Weekly Arab Press Review (fwd)

["Clement M. Henry" <chenry@mail.la.utexas.edu>]

*****************************
Clement M. Henry
Professor of Government
University of Texas at Austin
Austin TX 78712
tel 471-5121, fax 471-1061

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2002 16:12:08 +0300 (AST)
From: Arab Press <arabpress@csfs-kuwait.org>
To: alnakib@csfs-kuwait.org
Subject: Weekly Arab Press Review

                           Weekly Arab Press Review
                             # 5 : Oct. 21, 2002

                  The Center for Strategic and Future Studies
                              Kuwait University

The Center for Strategic and Future Studies is a Kuwaiti think-tank,
affiliated with Kuwait University, and is directed by Dr. Shafeeq Ghabra.

The following report reviews the comments and reactions of Arab op-ed writers
in a selection of 13 Arabic newspapers, on the prevailing news issues in the
Arab world each week.

This week’s issue:  Yemen, Failaka, and Bali: Arab Perspectives

The recent string of terrorist attacks in Yemen, Failaka (Kuwait), and Bali
have generated several different reactions from the Arab world over the past
week.

Bakr Oweida, assistant editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper said
(London, Oct. 16), that the recent terrorist acts have proven that “Al-Qaeda
is still active and that the war on terror is still in its first stage.
Washington needs to revise some of its policies in order to win this war.”

An editorial in Al-Ahram newspaper (Egypt, Oct. 16), said the terror attacks,
including the one in Kuwait, proved once again that combating terrorism
requires measures and policies that are different from those taken by the
United States since Sept. 11 of last year.

Jordanian writer and analyst Tareq Massarwa said in Al-Rai newspaper (Jordan,
Oct. 16), that “the latest events such as the attack on U.S. troops in Failaka
prove that Al-Qaeda is freely moving across the world.”  He added that waging
war on Iraq will break any U.S.-led coalition against terrorism, for
Washington is exploiting a situation for imperialist goals that are more
dangerous to international relations than terrorism itself.”

The anti-Muslim practices of the United States, as put by Al-Riyadh newspaper
(Saudi Arabia, Oct. 15), “are cause for retaliation by those who do not
believe in the coexistence of different civilizations and religions.  The
United States seeks to impose its will on others, thus leading to more
extremism in Islamic states.  At the same time, these states are trying to
curb the rancor of such extremist groups.”

Joseph Smaha, editor-in-chief of As-Safir newspaper (Lebanon, Oct. 15), said
that domestic problems in the Middle East are getting entangled with
international issues.  Whoever puts themselves in the forefront of the
international arena (i.e. the United States) will become the target of blame,
even for matters that they are not responsible for.

Egyptian writer and analyst Abdulmuati Muhammad said in Al-Ahram newspaper
(Egypt, Oct. 15), that “the recent confrontations have genuine causes and
Washington had to have expected such violent developments.  Extremist groups
move and grow as a result of feelings of injustice, the occupation of land,
and any menace to their faith.  All these bases currently exist, particularly
since the events of Sept. 11 and the ensuing U.S. policy which has led to
their propagation.” Muhammad said that “the absence of moderate Islamic
parties in these societies puts the reaction in the hands of the extremists.
We can flame up with rage against U.S. policy but we have to call ourselves to
account and remember that the vitality of any nation lies in its ability to
practice self-criticism.”

Samir Ragab, editor-in-chief of Al-Gomhouriya newspaper (Egypt, Oct 12)
said, “the problem which has not been taken into consideration is that any new
strikes on an Arab or Muslim nation ... will be a strong motive for revenge.
The events of recent days are the best evidence to this fact, including the
consecutive attacks against U.S. soldiers in Kuwait despite tight security
measures.”

Lebanese writer Abdelkarim Abu Al-Nasr wrote in Al-Watan newspaper (Saudi
Arabia, Oct 15), that these terrorist groups are looking for “weak points” in
states that are not prepared to face terror attacks in order to launch their
strikes.  He said that “Arabs and Muslims are the first victims of this
international war on terror, and the strategy of these groups is eventually
suicidal for themselves and for those whom they supposedly defend.”

Saudi writer Abdelrahman Al-Rashed said in Asharq Al-Awsat (London, Oct. 16),
that he is “unconvinced by the U.S. assertion that armed war is the
appropriate way to face these [fundamentalist] groups, who are different from
the drug dealers in Colombia or the money launderers in Russia or even the
aggressive regime in Iraq.  These are ideas and not groups, and fighting them
is like fighting ghosts.  The best way to fight this phenomenon is to promote
moderation and moderate people and to try to understand the extremists, who
themselves are victims of beliefs that nobody has tried to openly discuss.”

Writer Uraib Al-Rantawi said in Al-Dustour newspaper (Jordan, Oct 14),
that “the Zionist media is pleased to create a link between small terror acts
in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Yemen, and the legitimate self-defense and
resistance movements in Palestine.”  Their weakest argument, he believes, is
their attempt to lump all Arabs into one homogeneous group.

In reference to the sleeper cells of Al-Qaeda, who are given orders to carry
out attacks at different times and places, former secretary general of
Kuwait’s National Council for Culture, Arts, and Letters Muhammad Al-Rumeihi
said in Al-Rai Al-Aam newspaper (Kuwait, Oct. 15), that “these cells become
the causes of discord”; the attack on U.S. troops in Failaka was an attempt to
generate a conflict between the United States and Kuwait.  He said, “what
happened was neither spontaneous nor was it caused by any Arab political
phenomenon, including Palestine.  It is rather a planned action that meets a
political agenda that is, at the very least, opposed to the agenda chosen by
the Kuwaiti people through their legitimate institutions.  These sleeper cells
are the product of a long-term educational process that leads young people to
sacrifice their lives on command, convinced that it is for the sake of God.”
According to Rumeihi, due to this negative long-term process, there is no way
of guaranteeing that these terrorists will not shift their attention to other
targets (i.e. ones other than solely the United States).  If the leaders of
these groups believe that others should also be hit, they have the pretext and
the means to do so.
_________________________________________
Center for Strategic and Future Studies
Kuwait University
Tel : (+965) 483-4197
Fax : (+965) 482-4645