25-31 July 2003

Compiled by Kathleen Ridolfo

Baghdad's "Al-Da'wah" (25 July): Mahmud al-Hashimi argues in an editorial entitled "The Governing Council and the Required Legitimacy" that the Iraq Governing Council does not meet the needs of the Iraqi people.

     "What draws attention in the work of the new transitional Governing Council is the inaccurate understanding of the sentiments of Iraqi society and the full exclusion of the Iraqi people's role. It is as if the formation of a government is merely a decision issued by an occupying ruler or a decision made after consultations among those who are concerned with the formation of an authority! As soon as the conference ended and the 25-member Governing Council was announced, the public had a completely different opinion; it dissociated itself from the members of the council and its decisions.

     "The bigger problem was that the council's first decision was to make 9 April Iraq's national day, something that people took as a joke.

     "Since when is the day of a nation's occupation marked as a national day? As far as we know, all nations of the world celebrate the days on which colonialism ended. This includes the United States, which marks the anniversary of the departure of British colonialism.

     "But that was not the only thing. Instead of calling for meetings and dialogues with the people and announcing a program of action, the council rushed to the United Nations and the Security Council to gain legitimacy as a government established pursuant to the latest Security Council resolution. The UN secretary-general said meetings with members of the Governing Council would be held in their capacity as individuals, not as a government.

     "This showed false preconception. The council should have studied the formula of its relationship with the nation in order to gain legitimacy from it. But at the United Nations it was stripped of its legitimacy. It returned empty handed....

     "Finally we must say that anyone who wants to rule a country must be a patriot; he must win the approval of the people, not only the approval of the occupiers. The council should have appreciated people's sentiments and set the issues of security, reconstruction, and the building of the new Iraq as its priorities. We believe that the Governing Council suffered a major failure at the beginning of its work...."

Cairo's "Al-Akhbar" (28 July): Argues in an editorial entitled "Warning to U.S. Friends, Allies, Not to Say Clients" that the United States has betrayed many of its allies.

     "The United States is the only country that might betray its friends, allies, or clients. This is a fact long ago known, since it betrayed Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia and let the communists assassinate him and bury him beneath his office in Addis Ababa. The United States later betrayed the Shah of Iran, who said: 'I was a U.S. employee in the post of emperor.' It left him to be swept by the ruthless storm of the Islamic revolution. It even declined to give him refuge or asylum. He said: 'The United States threw me away like I was a dead rat.' Yet Egypt welcomed him.

     "The United States did the same with Saddam Hussein, whose fate is now settled. Also, less than a month ago the coalition forces in north Iraq arrested a number of Turkish soldiers who were in the Diyar Bakr area in southeast Turkey, although Turkey is a member of the U.S.-headed NATO. In a new case, Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to Washington Emir Bandar bin Sultan very recently denied the truth of information that the CIA leaked to the U.S. magazine "Newsweek." The information is contained in a 900-page report relating to 11 September. The report, which has been forwarded to Congress, includes 90 pages in which Saudi Arabia is accused of presenting aid to Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda. The United States has classified 27 of these Saudi-related pages of information whose truth the Saudi Arabian ambassador has contested.

     "The question now is: If the United States spreads lies that vilify its allies and friends, and arrests soldiers of the army of Turkey, its NATO partner, what would then befall those who allow themselves to be clients? An example is afforded by the fate of former Philippine President Marcos -- who died in foreign lands, expelled by his people, although it was he who gave the United States military bases on his country's territories. Turkey did likewise. Turkey is, besides, a U.S. ally that gave it lots of information on the former Soviet Union and was tasked to guard the Black Sea. The same fate has befallen many countries that also gave the United States military bases on their territories and were yet not safe from U.S.-inflicted harm. The U.S. media often publishes what looks like scandals defaming those who are U.S. friends and allies, not to say clients. Would such frequent and seemingly intended treacherous stands serve as warning signals to countries allying themselves with Washington that now is their turn to meet the same fate as their predecessors -- who are yet still allies or friends, not to say clients?"

Doha's "Al-Rayah" (29 July): Criticizes U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz in an editorial entitled "Playing an Old Tune" for his criticism of biased reporting by Arab satellite channels.

     "The United States has again begun playing its old tune to justify the problems facing it and its civil administration in Iraq. It blames some Arab media organs, particularly Al-Jazeera Satellite Channel Television, for resistance operations against the occupation forces. It even accuses them of inciting violence, another pretext that nobody believes.

