VZCZCXRO1235
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHDO #0253/01 0931417
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 021417Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY DOHA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7750
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1094
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC//DHO-6//

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DOHA 000253 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INR/R/MR, NEA/PPD, NEA/ARP, NEA/IPA 
LONDON FOR SREEBNY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO PREL OPRC QA
 
SUBJECT: Media Reaction: A/S Welch Visit to Qatar, April 1 
 
 
¶1. Summary: All the Qatari local dailies provided prominent coverage 
for the visit of NEA A/S David Welch to Qatar on April 1, 2008. The 
official Qatari News Agency (QNA) published that A/S Welch met with 
Qatar Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and discussed "bilateral 
relations and subjects of common interest." The QNA did not mention 
A/S Welch's meeting with Qatar's Premier and Foreign Minister Hamad 
bin Jassim Al Thani. A/S Welch's press roundtable was covered by the 
seven local dailies with a focus on his remarks regarding the recent 
Arab Summit in Damascus, which the press said A/S Welch described as 
a failure, since it did not talk about important issues such as the 
situation and Lebanon, and because of the absence of important Arab 
leaders. 
 
¶2. Local Headlines: 
 
--  Arabic daily Al Arab: 
 
"Welch: I discussed in Doha strengthening relations and regional 
problems." 
 
--  Arabic daily Al Raya: 
 
"Welch: I discussed with the Prime Minister boosting relations." 
"Welch: The Arab Summit failed because it failed to address key 
issues." 
 
--  Arabic daily Al Watan: 
 
"Welch: Electing a Lebanese president should be done according to 
the constitution, not through the Arab initiative." 
 
--  Arabic daily Al Sharq: 
 
"Welch: Damascus Summit failed Arab failed to address key issues." 
 
 
"Welch: The law level of representation in the summit was a result 
of the Syrian policy in Lebanon." 
"Welch: Not commenting on the Arab initiative (toward Lebanon) does 
not mean that we reject it." 
 
--  English daily Qatar Tribune: 
 
"U.S. wants GCC allies to embrace Iraq." 
"David Welch terms the recent Arab league summit a damp squib but 
denies U.S. role." 
 
--  English daily The Peninsula: 
 
"Arabs failed to address key issues." 
 
--  English Daily Gulf Times: 
 
"Observer role for U.S. at Arab summit urged." 
 
¶3. BLOCK QUOTE: 
 
"Observer role for U.S. at Arab summit urged." 
 
Semi-Independent English daily "Gulf Times", (04/02) 
 
"The U.S. should be invited as an observer at the Arab summit in 
Qatar next year, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern 
Affairs David Welch said yesterday. "I don't see why the U.S. can't 
be invited as an observer to the summit. Every one accuses us of 
interfering in the affairs of the region anyway. Might as well make 
it simpler by having us at a regional summit," said Welch. He was in 
Qatar as a follow-up to U.S. Secretary of State Condolezza Rice's 
recent visits to the Middle East. He said his meetings with 
officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs focused on "bilateral 
relations and regional issues such as Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran 
and the just concluded Arab summit." 
 
"The talks with the Qatari government last night were aimed at 
increasing the understanding between the two countries. I always 
respect their view and advice. We have plans for the GCC region, 
which you will see take place in a few weeks," Welch said. This is 
an important time in the region. We face challenges together. 
Progress has been made on some of the issues, while we hope that 
much more progress can still be made," said Welch, who has served in 
key U.S. embassies in the region. 
 
 "The Arab summit failed because of the absence of key players. 
Unfortunately, it continues to fail due to the problems within the 
Arabs," he said. Asked about the perception that the U.S. had 
pressured countries and leaders in the region not to attend the 
summit because Syria was hosting it, he said: "It is not that the 
 
DOHA 00000253  002 OF 002 
 
 
U.S. was trying to isolate Syria. The country (Syria) itself has a 
number of ongoing and unresolved issues with its neighbors. It was 
never the intention of the U.S. to tell people not to go." "We in 
the U.S. are more interested in the outcomes of such summits, and 
not who attends them. We are only interested in seeing progress and 
the substance," he added. 
Regarding Yemen's initiative to resolve the dispute between Fatah 
and Hamas, he said: "Dialogues for the sake of dialogues are not 
really fruitful. Any agreements between the Palestinian parties have 
to be with the agreement of the Quartet. We have to understand that 
the 'two states' is the only solution to this problem." 
 
On Iran, Welch said: "I don't think there will ever be a flare-up 
from my side. However, the Iranian side is known to behave 
recklessly. We'd like to resolve the nuclear issues diplomatically. 
Unfortunately, Iran doesn't want to go on that path." 
 
On the possibility of Hamas in Palestine, Hezbollah in Lebanon and 
the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt sweeping to power in true democratic 
elections, he said:  "Yes in all earnestness that is a possibility. 
But then it will be our right to decide whether to deal with them or 
not. We (the U.S.) will have to accept the results however." 
"But it's simplistic to talk about elections as part of a 
representative system. We believe there should be more civic 
participation. The role of NGOs and media is more important if such 
elections were to take place. Popular participation is really 
essential," he added. 
 
When asked why U.S. President George W. Bush is so unpopular around 
the world, Welch said: "He's a man of strong beliefs and that 
sometimes makes people uncomfortable. To him the image of the U.S. 
is very important, and so is the national security." 
 
RATNEY