A roundup of commentary from Arab newspapers August 30.
US using Arabs as tools for Israel
Algeria's Al Khabar blasted what it said were attempts by the leaders of Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia to incite Sunnis and Shiites against each other, saying it threatened the entire region and could ignite destructive sectarian wars in Arab countries.
The daily said the only beneficiary of such attempts was Israel, not the Sunnis or Shiites, "as the rulers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan are trying to mislead the Arabs."
The paper, which describes itself as independent but with Arab nationalist trends, said what "scandalizes these leaders is their practical blockade against the Hamas government in Palestine, and it's a Sunni movement."
It added that these three regimes' moves against Hezbollah in Lebanon and against Iran and the Palestinian government indicated that the "mastermind of this battle is the US administration," the beneficiary is Israel and the tools are the Arabs.
Nasrallah honesty an example for Palestine
Palestinian Al Hayat Al Jadeeda complained in an editorial that there have been 300 "martyrs, and thousands of injured and arrested since the capture of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit [by Palestinian militants] in the Israeli aggression against our people."
It is a high price the Palestinians are paying over a short period of time, the paper said, and only a "courageous leader admits he miscalculated, like [Hezbollah leader] Hassan Nasrallah did."
The mainstream daily, which is close to the Fatah movement, said no Palestinian has yet admitted a mistake, although it is true that Israel will continue to assault Palestinians whether or not they capture soldiers. Nevertheless, it insisted, self-accountability is necessary and "we need to ask ourselves where we went right and wrong."
The paper said the current government, headed by Hamas, claims it is resisting the occupation. But it cannot resist the negative trends in the Gaza Strip nor provide security and safety to its people.
The editorial asked why the government does not rein in those who break the law or bring national interest under danger, and argued that not every weapon was being used for resistance, nor should every one who wants to resist be allowed to do so without a specific strategy that takes into consideration internal and external conditions.
The person who throws himself into death can do the same to impose security and protection for the people and their property, it insisted, because "chaos does not bring resistance, but more chaos."
French leader correct up to a point
Egypt's Al Gumhuriya welcomed in its editorial French President Jacques Chirac's recent call for convening an emergency meeting of the Quartet committee to resume Palestinian-Israeli peace talks to avoid further violence.
The semi-official daily said Chirac was correct to recognize that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has produced further crises, the latest being the Israeli war on Lebanon, and added that failing to resolve the Palestinian issue would continue to bring further confrontations, which will affect the entire region's stability.
The mass-circulation paper argued that while it agreed with the French president's call, the Quartet committee needs to be neutral and just, because the committee - made up of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations - has been yielding to US and Israeli pressure, and has participated in the Israeli blockade against the Palestinians as punishment for choosing Hamas in democratic and free elections and tried to justify Israeli attacks as self-defense, the paper complained.
The Quartet was not a responsible and qualified international committee tasked with settling a conflict between two parties, it said.
All woes rooted to US vision
Kuwait's Al Rai Al Aam commented that all events in the region were linked with the American vision of a "new Middle East," adding that the Israeli aggression on Lebanon was connected to America's crisis in Iraq, its crisis with Iran and Israel's assault on the Palestinians.
The pro-government daily said all these developments are taking place under the name of America's "war on terror," adding the US administration's policies stem from religious ideology.
It argued that the statements and articles of US policy and decision-makers shows that America sees it must eliminate all resistance and rejection, "or what President [George W.] Bush called anti-Israeli Islamic fascism, or terrorist forces, through Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas."
The paper said the concept of the "new Middle East" was brought up three times: First, after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and the invasion of Afghanistan; second, before the invasion of Iraq; and finally, with the Israeli aggression on Lebanon. "The three attempts failed because their reading of the region was wrong," it stressed.
The daily said the repeated attempts to draw up a new Middle East have failed, but that doesn't mean Washington would stop trying to impose its vision until the end of the Second Bush term. "Thus, we should expect more chaos and turbulence in the region for the next two years, because President Bush will likely try it again."
Review of Arab Editorials
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