     "These accusations by [U.S.] Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz echo what many U.S. officials used to state during and after the war against Iraq. They also reflect the U.S. administration's uneasiness about the freedom of the press, as well as its eagerness to cover up realities conflicting with U.S. strategies. These realities, if disclosed, will expose the flagrant contradiction between the U.S. slogans, such as freedom and democracy, and its practices, which have reached the point of arresting correspondents of Arab media organs, whose coverage of developments in Iraq does not please the U.S. occupation authority.

     "...The United States wants everybody, as well as the media organs, to stand behind it and to back what it is doing in Iraq. Any disclosure of the realities on the ground, including the failure to restore security and stability in Iraq over the 3 1/2 months, will embarrass the U.S. occupation authority.

     "In addition, the United States lacks a political plan to fill the vacuum, although it announced from the beginning that it wanted to liberate the Iraqi people and to establish a democratic government representing all the political, religious, and Arab specters.

     "The escalation of the Iraqi resistance operations is not an outcome of incitement by Al-Jazeera Satellite Channel Television or other Arab media organs. It is rather a logical outcome of the acts of violence, which many U.S. military units commit when they break into homes and arrest people. It can also be attributed to the U.S. political failure to quickly establish a democratic government.

     "Therefore, the solution, as we have repeatedly said, lies in drawing up a timetable for a speedy withdrawal of the occupation and enabling the Iraqi people to rule themselves through democratically elected representatives."

London's "Al-Quds al-Arabi" (29 July): Speculates in an editorial entitled "U.S. Pressure on Saudi Arabia" on the motivations behind U.S. pressure on Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Iran.

     "The aim behind the United States' implicit accusation of Saudi Arabia of funding terrorism and hiding of part of a congressional report into the events of 11 September is to step up the pressure on Riyadh and make it give greater concessions, such as contributing to funding the U.S. war in Iraq.

     "For two years now, the U.S. administration has been interfering in Saudi Arabia's internal affairs and sifting through all papers and documents on the pretext of hunting down terrorists and drying up their sources of funding.

     "This escalating pressure on Saudi Arabia reminds us of similar pressure exerted on Iraq and its ruling regime in the past and of pressure currently exerted on both Iran and Syria, but for different reasons and with a view to achieving certain goals.

     "The main aim behind the U.S. pressure on both Syria and Iran is to intimidate and make them refrain from interfering in Iraqi affairs and prevent any financial or human assistance from reaching the escalating resistance to U.S. forces in Iraq.

     "As for the pressure on the ruling family in Saudi Arabia, its desired goal is to intimidate the ruling family through threats to change or remove it from power or divide the country into three independent states.

     "...What makes the pressure on the Saudi ruling family increase is the discovery every now and then of extremist Islamic cells that plan to carry out acts of violence against government and foreign institutions and interests. This suggests that the Riyadh bombings were not incidental, but part of an integrated plan to destabilize the country and deprive it of its most prominent achievements -- peace and security.

     "What has been noticed is that the promises made by Saudi officials, namely Crown Prince Abdallah bin Abd al-Aziz [al-Sa'ud], to implement political and social reforms leading to greater power sharing are fulfilled very slowly and deal with insignificant, minor issues.

     "The document of 'vision,' which some 100 Saudi intellectuals, politicians, and businessmen presented to the crown prince, called for an elected shura (consultative) council.

     "The document also called for unleashing press freedoms, stepping up accountability, putting an end to corruption, achieving equality in jobs and economic-development projects, stopping all interventions in the judiciary, and making the judiciary more independent. Even though four months passed since this document was presented, the aforementioned demands are still lying in cabinet drawers.

     "It is true that key intellectual and economic figures organized dialogues in various parts of the kingdom where open discussions were held on the difficult political and economic conditions and ways to introduce the necessary reforms to get out of this predicament. These were important and unprecedented dialogues.

     "What is now required, however, is a shift from the phase of dialogue to the stage of practical implementation on the ground in order to reinforce national unity and fortify the domestic front against external pressures."

Damascus' "Tishrin" (30 July): Argues in an editorial entitled "The Indications and Results" that there is no indication that progress is being made in the Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative despite the recent visit of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

     "Regardless of the outcome of yesterday's meeting between [U.S. President George W.] Bush and Sharon, there is nothing to indicate that the situation is improving. Indeed the opposite is true, given Israel's practices and stands that contradict the minimum conditions for a just peace and the talked-about road map.

     "Sharon went to Washington on his eighth visit since he took office in March 2001 with the intention of, firstly, procrastinating and winning more time; secondly, of taking advantage of the deteriorating situation of the U.S. administration; and thirdly, benefiting to the maximum from the influence of the Zionist lobby in the United States.

