| A daily selection of views from the Middle East and North Africa, compiled and translated by The Daily Star ARAB PRESS Al-Madina (Jeddah)
The pro-government Jeddah-based Arabic daily said that the Arabs have missed an opportunity to prevent the war In Iraq from erupting. “We failed to convince the United States to give UN inspectors more time and we failed to convince Saddam Hussein to leave the country to spare his nation the atrocities of war. The political map of Iraq is being drawn now. Are we going to miss the chance once again? If we value our right to self-determination, Arab nations must re-evaluate their past to disclose the reasons behind the current disgraceful situation. The list of targeted Arab countries is clear and has been made public by the United States. Even before the war ended, the US media gave clear signs that Syria is next in line. There is no need to think hard about the reasons behind these threats. US and Israeli hawks have many reasons to head toward Damascus. But the question remains, are we going to stand still and wait for that to happen, only to convene at some summit to exchange accusations and bad-mouth each other?” Ad-Diyar (Beirut)
The reappointment of Premier Rafik Hariri to head the new government has come as no surprise to the majority of Beirut papers. However, the incoming government will have to overcome some serious challenges, not the least of which is the fallout from the recently ended Iraqi war. The new government should be strong enough to face “Washington’s policy in the region, in the post-war era,” Simon Abu Fadel writes in the Beirut daily Ad-Diyar. He says that such a “strong government” was needed in view of “Washington’s recent high-level threats against Syria.” Al-Raya (Doha)
Taha Khalifa in the pro-government daily asks: “Which country will be next? The easy fall of Baghdad made the war on Iraq look like a picnic. That might stimulate President Bush’s appetite to settle the United States’ accounts with international pockets of resistance. Iran, as a member of Bush’s ‘axis of evil,’ and Syria, which just joined the club, are the most likely to be next on Bush’s agenda. According to the United States, Syria is harboring fleeing Iraqi leaders; allowed Arab fighters to cross into Iraq to fight against coalition forces; and, most importantly, is developing chemical weapons. In addition, there is always the old accusation that it supports Hizbullah and Palestinian “terrorist” groups. Any of the above could serve as an excuse for the United States to launch military action against Syria. Minutes after the fall of Baghdad, senior American officials sent a message to Syria and Iran urging them to learn from the mistakes of Iraq … Strong states in this region will be broken in order to maintain peace and security for Israel. That is the ultimate goal of Bush’s Christian, right-wing administration.” Al-Ahram (Cairo)
Sakina Fouad writes in the Cairo-based daily: “A most dangerous consequence of the barbaric US-British campaign against the Arab region is how it worked on the sub-conscience of the younger generations, now greatly disturbed. Questions are raised, which reflect uncertainty and shakiness. Who or what has led them, young as they are, to such a state?” she asks?
“They wonder what is there to protect us against waking up one day to new scenes of occupation and destruction; what is to protect us against being again exposed to the horrors, we have been watching on the television screens since the beginning of this war? What is to protect us against the hell, which has orphaned a beautiful 12-year-old child such as Ali Abbas, who besides losing both his parents under a vicious US attack, has also lost his arms? Who is responsible for Israel’s achieving the first part of its long-cherished dream of expanding its borders to stretch from the Euphrates to the Nile? And how long will it take it to realize the other part of the nightmare?” An-Nahar (Beirut)
Gebran Tueni, writing in the conservative daily An-Nahar Thursday, points out that “Genuine concern about the US political onslaught against Syria is mounting as the region, from the Atlantic to the Gulf, braces for major changes in the post-Saddam Hussein era.” In a front-page editorial, written from Qatar, where he was attending a gathering on democracy and free trade, Tueni says the threat to Syria was at the forefront of sideline meetings and behind-the-scene huddles. “Syria is a target and exposed to real and serious pressure,” he writes.
Syria’s opposition to the war on Iraq has turned it into an opponent of the “declared plan to redraw the map of the Middle East,” he says. “This is why the United States has launched its preventive pressure campaign against Syria. The United States aims to protect its ‘entry visa’ into the region, which is the road map to peace.”
