17 April

By Daniel Kimmage

Morocco's "Al-Sabah": Dalal al-Siddiqi sees the quest for a 'greater Israel' driving political developments in the Middle East.

     "During the war against Iraq, [Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon left the shell from which he had been directing his malice and fire at the Palestinians to ask America to put pressure on Damascus to disarm Hizballah and expel the leaders of Palestinian organizations.... The countries that consider themselves 'great' are ganging up in a conspiracy against Syria from all sides. Each of them will dig its claws into the victim. When they are sated, they will take a short nap before renewing their attack on another victim to continue their advance in another direction. The goal is the great Zionist dream -- a state of 'Greater Israel' from the Nile to the Fertile Crescent and the Euphrates."

Oman's "Al-Watan": Zuhayr Majid warns that the United States faces an Iraqi awakening.

     "The Iraqis did not fear American weapons or the bullets that killed and wounded more than 100 in Mosul. With the return of the spirit, all things gain meaning. The voice becomes a means of breaking through barriers and the eyes flash a message of defiance. This, in any case, is the beginning of what the Americans will see for real when the Iraqi nation rises from its long stupor."

United Arab Emirates' "Al-Ittihad": Dr. Ahmad Abd al-Malik looks ahead to a better future free from dictatorial regimes.

     "If a large military regime like Saddam Hussein's can fall, then the fragile, wispy, frail regimes will not stand long. They face a global tide of popular insistence on greater freedom, democracy, equality of opportunity, social justice, and a more secure society. Administration is growing more pragmatic, moving away from misleading official pronouncements and attempts to deceive the people and keep them in the dark."

Egypt's "Al-Ahram": Al-Sayyid Yasin casts doubt on the images of Iraqis greeting coalition forces in Baghdad.

     "Coalition forces entered Baghdad as invaders and conquerors, although they claimed to be the liberators of the Iraqi people. These forces had no difficulty in finding a group of mercenaries to offer them roses, as the American-English colonialist script required. But what genuinely surprised us is that some Arab intellectuals who supported the American invasion to remove the totalitarian regime in Iraq actually believed the cheap, staged images they saw on their television screens. In their naive view, these were undoubtedly pictures of Iraqis welcoming a foreign occupation that will allow the Americans to hold sway over Iraqis and plunder their wealth."