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OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAMA #8409 3180844
ZNR UUUUU ZZH ZUI RUEWCSE8645 3180903
O 140844Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0000
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS
ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUMICEA/USCINCCENT MACDILL AFB FL//CCPA//

UNCLAS AMMAN 008409 
 
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 TSOU 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
 
TAGS: KMDR JO
 
SUBJECT: SPECIAL MEDIA REACTION ON U.S. MIDTERM ELECTIONS 
 
REPRESENTATIVE EDITORIAL COMMENTARY 
 
-- "WILL AMERICA REGAIN ITSELF?" 
 
COLUMNIST RAKAN MAJALI WRITES ON THE BACK-PAGE OF CENTER-LEFT, 
PRO-PALESTINIAN ARABIC DAILY AD-DUSTOUR (11/12):  "THE LATEST 
AMERICAN LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS CONSTITUTED A DEFEAT FOR THE 
REPUBLICAN PARTY.  MORE ACCURATELY, THE REPUBLICANS BECAME CERTAIN 
THAT THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION WAS A BURDEN TO THE PARTY AND TO 
AMERICA.  THERE WAS A KIND OF REFERENDUM ON THE FAILURE OF THE 
AGGRESSIVE AND EXTREMIST POLICIES THAT THE ZIONIST RELIGIOUS 
RIGHT-WING GANG PLANNED TO IMPLEMENT, AND THE FIRST REFLECTION OF 
THIS REFERENDUM WAS THE OUSTING OF THE MINISTER OF THE AGGRESSIVE 
PREVENTATIVE WAR AGAINST OUR REGION....  WHEN THE AMERICANS VOTED 
AGAINST THE AGGRESSIVE POLICIES AND CONDEMNED AMERICA'S DROWNING IN 
THE IRAQI QUAGMIRE, THEY ACTUALLY VOTED AGAINST ALL AGGRESSIVE 
TRENDS AND THE DESTRUCTIVE AND VENGEFUL COLONIALIST TENDENCY THAT IS 
IN A LARGE PART BEING ADVANCED BY NON-AMERICAN INTERESTS AND 
CALCULATIONS.  EVERYONE IS NOW CERTAIN THAT AMERICA'S INVASION OF 
IRAQ WAS AN IMPLEMENTATION OF A ZIONIST SCHEME ADOPTED AND EXECUTED 
BY THE ZIONIST RELIGIOUS RIGHT-WING GANG THAT REPRESENTS THE DEPTH 
OF THE ZIONIST IDEOLOGY....  IN SHORT, ZIONISM HAS EXPLOITED AMERICA 
AND ENTRAPPED IT IN THE PREVENTATIVE WAR IN FAVOR OF ISRAEL. 
ZIONISM ALSO WORKED GRADUALLY ON DESTROYING AMERICA'S HUMAN VALUES 
AND MORAL PRINCIPLES ... SO MUCH SO THAT AMERICA IS NO LONGER 
AMERICA AND IS IN NEED OF A REVOLUTION TO REGAIN ITSELF." 
 
-- "WHAT HAPPENED IN AMERICA?" 
 
COLUMNIST FAHD FANEK WRITES ON THE BACK-PAGE OF SEMI-OFFICIAL, 
INFLUENTIAL ARABIC DAILY AL-RAI (11/12):  "WHAT HAPPENED IN AMERICA 
IN TERMS OF THE HARSH DOWNFALL OF PRESIDENT BUSH'S PARTY AND THE 
DEMOCRATIC PARTY'S ASSUMPTION OF POWER IN CONGRESS WAS EXPECTED. 
THE REPUBLICAN ADMINISTRATION, LED BY BUSH AND HIS NEO-CONSERVATIVE 
ALLIES, HAS LED AMERICA TO THE WORST WAR OF ITS HISTORY SINCE THE 
VIETNAM WAR AND HAS FAILED TO ACHIEVE ANY DECLARED OR NON-DECLARED 
OBJECTIVES.  MOREOVER, GEORGE BUSH BECAME THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN TO 
WORLD PEACE IN THE WORLD'S PUBLIC OPINION, NEXT TO OSAMA BIN LADEN, 
AND THE U.S. PRESIDENT NO LONGER HAS TO WONDER ABOUT WHY THE WORLD 
HATES AMERICA, FOR HIS CLUMSY POLICY BROUGHT ABOUT THAT HATRED.  IT 
IS NOT TRUE THAT WHAT HAPPENED IN WASHINGTON CONSTITUTES A COUP IN 
THE AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY, NOR IS IT TRUE THAT WHAT HAPPENED IS 
NOT GOING TO CHANGE ANYTHING BECAUSE THE TWO PARTIES ARE TWO SIDES 
OF THE SAME COIN.  MOST LIKELY A GRADUAL AND LIMITED CHANGE WILL 
OCCUR.  AMERICAN OBJECTIVES FOR NOW ON WILL BE MORE MODEST AND THE 
MEANS WILL BE LESS VIOLENT....  TWO YEARS SEPARATE US FROM THE 
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS.  IT IS A LONG TIME AND MANY SHIFTS CAN 
HAPPEN IN THE AMERICAN PUBLIC OPINION.  IT WILL BECOME APPARENT THAT 
THE DEMOCRATS, ALTHOUGH RIGHT TO REJECT BUSH'S POLICIES AND 
PARTICULARLY IN IRAQ, ARE NOT IN AGREEMENT OVER WHAT COMES NEXT. 
THEY DO NOT HAVE A PLAN FOR WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE OR FOR HOW TO GET 
OUT THE IRAQI CRISIS.  AMERICA DOES NOT HAVE ANY GOOD OPTIONS 
VIS-`-VIS IRAQ.  STAYING THERE MEANS THE CONTINUATION OF BLOODSHED 
AND EXPENDITURES AND EARLY WITHDRAWAL MEANS CIVIL WAR AND 
TERRORISM." 
 
