.  THIS WAS ONLY AFTER THE THIRD DAY OF WAR, WHEN 
AMERICANS WERE FACED WITH A NUMBER OF SURPRISES, SUCH AS 
UNANTICIPATED RESISTANCE IN SOME AREAS.  THIS INDICATES THAT THIS 
WAR WILL BE LONGER AND LOSSES WILL EXCEED WASHINGTON'S 
EXPECTATIONS ..." 
 
7.  NOTING WORLDWIDE OPPOSITION TO THE WAR, DUBAI-BASED BUSINESS- 
ORIENTED "AL BAYAN" EDITORIALIZED ON 3/23: 
 
"... WAR IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE HATED, AND WE ARABS DO NOT PREFER 
IT (WAR) AS A SOLUTION TO ANY CRISIS.  WHILE WATCHING THIS 
CHAPTER OF THE WAR, OUR HEARTS ARE WITH OUR PEOPLE IN IRAQ, WE 
ARE ALL PRAYING TO GOD THAT THE CHILDREN, WOMEN AND MEN OF THE 
LAND OF MESOPOTAMIA WILL BE SAFE.  THIS IS THE LAND OF A PATIENT 
PEOPLE WHO HAVE SUFFERED MORE THAN ANY NATION IN OUR REGION HAS 
EVER SUFFERED ..." 
 
8.  DESCRIBING THE WAR AS ILLEGITIMATE, SHARJAH-BASED PAN-ARAB 
DAILY "AL-KHALEEJ" EDITORIALIZED ON 3/23: 
 
"... IF THE U.S. SUCCEEDS IN IRAQ, FRANCE AND RUSSIA EXPECT THAT 
IT WILL CREATE A NEW INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO 
WITH INTERNATIONAL LEGITIMACY OR THAT WILL PLACE INTERNATIONAL 
LEGITIMACY UNDER ITS (U.S.) CONTROL.  U.S. WILL CARRY THIS (WAR) 
OUT IN ORDER TO BECOME THE ONLY POWER IN THE WORLD THAT CONTROLS 
ITS POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC DESTINY AND SECURITY.  THIS WAR IS 
ILLEGITIMATE AND WAS STARTED WITHOUT SECURITY COUNCIL SUPPORT AND 
AGAINST THE WILL OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, AND ITS 
CONSEQUENCES WILL DEFINITELY BE THE SAME ..." 
 
9.  ARGUING THE U.S. ADMINISTRATION HAS NOT LAID OUT A CLEAR POST- 
WAR STRATEGY FOR IRAQ, DUBAI-BASED ENGLISH-LANGUAGE DAILY "GULF 
NEWS" EDITOIALIZED ON 3/23: 
 
"... THE U.S. HAS NOT FORWARDED ANY DETAILS ON ITS PLANS ONCE IT 
TAKES CONTROL OF ALL IRAQI CITIES.  THIS BRINGS US TO QUESTION 
THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT THAT WILL RULE IRAQ WHEN THIS TAKES PLACE. 
IT IS NOT CLEAR WHETHER IT WOULD BE A GOVERNMENT COMPRISING THE 
IRAQI OPPOSITION OR WHETHER WASHINGTON WILL ASSIGN AN AMERICAN 
GENERAL OR COMMANDER TO GOVERN IRAQ.  IF THE LATTER IS AMERICA'S 
INTENTION, THE EXECUTION OF THE ACTION IS WITHOUT A DOUBT AN 
OCCUPATION OF THE COUNTRY RATHER THAN 'LIBERATION' AS THE 
AMERICANS HAVE CALLED IT ... THE UN IS THE ONLY BODY FULLY 
CAPABLE OF OVERSEEING THE PROCESS OF REBUILDING A COUNTRY THAT 
HAS BEEN TORN BY WAR AND CRIPPLED BY ECONOMIC SANCTIONS ... THE 
TIME HAS COME AT LAST FOR THE ORGANIZATION TO BECOME ENGAGED IN 
THE REBUILDING OF A NEW IRAQ - ONE THAT IS GOVERNED BY IRAQIS AND 
CATERS TO THE PEOPLE OF IRAQ." 
 
WAHBA