VZCZCXRO2980
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHMS #0585/01 1591112
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P R 081114Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY MUSCAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0508
INFO ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0026
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0028
RUEHMS/AMEMBASSY MUSCAT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MUSCAT 000585 
 
SIPDIS 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP 
NEA/PPD 
NEA/PI 
INR/R/MR 
NEA/SA/EX/PMO 
LONDON FOR NEA WATCHER 
PARIS FOR NEA WATCHER 
FOREIGN PRESS CENTER FOR NEA WATCHER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OIIP KPAO KMDR MU
SUBJECT: OMAN MEDIA REACTION: CAIRO SPEECH "A MESSAGE OF LOVE AND 
PEACE" 
 
REF: MUSCAT 579 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY:  Following initial reaction in its immediate wake 
(reftel), the President's Cairo speech continues to draw comment from 
Oman's dailies.  On June 7, The editor-in-Chief of sister dailies 
"Times of Oman" and "Al Shabiba" headlined his weekly column "A 
Message of Love and Peace" (his first positive comment on U.S. policy 
in recent memory).  On June 8, Arabic private "Al Watan" and 
government-owned "Oman" front-paged articles headlined "Obama's 
Speech Means a New Spirit to the Islamic World" and "U.S. President's 
Speech Establishes New Ground."  The articles carry a quote from 
Oman's Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs saying the speech 
represents a "new spirit".  On June 7, "Al Watan" said "Well done" to 
Secretary Clinton for denying Israel's claims of a prior deal between 
the U.S. and Israel on settlement expansion. END SUMMARY. 
 
------------------------------- 
"SOARING OPTIMISM" OUT OF CAIRO 
------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  On June 7 in private English daily "Times of Oman" (circulation 
25,000) and its Arabic sister "Al Shabiba" (circulation 20,000), 
Editor-in-Chief Essa Bin Mohammed al Zadjali titled his weekly 
front-page column "A Message of Love and Peace".  Al Zedjali, locally 
famous for his virulently anti-American and anti-Israeli invective, 
praised President Obama's speech, citing "a crackle of optimism among 
the Arabs" and "soaring optimism".  At the same time, he maintained 
his reputation in regard to Israel, warning of "a whole panoply of 
conspiracy-driven attempts" that might snuff out the new-found 
optimism.  Quotes: 
 
"The Middle East and the rest of the globe were buzzing - and 
justifiably so - with the news of the visit of U.S. President Barack 
Obama to the region last week, radiating dollops of hope and high 
expectations of a 'new beginning' in the relations between the U.S. 
and the Muslim world. " 
 
"To put it briefly, the imposing, domed hall of the university 
reverberated with a message of love and peace, all through the 
gripping speech..." 
 
"Obama's popularity is rising in the Arab and Muslim world because of 
the importance and urgency he attaches to the Palestinian question 
and the growing perception that he is sincere about bridging the gap 
with Arab and Muslim countries." 
 
"However, the soaring optimism is laced with a twinge of pessimism 
because the president's life is at great risk from the Jews who could 
resort to a whole panoply of conspiracy-driven attempts if he is seen 
to be zeroing in on setting up an independent state for the 
Palestinians." 
 
--------------------------------------- 
OMAN'S FOREIGN MINISTER: "A NEW SPIRIT" 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. On June 8, private daily "Al Watan" (circulation 42,000) and 
government "Oman" (circulation 38,000) ran front-page articles 
titled, respectively, "Obama's Speech Means a New Spirit to the 
Islamic World" and "U.S. President's Speech Establishes New Ground". 
Both articles included a quote, issued at the GCC Ministerial Council 
meeting, by Omani Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs Yousuf bin 
Alawi. 
 
"In his inaugural statement at their regular meeting in Riyadh, 
Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, the Chairperson of the GCC Ministerial 
Council for the current term said, 'For the Muslim world, the speech 
delivered by U.S. President Barack Obama at Cairo University means a 
new spirit.'  He stressed the significance of this new American 
approach that establishes a new ground to handling various issues of 
interest to the peoples and countries of the region." 
 
--------------------------- 
"WELL DONE HILLARY CLINTON" 
--------------------------- 
 
¶4.  On June 7, "Al Watan" congratulated Secretary Clinton for 
rebuffing Israel's claim of a previous agreement between the U.S. and 
Israel on settlement expansion.  According to "Transparency Discloses 
 
MUSCAT 00000585  002 OF 002 
 
 
Israeli Manipulations": 
 
"Well done Hillary Clinton for denying Israeli claims on deals 
(understandings) with George Bush allowing for expansion of 
settlements in Jerusalem and elsewhere.  The transparency of the U.S. 
position is the beginning of a new era of being honest with oneself 
and with others.  This clears all doubts, especially with the 
government of Israel, which continues to disrupt attempts to resolve 
the dilemma of the Palestinians.  Another encouraging step followed, 
which was the postponement of moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. 
This bolstered hope for a new approach, which matches words with 
deeds, that Arabs would like to see from Obama's administration." 
HURTADO