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Reference ID	Created	Released	Classification	Origin
07MUSCAT64	2007-01-23 12:56	2011-08-26 00:00	UNCLASSIFIED	Embassy Muscat

VZCZCXRO5632
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHMS #0064/01 0231256
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 231256Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY MUSCAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7685
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0471
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0365
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MUSCAT 000064 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/PPD, NEA/PI, AND INR/R/MR 
STATE PASS USTR FOR N. MOORJANI, J. BUNTIN 
LONDON FOR TSOU 
PARIS FOR ZEYA 
USCENTCOM FOR PLUSH 
FOREIGN PRESS CENTER FOR SILAS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OIIP KPAO KMDR MU
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION:  THUMBS DOWN AND UP ON SECRETARY'S TRIP; 
PRESIDENT'S NEW IRAQ STRATEGY; PRIZE FOR OMAN'S SULTAN 
 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY: Privately owned daily "Al-Watan" denigrates Secretary's 
Middle East trip while state-owned "Oman" lauds it as a "vital" 
diplomatic initiative.  "Oman" criticizes President Bush's new Iraq 
strategy and says that the "only choice" is a gradual troop 
withdrawal.  "Oman" also lauds Sultan Qaboos's having received an 
Indian peace prize.  Government dailies publish only low-key 
coverage of Saddam's half-brother's execution.  Defense Secretary 
Gates' Iraq visit generates prominent coverage.  END SUMMARY. 
 
-------- 
COVERAGE 
-------- 
 
¶2.  As with Saddam Hussein's execution, government-owned "Oman" 
(circulation 38,000) did not cover the hanging of Saddam's 
half-brother and the former leader of Iraq's revolutionary court 
during the news cycle in which the story broke.  In contrast, 
youth-oriented "Al-Shabiba" (circulation 20,000) carried the January 
16 headline, "Thirty-Seven Years of Iraq's Secrets 'Flew Away' with 
Barzan's Head," in reference to Barzan al-Tikriti's inadvertent 
decapitation.  Continuing violence in Iraq received heavy coverage, 
as did the remarks of Defense Secretary Gates during his visit 
there.  "Oman's" front-page headline on January 16 quoted Gates as 
saying that "Our Military Presence in the Gulf Is a Message to 
Iran," and the January 20 front page of "Al-Watan" (circulation 
42,000) quoted the Defense Secretary's statement from Basra that "We 
Need More Gains before Dialogue with Iran."  Palestinian 
negotiations to form a unity government continued to generate 
front-page coverage. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
BLOCK QUOTES: "TRUE" GOALS OF SECRETARY'S TRIP 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶3.  On January 16, privately owned daily "Al-Watan"(circulation 
42,000) described Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to the 
region as "Makeup for an Ugly Face": 
 
"Condoleezza Rice came to the region empty-handed and she is leaving 
the same way.  Rice stated that she was not carrying any new 
initiative but she did repeatedly call for the renewal of the 'Road 
Map.'  She tossed around the vocabulary of America's useless 
initiatives that involve a temporary Palestinian state within the 
borders of Israel's separation fence.  The true motivation for this 
is that Washington wants Arab countries to embrace Iraq and 
integrate it into the existing Arab system while ignoring the 
results of Washington's violent war and its strategic failures.  The 
actual goal of Rice's trip was to destroy Arab unity and obscure 
America's failure in Iraq." 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
"VITAL" COMMUNICATIONS DURING SECRETARY'S VISIT 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶4. On January 18, state-owned daily "Oman" (circulation 38,000) 
commented on Secretary Rice's visit under the headline, "Indications 
of Peace in the Middle East": 
 
"Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's latest visit to the region 
and her meetings with many political leaders might be an indication 
that America intends to renew its efforts to solve the Palestinian 
issue.  Her meetings with the GCC, and the foreign ministers of 
Egypt and Jordan, were important steps toward ending the conflicts 
in the Middle East.  Her efforts are in the best interest of all 
parties, Israel included.  Stability in the region would end all 
excuses for hatred and violence, thus leading to peaceful 
coexistence and cooperation. Diplomatic communications at such a 
level are vital.  Events in the near future will reveal how 
effective such efforts have been." 
 
------------------------------------------ 
"FAILURE" OF PRESIDENT'S NEW IRAQ STRATEGY 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶5.  On January 23, "Oman" published an editorial asking, "Whither 
the Iraq Crisis?": 
 
"Bush's new plan is certainly a failure, which is evident from the 
remarks of prominent analysts in major centers of study, 
congressmen, and even some Republicans and soldiers.  They believe 
that an additional 20,000 troops will not change the situation 
on-the-ground very much, but will instead increase the daily 
 
MUSCAT 00000064  002 OF 002 
 
 
American losses which most recently involved the deaths of 25 
American soldiers in two days and the downing of an aircraft.  For 
the American administration, this means that crisis in Iraq is an 
established fact.  There is no other choice but to withdraw 
gradually, as Congress wants to do as part of the project that it 
intends to bring to a vote... Resistance to occupation in any 
country remains legitimate.  As for the killing of the innocent, 
that is something that nobody accepts, either inside or outside 
Iraq." 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
OMANI LEADER AWARDED INTERNATIONAL PEACE PRIZE 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶6. "Peaceful Understanding" headlined an editorial in 
government-owned "Oman"(circulation 38,000) that commented on the 
awarding of the Jawaharlal Nehru Prize to Sultan Qaboos: 
 
"Peace represents a very high value today and in other centuries; 
without it, mankind has no meaning, no ability to live on earth, and 
no way to tolerate all that is involved with life.  There is no true 
creativity without peace and human tolerance, and thus Sultan 
Qaboos's Jawaharlal Nehru award is the truest example of an 
enlightened mind and personality that tolerates others.  However, 
this is not the first award of its kind that the Sultan received. 
He was also awarded the Carter International Peace Prize.  This 
ensures that his role in the world receives attention in an 
environment that has become increasingly complex, full of wars and 
assassinations." 
 
GRAPPO

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