A regularly updated roundup of commentary from Arab newspapers.
'What cannot be fixed must be destroyed'
Qatar's Al Watan daily on November 24 commented on the British newspaper report on US President George W. Bush's intentions to bomb Al Jazeera TV, saying that if the report were true, it meant the emergence of a new military American ideology "that says what cannot be fixed must be destroyed".
The pro-government daily said that such "illogical thinking" was not surprising because it was the same thinking that permitted the US to invade other countries without justification, torture suspects in secret prisons and "murder journalists who try to portray the real picture".
It added that only "idiots" believe that Washington honestly seeks to spread freedom, democracy and human rights in the world because such values require "a clean hand and conscience to implement and support, which cannot be done by a country that lies and cheats".
The paper predicted that Washington will dispatch to the region another envoy to try to improve its image and to warn that "tomahawk missiles will not be used except against anyone who is not a good boy and doesn't listen, but that the statue of American liberty will rise for those who behave".
UK press stifling 'a great disappointment'
Another pro-government Qatari paper, Ash Sharq, criticized the British government for censuring its free press because of information that reveals the hostile intentions of the US administration toward Al Jazeera television channel.
The daily said in its November 24 editorial that the British government's attempt to stifle the media in London confirms that American intentions to strike Al Jazeera "were not a joke but real". It also confirms, the paper continued, that the "fraud of Western claims for democracy is just a pretext for colonialist and hostile objectives".
The paper demanded that Britain apologize to Al Jazeera channel for its "blatant violations of freedom of the press", adding that London's behavior was a great disappointment and frustration from a country that claims to safeguard freedom and democracy in the world.
Bombing a barracks of pens and cameras
Jordan's Ad Dustour daily on November 24 said that Tony Blair stopped George Bush from bombing Al Jazeera headquarters because Qatar was a friendly country, not because such a decision was "craziness or because the channel is a barracks for pens, cameras and computers, not a base for destructive weapons".
The mass-circulation daily added that the British prosecutor's decision to ban the Daily Mirror from publishing documents citing Bush's intention last year proves that the report is true.
It wondered what kind of leadership was ruling the world today that would bomb a media organization thousands of miles away because "it takes a position contrary to what it wants and because it airs news that condemns the decisions of this leadership, and relays what is happening on the ground as it is, not as the White House wants it to be."
The paper asked: "Where are these noble principles that the American leadership claims and wants to bring to the region, including free media?
And where are the American people who see their leadership daily committing crimes which are being recorded in its history and which cannot be erased?"
Egypt elections free and fair
Egypt's semi-official Al Ahram daily said in its November 22 editorial that the country's second round of legislative elections were free and fair despite violence that left one person dead and others injured.
The mass-circulation paper criticized the violence that erupted between supporters of different parties and candidates, saying that it hoped that the level of the election's integrity would make such coercion of voters part of the country's past history.
The daily said in all democracies, the party that wins a majority in parliament might become a minority in the following elections, "and this happens with all sportsmanship known as transferring power from the government to the opposition and vice versa".
An Ayatollah era in Egypt?
The London-based Ash Sharq Al Awsat said on November 22 that the first two rounds of Egypt's parliamentary elections brought two surprises so far: The neutrality of the government in the polls and the establishment of a powerful Muslim Brotherhood opposition.
The Saudi-owned daily said that if the Islamists grab 100 seats in parliament, they would constitute one-fourth of the National Assembly and would thus be able to finally license a party for the first time and choose a candidate for the presidential elections. It argued that the next parliament will for the first time have a substantial opposition presence that will face the ruling National Democratic Party.
It said that if the ruling party has political concerns now, other sectors of society also have their concerns that the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood "may be the beginning of an Iranian-style Ayatollah era in Egypt".
The paper, distributed in most Arab capitals, said that the Islamic movement deserves the results that it achieved due to its history in political and social work with the people.
But, the paper added, "it remains to be seen whether the Muslim Brotherhood will be a political power that will work with the logic of the times or use the Ayatollah rhetoric in frightening others and seeking to solidify fundamentalism".
Lebanon needs freedom from Israeli threats
Lebanon's Daily Star said that Lebanon's 62nd Independence Day was special because it was the first time in 29 years that the Lebanese marked the occasion without the Syrian presence.
