US embassy cable - 03AMMAN3460

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003460 
 
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 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
 
TAGS: KMDR JO 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON THE ROADMAP 
 
                        Summary 
 
-- Lead story in all papers today, June 10, highlights 
the fourth anniversary of King Abdullah's accession to 
the throne of the Hashemite Kingdom.  Other lead 
stories highlight continued confrontations between the 
Israelis and the Palestinians, as well as resistance 
attacks in Falujah in Iraq, killing three American 
soldiers.  A number of inside pages in all papers are 
dedicated to preparations for the upcoming Jordanian 
parliamentary elections, scheduled for June 17. 
 
                 Editorial Commentary 
 
-- "A calculated resistance move" 
 
Daily columnist Jamil Nimri writes on the back page of 
independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm 
(06/10):  "The joint military operation at the 
checkpoint in Gaza sought to confirm the right to 
resistance, as Palestinian factions are finalizing 
their political confrontation with the government of 
Abu Mazen.  Yet, this operation does not entail any 
political damage to the Palestinians, rather it 
indicates the Palestinian factions' understanding of 
the difference between a military action that would 
disastrously harm the Palestinians under the current 
circumstances and a military action that would simply 
confirm the legitimate option of resisting the 
occupation..  Paralleling the negotiating efforts with 
operations against civilians in Israel would be like 
someone who picks up a rock and throws it on his own 
foot, but striking against the soldiers of the 
occupation would be parallel to the negotiations and 
could then be linked to the principle of mutual truce 
once the Israelis agree to it..  The American 
intervention has reached a point that surprised even 
Sharon and the ruling regime in Israel.  Appointing 
Condaleeza Rice to follow up on the Aqaba summit and 
the commitments of both parties means that the U.S. 
President has placed his own weight behind this issue. 
The situation cannot tolerate any mistakes on the 
Palestinian part.  The latest military operation 
remains within the acceptable boundaries, while it 
sends the specific message of confirming the right of 
resistance as long as Israel's intransigence and 
brutality continue to exist." 
 
-- "The Israeli war against the outcome of the Aqaba 
summit" 
 
Center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour 
(06/10) editorializes:  "As soon as there were signs 
of a genuine breakthrough for peace following the 
Aqaba summit, the extremist right-wing forces in 
Israel started escalating its aggressive measures 
against the Palestinian people..  Whoever is observing 
the Israeli policies and measures after Israel's 
reserved acceptance of the roadmap would conclude 
without the shadow of a doubt that the Israeli 
government, which had unwillingly accepted the 
roadmap, is going to do everything in its power to 
abort the roadmap.  Understanding these issues 
dictates that the Palestinian side, authority, 
government and opposition, must be quite alert to the 
need of pulling in Palestinian ranks, maintaining 
their unity and avoiding squabbles." 
 
-- "Bush's modified image" 
 
Columnist Osama Sharif writes on the op-ed page of 
center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour 
(06/09):  "In less than two months, the world saw two 
opposite faces for U.S. President George W. Bush:  the 
first as a man of war and the second as a messenger of 
peace..  In a few weeks time, President Bush's image 
was modified to meet the needs of his presidential 
campaign managers.The important thing is to modify the 
image of the President before the eyes of the American 
voter, so that his early achievements are not limited 
to waging wars and military confrontations." 
-- "The roadmap and protecting the sacrifices of the 
Palestinian people" 
 
Columnist Hussein Abu Rumman writes on the op-ed page 
of semi-official, influential Arabic daily Al-Rai 
(06/09):  "The variety of analyses for the outcome of 
the Aqaba summit, and whether it would be successful 
in revitalizing the peace process between the 
Palestinians and the Israelis leading to the 
implementation of the roadmap, largely depends on the 
variety of expectations with regards to the honest 
intentions and the credibility of declared positions, 
particularly on the Israeli and American sides.  Yet, 
analyzing the Aqaba summit must also be seen from the 
viewpoint of the potential that the Palestinian 
acceptance of the roadmap provides for rebuilding the 
strategy of the Palestinian struggle on the short run. 
This viewpoint stems from the general picture that 
resulted from militarizing the Palestinian Intifada, a 
process that had disastrous outcome not only for the 
Palestinian Authority, but also for the Palestinian 
society as a whole..  Militarizing the anti-occupation 
peaceful resistance and the suicide operations that 
targeted civilians in Israel have severely harmed the 
image of the peaceful Intifada, and have led to 
dubbing the Palestinian struggle with terrorism, 
despite acknowledging their right to resist the 
occupation with all means possible..  The Palestinians 
are required to take advantage of and benefit from the 
U.S. President's need to appear as a man of peace 
after occupying Iraq, and from the commitments that he 
repeatedly declared to help put an end to the 
occupation." 
GNEHM