     "Before he began the visit, Sharon announced that he is not bound by the U.S. views, including President Bush's criticism of the racist separation wall, which the Israeli occupation authorities are building along the 360-kilometer so-called green line.

     "At this U.S.-Israeli meeting, Bush asked for much less than what is needed to calm the situation, let alone the need to achieve peace, while Sharon gave no conclusive answer. In the meantime, the situation on the ground remains as it is, amid an escalating Israeli aggression that brings the situation closer to a full-scale explosion.

     "One month passed since Palestinian resistance movements declared, and complied with, a truce in their attempt to create a favorable climate for the international and U.S. peace efforts, including the road map, which the international quadripartite committee sponsors.

     "Yet, there is nothing to indicate that the Sharon government is interested in the truce and in the desired goals of this truce. Rather it can be said that the occupation authorities took advantage of the truce and attempted to impose new facts on the ground regarding the settlement activity and the racist separation wall....

     "The settlements, which Israel calls illegal for deception purposes, are increasing in number in an unprecedented way. Away from the limelight, under Sharon's instructions, the settlers built settlements double the number of those, which the occupation army dismantled a short while ago. Moreover, the government has announced plans to build thousands of housing units in the West Bank.

     "On the other hand, as Sharon arrived in Washington, $171 million was allocated to the racist separation wall, which the U.S. president and his adviser for national security criticized.

     "Israeli officials said that the wall will be built regardless of the U.S. stands toward it. U.S. Ambassador in Tel Aviv Daniel Kurtzer played down the significance and seriousness of the pressure, which President Bush might exert on Sharon with regard to this wall. He said literally: 'The United States objects not to the idea of establishing the wall, but to its path'....

     "...The occupation forces continue the policy of killing, intimidation, blockade, displacement of people, demolition of homes with explosives, and destruction of crops and properties.

     "...The occupation forces continue the policy of killing, intimidation, blockade, displacement of people, demolition of homes with explosives, and destruction of crops and properties.

     "All these Israeli practices constitute aggressions and violations even by the standard of the road map. The Americans say the Sharon government is committed to this map and ready to implement it. But how? No one knows."

Jeddah's "Saudi Gazette" (31 July): In an editorial entitled "Candid Policy" questions the U.S. decision to not declassify 28 pages from the administration's report on the 11 September 2001 hijackings.

     "It is clear to everyone now that it is the Bush administration, and not Saudi Arabia, which wants to keep some data about the 11 September attacks secret. At a White House meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush on Tuesday, Foreign Minister [Prince] Sa'ud al-Faysal [bin Abd al-Aziz al-Sa'ud] urged the American leader to declassify the 28 blanked-out pages of the congressional report about the 9/11 incidents and let the world know the truth. The Kingdom certainly wants to discuss the facts. Later in his press conference, Prince Sa'ud declared that Saudi Arabia had nothing to hide and that we do not seek nor do we need to be shielded. Earlier in the week when the censored congressional report was made public, Saudi ambassador in Washington, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, also made a similar plea, saying that the Kingdom could not respond to blank pages.

     "Bush flatly rejected these Saudi requests, justifying his administration's policy to keep some data hidden from the public eye on the grounds that it would compromise intelligence and reveal the course of investigations and jeopardize the war on terrorism.

     "Prince Sa'ud, and with him this country, are disappointed, although the foreign minister said we understand the reasons for Bush's decision. On the other hand, President Bush expressed appreciation of the Saudi efforts in the war against terrorism. Since 11 September, more than 500 terror suspects have been arrested in the Kingdom. The crackdown continues unabated and there is no need to overemphasize the progress made so far. Undoubtedly, Saudi Arabia is the one country that is extremely serious about eliminating the scourge of terrorism, which is threatening the exemplary peace, security, and stability being enjoyed by the Kingdom for almost a century.

     "It is up to Senator Bob Graham, a Florida Democrat, and Senator Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican, to campaign for declassification of the secret data, but they or any other American in the polity or the media does not have the right to throw innuendos at Saudi Arabia. There are elements out there and also in Israel who want to damage the historic relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States and thus hamper the U.S. war against terrorism. They aim at misdirecting these efforts to the areas where the United States is bogged down in misadventures and global security is put in danger.

     "Saudi Arabia always prided itself on being at peace with everyone in the world. It has been an ardent advocate of regional and global stability. Observers will agree that Saudi policy has stood the tests of time and the Kingdom has nothing to hide."