Countdown to War in Iraq - Arab Press Perspectives

As most Arab dailies went to press in the early hours of the morning of
March 20, they were anticipating the start of the war at any moment. Even
after the passing of President Bush's declared deadline, some newspapers
published commentaries which discussed ending the conflict by encouraging
Saddam to seek asylum. The following are excerpts from various Arabic
newspapers on this topic and others relating to the war:

Saddam Hussein on TV

A few hours after President Bush announced the start of the war, Saddam
Hussein spoke on television. In a defiant speech meant both for the Iraqi
people and perhaps even more for the countries which oppose the war, he
said:

"You have just noticed how frivolous Bush has ignored your calls for peace
and [how] he has committed his despicable crime. On your behalf and on
behalf of the Iraqi leadership and people - Iraq the civilization, history,
and faith - we pledge to resist the invaders and drive them to the limit in
which they will lose their patience so they will fail..."

Invoking poetry from historic Arab battles, Saddam called on the Iraqi
people to "draw your swords, saddle the horses, prepare to charge and keep
the fire burning." (1)

Political Asylum to Saddam

In an effort to contain the conflict, the Emir of Bahrain, Sheikh Hamad bin
Issa Al-Khalifa, said his country was prepared to host the Iraqi president
"venerably and generously." (2) On the other hand, Saudi Arabia has
categorically denied that it is prepared to provide asylum to the Iraqi
president. (3)

The Lebanese daily Al-Safir maintained that the Russian Embassy in Baghdad
has kept 35 of its staff in Baghdad ready to accommodate Saddam Hussein and
his family with their luggage and money and to transfer them aboard a
Russian plane to an isolated villa in the vicinity of the Russian capital.

At the same time, Al-Safir reported that the French have closed the gates of
their embassy publicly and in front of journalists' cameras to "dispel any
doubt about the French position toward the Iraqi regime and to assure
everyone abroad that Paris is not prepared to offer political asylum to
Saddam or to any of his family or comrades." (4)

Thousands of Islamist Volunteers in Baghdad

The London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat quoted Islamist
fundamentalists in London as stating that thousands of Arab Afghans (a term
applied to Arabs who volunteered to fight the Soviet Union in Afghanistan)
have entered Iraq to participate in suicide missions against American
forces. The same sources also revealed that 2,500 Lebanese Islamists have
been in Iraq for six months in special training camps.

In what the newspaper describes as "a gentleman's agreement" between the
Iraqi government and the Islamists, the latter will be allowed to carry out
their operations without operating under the banner of the Ba'ath party, as
is a secular party. (5)

Arab Leaders Blame Saddam

President Hosni Mubarak, in a speech to the Egyptian people, expressed his
regret at the failure of diplomatic efforts to avoid war. This was the
result "of many mistakes, beginning with the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait in
1990, which opened the door to the foreign presence, and the absence of any
genuine Iraqi effort to deal with the crisis of confidence which ensured."
(6)

In a statement read by his brother on television, the Emir of Kuwait
declared: "The State of Kuwait does not toll the bells of wars, they are
tolled by a regime which does not learn from experience [so as] to protect a
group of adventurers and lovers of domination." (7)

The Saudi daily Al-Watan blamed the war on the policies of a leadership
which participated in "reckless behavior." These policies, reported the
paper, "are not useful in dealing with a unipolar [power] which the Iraqi
abilities are unable to confront." (8)

Critical Views of the War

The ruling Syrian party newspaper, Al-Ba'th, published an article titled
"America does not want to see a peaceful world?!" The article stated that
"America with its enormous abilities and power cannot see the world in
peace... Insanity alone can explain [the reason] it is being led by a group
of murderer Zionists to draw a new map for the world." (9)

Under the title "A point of view-the final fall," the Syrian government
daily Teshreen characterized President Bush's ultimatum to Saddam as falling
"outside international legitimacy and the inhuman behavior [sic.] - it is
entirely a war of the outlaws... The United States of America may win the
battle against Iraq due to its immense power, but it will definitely lose
the war... History is a witness [to] the fall of decadent empires of
yesteryear." (10)

Writing about "Bankruptcy and War," the other Syrian government daily,
Al-Thawra, cited the bankruptcy of American corporations as the primary
reason for the U.S.'s drive to control Iraq's great oil wealth. (11)

The editor of the pro-Iraqi London-based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi, Abd Al-Bari
Atwan, wrote under the heading "Unjust and Immoral War":

"No one expects that Iraq, besieged, starved and shunned by his Arab
brethren, would be a challenge for the great American military machine which
seeks to destroy it [Iraq] and keep it under occupation, but we have the
right to expect Iraqi resistance in keeping with its status and deep-rooted
civilized history."

"This war has been imposed on Iraq and its people, just like the two
previous wars, in Iran and Kuwait, because the American invader wants
occupation, the theft of wealth and to humble the Arab and Muslim nations
through the subjugating and humbling of Iraq." (12)

The daily Al-Khaleej, published in Dubai, attributed the "debasement" of
American policy regarding Iraq to President Bush's religious beliefs which
have rendered his speeches more like "preaching than political directions
and analysis." (13)

In contrast, D. Nabil Luqa Babawi wrote in Al-Ahram that the war on Iraq is
not a Crusader war because the cross and the New Testament do not condone
it. "Indeed, the entire Christian world, including the Vatican, is against
it. It is a war waged by America as an expression of its arrogance and its
desire to control the oil as a means of controlling the world economy." (14)

Endnotes:
(1) Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), March 20, 2003.
(2) Akhbar Al-Bahrain (Bahrain), March 20, 2003.
(3) Okaz (Saudi Arabia), March 20, 2003.
(4) Al-Safir (Lebanon), March 20, 2003.
(5) Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), March 20, 2003.
(6) Al-Ahram (Cairo), March 20, 2003.
(7) Al-Qabas (Kuwait), March 20, 2003.
(8) Al-Watan (Saudi Arabia), March 20, 2003.
(9) Al-Ba'th (Syria), March 20, 2003.
(10) Teshreen (Syria), March 20, 2003.
(11) Al-Thawra (Syria), March 20, 2003.
(12) Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), March 20, 2003.
(13) Al-Khaleej (United Arab Emirates), March 20, 2003.
(14) Al-Ahram (Cairo), March 20, 2003.

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