-- "THE DEMOCRATIC COUP AND WASHINGTON'S POLICY IN THE REGION" 
 
COLUMNIST ORAIB RANTAWI WRITES ON THE OP-ED PAGE OF CENTER-LEFT, 
PRO-PALESTINIAN ARABIC DAILY AD-DUSTOUR (11/10):  "WITH THE LOSS OF 
THE MAJORITY IN THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, U.S. 
PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH LOSES THE 'FREE HAND' THAT HE ENJOYED 
THROUGHOUT THE PAST SIX YEARS.  HE WILL HAVE NOW TO LISTEN TO WHAT 
IS BEING SAID IN CONGRESS....  AS FAR AS OUR REGION IS CONCERNED, 
SOME CHANGED IN THE AMERICAN POLICIES AND STRATEGIES WILL OCCUR. 
THE U.S. ADMINISTRATION IS GOING TO FIND ITSELF HAVING TO ADOPT LESS 
AGGRESSIVE AND LESS 'ARROGANT AND STUPID' APPROACHES....  WE ARE NOT 
GOING TO EXPRESS PREFERENCE BETWEEN THE DEMOCRATS AND THE 
REPUBLICANS; AFTER ALL, THE REGION WAS BURNED BY BOTH PARTIES 
EQUALLY.  BUT IN REALITY WE CANNOT HIDE OUR JOY AT THE DEPARTURE OF 
THE NEO-CONSERVATIVES AND THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT-WING WHO HAVE PUSHED 
THIS REGION INTO THE FIRES OF HELL....  MOST LIKELY, THOSE IN THE 
REGION WHO BASED THEIR STANCES AND STRATEGIES ON THE AMERICAN 
'BULLDOZER' WILL FIND THEMSELVES IN AN AWKWARD POSITION AND HAVING 
TO RECONSIDER MANY OF THEIR CONSIDERATIONS AND CALCULATIONS.  THE 
FIRST OF THESE RECONSIDERATIONS WERE INDICATED BY REMARKS MADE BY 
THE LEBANESE LEADER WALID JUMBLAT WHO SAID THAT THE UNITED STATES IS 
IN A RECEDING POSITION AS FAR AS THIS REGION IS CONCERNED AND THAT 
ITS OPPONENTS AND CRITICS ARE TAKING THE LEAD.  BY SAYING THAT, HE 
CAST HEAVY DOUBT THE CHANCES OF SUCCESS OF ALL OF WASHINGTON'S PLANS 
IN THE REGION, FROM IRAQ THROUGH PALESTINE TO LEBANON." 
 
 
-- "AMERICA AND THE REGION AFTER THE ELECTIONS" 
 
CHIEF EDITOR TAHER ODWAN WRITES ON THE BACK-PAGE OF INDEPENDENT, 
MASS-APPEAL ARABIC DAILY AL-ARAB AL-YAWM (11/10):  "CHANGE IS 
NECESSARY.  THE HEAVY DOWNFALL OF THE REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS IS NOT 
MORE SIGNIFICANT THAN THE FALL OF RUMSFELD, THE GOD OF WAR IN THE 
BUSH ADMINISTRATION.  THE AMERICANS DECIDED IN FAVOR OF CHANGE AND 
CONCLUSIVELY SO.  WE DO NOT KNOW IF THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT WILL 
CONTINUE HIS POLICY OF 'OBSTINACY' AND CONTINUE TO RAISE THE SLOGAN 
'COMPLETING THE MISSION UNTIL VICTORY' IN IRAQ.  THEN WE WOULD BE 
FACING A WORLD LEADER WHO DOES NOT CARE ABOUT HIS PEOPLE AND DOES 
NOT VALUE THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, BUT RATHER LIKE ANY DICTATOR, 
INSISTS ON HIS OWN STANCES AND OPINIONS....  IF CHANGE DOES NOT 
OCCUR AFTER THIS INTERNAL REFERENDUM THAT EMPHASIZED THE AMERICAN 
PEOPLE'S OPPOSITION TO BUSH'S POLICY IN IRAQ, THEN THE SITUATION IS 
GOING TO GET WORSE, NOT JUST IN IRAQ AND PALESTINE, BUT ALSO ON THE 
INTERNATIONAL LEVEL, AND THE MOST TO BE HARMED THEN WOULD THE UNITED 
STATES AND ITS INTERESTS AND ITS LEADERSHIP IN THE WORLD." 
HALE