The independent English-language daily said in its November 22 editorial that though the Lebanese have become hostile to their Syrian neighbors, there was still a "strong and durable bond" between the two peoples because of the geographic location and historic trade ties.
It said that throughout Lebanon's "Cedar Revolution", in which the Lebanese took to the streets demanding a Syrian withdrawal from their country, the United States played a key role in supporting "this aspect of Lebanon's independence".
However, it argued, if Lebanon's sovereignty means something, "then it ought to mean freedom from Israeli threats as much as it means independence from Syria".
It continued to say that the Lebanese were still unable to fully claim their sovereignty because of Israel's "utter disregard for their right to control their own territory".
The paper added that if the Americans wanted to help the Lebanese "in their struggle for true sovereignty and independence", they should convince their Israeli allies to end their "threatening behavior toward their northern neighbors".
No to occupation, no to terrorism
Jordan's independent Al Ghad daily on November 22 published a cartoon criticizing President George W. Bush and Al Qaeda frontman in Iraq, Jordanian-born Abu Mussab Al Zarqawi.
The cartoon shows Bush dressed in military fatigues pointing a rifle at the head of an Arab. Bush tells the Arab: "If you are not with us, then you are against us."
On the other side of the kneeling Arab stands a man draped in black from head to toe with "Zarqawi" written on his black mask. He holds a sword on the Arab's throat and says "If you are not a fundamentalist, you are a kafir [apostate]."
The distressed-looking Arab holds a banner that reads: "If you are not a wolf, the wolves eat you. No to the occupation, no to terrorism."
Egyptian polls 'transparent and honest'
Egypt's semi-official Al Gumhuriya commented that the violence in the second round of Egypt's legislative elections should not be a cause for concern regarding the "safety of the election process".
The mass-circulation daily said in its November 21 editorial that the polls enjoyed a "high level of transparency and honesty in the government's neutrality and in the security services' commitment in protecting the safety of voters, as well as in allowing monitors from civil society to register any violations".
It insisted that security forces only interfered when clashes threatened the lives of the electorate and said that the thugs, whom the opposition accused the ruling party of hiring, "usually profit on such occasions".
Iraq meeting in Cairo serves American interests
The London-based Al Quds Al Arabi commented on November 21 that the Arab League-sponsored Iraqi national reconciliation preparatory meeting in Cairo was a service for the Americans.
The independent Palestinian-owned daily said that seeking wider participation in Iraq's political process was an attempt to recognize the legitimacy of the American occupation of Iraq.
It argued that the US administration was seeking, through elections and referenda, to demonstrate that its plan for change was starting to achieve results, adding that the 22-member Arab League, and its chief Amr Moussa, were playing a major role in "achieving this great service by Arabizing the American political process".
It said that it was ironic that Arab governments would use their organization to legitimize the occupation and political process in Iraq on behalf and at the request of the American administration.
"They are providing a free lifesaver for this administration that is becoming hated, not only around the world, but inside the United States itself," the paper commented.
Achieving reconciliation in Iraq
Jordan's Al Rai daily said in a November 21 commentary that even if the Iraqi meeting in Cairo did not succeed, its convening still had benefits because there was now recognition of an internal Iraqi problem.
The mass-circulation paper, partially owned by the government, argued that the meeting also shows that Iraqis are unable to resolve their problems without an Arab say and help "because Iraq is an Arab country".
While these are indirect positive results for this gathering, it does not mean it will achieve national unity or avoid a civil war, it said, adding that reconciliation can only happen among all Iraq's struggling parties without exception and without conditions on who attends, such as the Baathists and resistance elements.
"Otherwise, it will be a reconciliation of partners in power in Iraq," the paper opined.
Giving Iraq 'Iraqi choices'
The London-based Al Hayat on November 21 said that the Iraqi meeting in Cairo was necessary and belated, adding that it should have been held before endorsing the new constitution so that the charter could have been the fruit of accord.
Nevertheless, the Saudi-financed paper added, an open dialogue would at least ensure that the Iraqis had "purely Iraqi choices because the American option has given all it has and brought the country to where it is today".
The paper added that the Arab mediation role had shown its limits by being unable to interfere, but provided a positive regional atmosphere for Iraq's relations with its neighbors. It said that national accord was the strongest factor that would push the occupation forces to leave the country and that continued strife would keep them there.
"Therefore, it is the natural demand by any national rule to seek an end to occupation," it said.
Review of Arab editorials
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