Syria remains an obstacle to Washington’s plans because it holds two powerful cards: the Palestinian resistance groups and Lebanon’s Hizbullah, Tueni adds. The United States and Israel are determined to strip these two cards from Syria’s hands, he writes. Damascus is now on the receiving end of US pressures, Tueni concludes, but it is one of three regimes where America wants to effect change as it reshapes the Middle East: Syria, Iran and Saudi Arabia. Arab Times (Kuwait City)
Ahmed al-Jarallah, editor in chief, of the Kuwaiti-based daily Arab Times, warns Syria against opposing the United States, advising the Syrian leadership not to under estimate the will of the war hawks in Washington and Israel. “We have the right to worry about the slogans dominating the Syrian political arena. We also worry about the absence of realistic thinking because we do not want to be surprised by a storm hitting Syria, the second wing of the Baath Party, like the one which hit Iraq during Saddam Hussein’s reign,” he writes.
“Symbols of the Syrian regime are denying they have received some fleeing symbols of the ousted Iraqi regime. They are emotionally criticizing American gestures, mimicking Mohammed al-Saeed al-Sahhaf, who has now been substituted by Farouk al-Sharaa,” Jarallah says. “So far we do not see any indication which can eliminate our fears. Syria is acting like a duplicate of Saddam Hussein, who completely lost touch with reality. The entire Syrian regime with its symbols is playing back ‘in Damascus’ the same music which was played in Baghdad.
Jarallah concludes: “Syria should not play back Saddam Hussein’s music. Otherwise it will find American tanks near Al-Hamidiya market, in the heart of Damascus. The Sheraton Hotel in Damascus may also be converted into another Palestine Hotel to become a centre for journalists and satellite television stations with the Sahhaf of Damascus and his lies, curses and slogans.”
ISRAEL PRESS The majority of the Israeli press did not publish Thursday due to the Passover holiday.
TURKEY PRESS Cumhuriyet (Istanbul)
Columnist Mustafa Balbay, commenting on Turkey’s foreign policy issues and its future political agenda, argues that “recent statements coming out of the White House have been encoded.”
“American officials make remarks on the future of Iraq, but they cloak the most important pieces of the puzzle,” Balbay writes. “Here is yesterday’s message from Washington: Turkey and the new Iraq will constitute role models for other countries in the region. Turkey has reiterated countless times that it is committed to maintaining good relations with its neighbors, but we shouldn’t forget that our priority must be catching up with the standards of modern Western states rather than being a model for the Islamic world.”
He continues: “The United States Tuesday held a meeting in the southern Iraqi town of Nassiriyah to discuss the country’s reconstruction, in cooperation with various Iraqi factions. Zalmay Khalilzad, President Bush’s special envoy to the Iraqi opposition, chaired the meeting, which was opened with a US pledge not to extend its rule over Iraq. The meeting produced a statement underscoring that a future Iraqi government must be democratic and based on the rule of law. The Iraqi opposition also discussed to the extent of religion’s possible role in Iraq’s political affairs. But since they failed to reach agreement on this issue, it seems that Iraq’s reconstruction will be much more difficult than just overthrowing Saddam Hussein.”
Balbay also touches on Turkey’s future political policies saying: “The Iraq war was not an end, but rather the beginning of a series of important developments which are very likely to be felt worldwide. Such circumstances will be an important test for the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government. They should not use such critical issues or their contacts with foreign officials to bolster their own party policies or structure. Such a narrow-minded, selfish policy would be very dangerous. The AKP must act in accordance with Turkey’s national interests.”
IRAN PRESS Iran Daily News (Tehran)
“With the war in Iraq coming to an end and the long-awaited departure of President Saddam Hussein, the White House has now focused on implementing a new regime,” Ali Reza Jabbari wrote in the pro-government Iran Daily News Thursday, addressing the future course of neighboring Iraq.
“Retired US General Jay Garner, who has a special mandate to run Iraqi affairs in the capacity of temporary military governor, was appointed by the government in Washington to form an Iraqi interim authority this week,” he writes. “Apart from his military background, especially during the 1991 Gulf War, the selection of Garner to the post calls for further scrutiny. This is while a key Iraqi opposition figure, Ahmed Chalabi, chief of Iraqi National Congress, has announced that his war-battered country needs to tolerate a two-year American rule until stability is restored. This is yet another indication that the hawks in the Bush team have no interest in giving Iraqi dissidents a meaningful role in the political future of their country.
“In short,” he writes, “this translates into the fact that the community of nations better not expect any Iraqi dissident group to assume a key role, at least in the near future, in rebuilding the Arab country of 25 million people.” |