VZCZCXRO8553
OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK
DE RUEHKU #2938 2040835
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 230835Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5881
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RHWSMRC/USCINCCENT MACDILL AFB FL//CCPA// IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS KUWAIT 002938 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/PA, NEA/AIA, NEA/PI, INR/NESA, R/MR, I/GNEA, 
B/BXN, B/BRN, NEA/PPD, NEA/IPA 
LONDON FOR TSOU 
PARIS FOR ZEYA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO XF KU MEDIA REACTION
 
SUBJECT: TFLE01: KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION - HEZBOLLAH AND AMERICA 
 
 
Block Quotes 
------------ 
 
Sunday, July 23, 2006 
 
-- "Hezbollah, a Lost Card in a Storm" Editor-in-chief of 
pro-government Arabic daily Al-Seyassah Ahmed Al-Jarallah's 
commentary on the front page (7/23): 
 
"Hezbollah is impotent in the sense that it is unable to withstand 
the pressure by Syria and Iran to stand against the plans of the 
United States to democratize the Middle East.  At the same time it 
is unable to openly involve Iran and Syria in Lebanon's dilemma.  In 
the end Hezbollah will be left alone and rendered incapable of 
continuing the war against America's democratization process." 
 
-- "By Land" is Ali Al-Roz's piece in moderate Arabic daily Al-Rai 
Al-Aam (7/23): 
 
"Between the 'Greater Middle East' that the American Secretary of 
State Condoleezza Rice spoke of and the funeral processions in 
Lebanon, Israel is massing troops in order to shift from its air and 
sea criminal campaign to a land invasion.  The estimates of how far 
into Lebanon it should go differ, ranging from the Litani River or 
to take up more strategic positions.  It seems that Rice's new 
'Middle East' raised the ceiling on Israel's objectives that once 
were randomly scattered." 
 
-- "Change Your Name Sir" is the title under which Salah Al-Fadly 
penned in moderate Arabic daily Al-Rai Al-Aam (7/23): 
 
"If the reason some oppose Hezbollah is that what it did was 
adventurous and hasty, then this is naove and a departure from the 
crucial issues.  They consider the losses of a tourist season more 
important than the dignity of the nation.  Some oppose what 
Hezbollah did simply because of its name and because its leader 
dresses in traditional Islamic attire and is named Hassan.  If this 
was not the case, they would have considered him a legend.  If he 
wanted to win them over, which he does not, all he has to do is 
change his name and dress." 
 
-- "Will Hezbollah Win?" is how Ahmed Mohamed Al-Fahd commented in 
moderate Arabic daily Al-Watan (7/23): 
 
"If Hezbollah wins by hiding underground and not advancing towards 
Palestine and if it achieves what it wants through indirect 
negotiations with the Zionists to free the Lebanese prisoners, then 
its victory is phony to the fullest meaning of the word.  The 
Lebanese prisoners have many ways of getting out of prison other 
than the abduction of soldiers.  The Lebanese prisoners would rather 
stay in prison than go back to a Lebanon that has been destroyed and 
that has gone back to where it was 20 years ago due to Nasrallah's 
ways of negotiation." 
 
-- "New Middle East: One That Is Stubborn" is the title of Columnist 
and member of the Kuwait Journalists Society Dr. Ayed Al-Manaa's 
piece in moderate Arabic daily Al-Watan (7/23): 
 
"It is Condoleezza Rice's right to dream of the birth of a 'New 
Middle East,' one that is born out of the womb of human suffering 
inflicted upon millions of Lebanese.  But dreams are not real.  And 
if the American Secretary of State is trying to ease the birth pains 
and spread the news of a unique newborn, the reality speaks of 
something entirely different.  What is happening in Lebanon is not a 
difficult birth; it is a full fledged war with the objective of 
destroying Hezbollah." 
 
********************************************* * 
For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s 
 
Visit Kuwait's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ 
********************************************* * 
 
TUELLER