Cole Distills the Jordanian Arabic Press on Big Dick

From Juan Cole’s Informed Comment

Jordanian Dailies on Cheney’s Middle East Trip

In a 300-word article on page 28 of Amman Al-Ra’y in Arabic, Jordanian daily of widest circulation; partially owned by government; Internet version also available at [al-Ra’i], columnist Fahd al-Fanik commenting on Dick Cheney’s tour of the Middle East under the headline “What Does Cheney Want?” says: “The US Administration under Bush and his Vice President Cheney has lost credibility and Cheney in particular is no longer taken seriously even in his country. Now he hopes to be taken seriously in the Middle East where he has committed the biggest mistake of attacking Iraq and destroying an independent country that had nothing to do with terrorism.” The article adds: “If Cheney wants to instigate the Arab countries against Iran, his mission will backfire because he will be serving Iran by portraying it as a counter force of the United States. The Arab countries fear Iran for Arab and not US reasons unless Cheney’s task is to mobilize the Arab people against the regime of the Mullas in Tehran.” The article adds: “If Cheney seeks the Arab countries cooperation, he must employ his influence in Israel to seek a just and comprehensive solution for the Palestinian cause in accordance with the Arab initiative and the road map because the Israeli threat is concrete and is embodied in the never-ending occupation of the Palestinian, Syrian, and Lebanese territories while the Iranian threat is just a possibility that calls for alertness but has no priority.” The article says: “Cheney cannot expect the Arabs to give up their priorities and replace them with the US priorities, for we know that the United States is courting Iran and wishes to conclude a deal with it at the expense of Iraq and the Arab world.”

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