~~GULFWIRE~~VOICES OF THE REGION~~WEEKLY ARAB PRESS REVIEW~~WEEK OFOCTOBER 21, 2002~~ (fwd)

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

More background info on the Gulf...

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

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 24 Oct 2002 14:33:16 -0500
From: GulfWire e-Newsletters <GulfWire@arabialink.com>
To: "<<GULFWIRE>>" <GulfWire2@arabialink.com>
Subject: ~~GULFWIRE~~VOICES OF THE REGION~~WEEKLY ARAB PRESS REVIEW~~WEEK
    OF OCTOBER 21, 2002~~

 ************************************************************************
 ***** GULFWIRE ~~ VOICES OF THE REGION ~ WEEKLY ARAB PRESS REVIEW ******
 ************************************************************************

           THE NATIONAL COUNCIL ON U.S.-ARAB RELATIONS AND
            THE U.S.-GCC CORPORATE COOPERATION COMMITTEE

    THE CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND FUTURE STUDIES, KUWAIT UNIVERSITY

                      WEEK OF OCTOBER 21, 2002

=========================================================================
   COMMENTS AND REACTIONS OF ARAB OP-ED WRITERS IN ARABIC NEWSPAPERS ON
                  PREVAILING NEWS ISSUES IN THE ARAB WORLD
=========================================================================
THE WEEKLY ARAB PRESS REVIEW IS A PRODUCTION OF THE CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND
FUTURE STUDIES, KUWAIT UNIVERSITY AND IS REPRINTED HERE WITH PERMISSION
=========================================================================
THE VIEWS CONTAINED IN THESE ITEMS DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF
       GULFWIRE OR THE NATIONAL COUNCIL ON U.S.-ARAB RELATIONS
=========================================================================

Weekly Arab Press Review

The Center for Strategic and Future Studies
Kuwait University

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.

========================================================================
ABOUT THE CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND FUTURE STUDIES

Established in the year 2000, the Center for Strategic and Future Studies is
an independent Kuwaiti think-tank affiliated with Kuwait University.  The
governing body is a Board of Trustees comprised of 11 members from both
within and outside the university, representing a wide range of experience
and expertise in the public and private spheres.  Its focus is on major and
current strategic issues relating to Kuwait, the Gulf region, and the Middle
East.  The center seeks to build awareness and encourage debate on sensitive
issues, primarily in the realm of East/West discussions and strategic
issues.

In this capacity, the center tries to reach out to non-Islamic and non-Arab
nations and cultures in the spirit of debate, understanding, and mutual
tolerance.  In doing so, our activities include: conferences, seminars,
roundtable discussions, publications, media analyses, and large-scale E-mail
distributions of our reports and studies.

Center for Strategic and Future Studies
Kuwait University
Director:  Dr. Shafeeq Ghabra
Media & Research Coordinator: Farah Al-Nakib

Tel : (+965) 483-4197
Fax : (+965) 482-4645

========================================================================
                       TO SUBSCRIBE TO GULFWIRE
             http://www.arabialink.com/GulfWireSubscribe
========================================================================

EDITOR’S COMMENT
GulfWire does not take an editorial position on the issues and opinions
reported here and aims to remain objective in coverage of developments in
the Arab Gulf states. However, it is important that among the insights we
provide, we bring the reality of contemporary opinion in the Gulf even if it
is sometimes stinging to the targets of its criticism.  We hope to
illuminate not infuriate. For those who rely on an understanding of
developments in the region to ignore the reality of public and official
sentiments in the Gulf is to move forward in these relationships at their
peril.

Patrick W. Ryan
Editor-in-Chief, GulfWire
========================================================================

Independent commentary provided in ‘GulfWire’ and materials contained in the
linked Internet sites do not necessarily reflect the views of the National
Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, the U.S.-GCC Corporate Cooperation Committee
or Ryan & Associates.

The ‘GulfWire’ family of e-newsletters is an information service of the
National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations and the U.S.-GCC Corporate
Cooperation Committee Secretariat.

Please feel free to forward this edition of the ‘GulfWire ~ Voices of the
Region’ to your friends and colleagues, and suggest additions to our mailing
list. Contact: mailto:gulfwire@arabialink.com


For more information on the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations and the
U.S.-GCC Corporate Cooperation Committee visit http://www.ncusar.org and
http://www.usgcc.org or call 202.293.0801.

========================================================================
National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations
President and CEO: Dr. John Duke Anthony

U.S.-GCC Corporate Cooperation Committee
Secretary: Dr. John Duke Anthony

1140 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Suite 1210
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: 202.293.0801
Fax: 202.293.0903

Patrick W. Ryan
Editor-in-Chief, GulfWire
mailto:gulfwire@arabialink.com
C. R. Trisdale
Deputy Editor
mailto:CRTrisdale@ArabiaLink.com

The GulfWire family of e-newsletters -- including “Voices of the Region” --
and companion Web site [ArabiaLink.com] are developed, produced and
maintained by Ryan & Associates -- http://www.pwrassociates.com

To unsubscribe reply to this message with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the
subject line.

Copyright © 2002, GulfWire
All rights reserved.
4B&C