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O 050532Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4638
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SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON SECSTATE VISIT TO THE REGION 
 
Editorial Commentary 
 
-- "Jordan's interests before Rice's priorities" 
 
Columnist Fahd Khitan writes on the inside page of independent, 
mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm (10/04):  "Rice who is 
touring the region is carrying an agenda that is different at least 
in terms of the priorities of Washington's interests.  She wants the 
'moderates axis' with whom she met in Cairo to line up behind the 
Bush administration in the fight against extremism and forces of 
extremism in the region.  More clearly, Rice wants Jordan, Egypt and 
the Gulf countries to stand in the face of Hamas and Hizbollah and 
Syria and Iran in order to pave the way for the conclusive 
confrontation with Tehran.  To do this, Dr. Rice has not problem 
dispensing to the Arabs a few courtesy remarks about the Palestinian 
issue and reminding them of Bush's two-state initiative.  The 
calculations and interests of countries considered of the alliance 
of moderates are different.  For Jordan, it will be disastrous if it 
accepts such a policy or even get involved in its implementation, 
because it will be the first victim....  The results of Rice's tour 
in the region can be assessed now, but what is certain is that the 
alliances of moderates, which has been tricked by Washington so 
often, seems to be unwilling to take part in a new American 
adventure in the region on the pretext of fighting extremism before 
some understanding is reached on the Palestinian issue.  This is 
because the moderate regimes have paid a heavy price out of their 
own popularity and credibility when it did agree to go along with 
Washington's destructive policy all these past years.  Any Arab 
regime that is in the least concerned about its future and not 
necessarily the interests of its people will not run the risk of 
following a mad administration that wants to start a nuclear war in 
the region.  Jordan is required now to determine its options clearly 
and not to be dragged into Israeli and American schemes designed to 
bring the downfall of the Hamas government or besiege Syria and 
Hizbollah or participate in the anti-Iran issue.  This is because 
all these parties are genuine opposition forces whose role and 
position must be utilized to snatch the required concessions from 
Israel." 
 
-- "Rice's priorities" 
 
Chief Editor Ayman Safadi writes on the back-page of centrist, 
independent Arabic daily Al-Ghad (10/04):  "U.S. Secretary of State 
Condoleezza Rice was mistaken to make the Iranian nuclear file the 
main topic of her current visit to the region.  The danger that Iran 
will constitute to the Middle East if it develops a nuclear weapons 
cannot be denied ... but the more serious danger that the region 
needs to remove is the continuation of the Israeli occupation of 
Arab lands and its subsequent oppression and injustice.  The United 
States agrees with the moderate Arab countries that the continuation 
of the states quo and its resulting deformities that threaten the 
security of the region is impossible.  However, this diagnosis has 
not been translated into a consensus on the priorities.  Jordan, 
Egypt, and Saudi Arabia have been arguing about the need to focus on 
the Palestinian issue as being a requirement and a point of entry 
for addressing all points of tension in the region....  But America, 
as it does, insists on imposing its own priorities and does not pay 
due attention to the stances of its friends in the region....  It 
seems that Rice will leave the region without having launched any 
new efforts to revitalize the peace process.  The only outcome of 
the Secretary of State's visit will be to weaken even more the 
forces of moderation." 
 
-- "Rice's mission: the climate of failure" 
 
Chief Editor Taher Odwan writes on the back-page of independent, 
mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm (10/03):  "Condoleezza 
Rice's mission seeks to accomplish two things from its tour in the 
region.  The first is revitalizing the Palestinian-Israeli peace 
process, and the second is confronting Iran with Arab (Sunni) 
support....  Rice can succeed in revitalizing the peace process if, 
for instance, she showed concrete support for President Mahmoud 
Abbas, like ending the Israeli siege, opening the crossing points, 
or releasing a few thousand prisoners from Israeli jails.  But Rice 
is not going to do any of that....  The other expected failure for 
Rice's visit is related to the confrontation with Iran....  Neither 
Jordan, nor Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries are going 
to be dragged into a confrontation with Iran for America's sake and 
for the sake of Israel's security.  There is sufficient awareness 
and understanding that the confrontation between Tehran and 
Washington is based in essence on a struggle of roles and fulfilling 
their interests at the expense of the Arabs.  It is in the national 
interest of the Arabs to stand against any region or international 
conflict that targets their land, security and wealth....  Rice is 
going to fail in building an Arab alliance that would support it 
against Iran because it is not the Arabs' responsibility to resolve 
America's problems and get it out of its crisis in Iraq.  On the 
contrary, their responsibility is to put an end to the destructive 
American policy in the Middle East that has brought nothing but 
wars, sieges and instigation of sectarianism." 
HALE