AMMAN, Jordan, June 1 (UPI) -- Arab press roundup for June 1:
London-based al-Quds al-Arabi commented Thursday that the U.S. retraction of its decision not to negotiate with Iran might mean the American administration has accepted the reality of Tehran's insistence on enriching uranium and is seeking to reach a deal. Another reason for the retraction, it said, might be that Washington has already decided to resort to military force but needs time to prepare and gather allies; thus its agreement for negotiations.
The independent Palestinian-owned daily speculated the military option was the strongest because Iran will not abandon its nuclear program and the United States will not accept Iran as a nuclear power in the region.
"Iran's steadfastness in the face of American insolence and the failure of American policy in Iraq and Afghanistan" have confused the American decision-makers, it opined.
The paper, distributed in many Arab capitals, predicted Iran might temporarily suspend uranium enrichment to enter a dialogue with the Americans, adding that Iran has so far triumphed over the U.S. administration.
"Credit goes to (Iran's) leadership and its steadfastness, as well as grabbing as many pressure cards as possible, especially in Iraq," the paper stressed. "The Iranian lesson should be useful for some Arab leaders if they want to deal with the United States through any other position than that of being a subordinate."
--
Lebanon's an-Nahar said that Iran has advanced a great deal in its nuclear program and influence in Iraq and the region in the past three years, while the United States has regressed.
The mass-circulation daily said a new phase in the relationship between the two countries began after America realized that without direct dialogue with Iran on the nuclear issue, there can be no solutions to other important issues. It said Washington has been unable to persuade Russia and China of its strategy to isolate Iran, and it was therefore necessary to respond to the wishes of its partners and allies to enter a dialogue.
The paper said this development was a result of intensive diplomacy, adding that Washington's conditional acceptance and Iran's rejection of the conditions does not necessarily mean the dialogue will fail.
"Readiness for dialogue with Iran is no longer forbidden in American policy," it argued. "In fact, it is the launching of a new stage in the open struggle between them as each side seeks the best terms that would mature into the 'great deal.'"
--
Jordan's ad-Dustour blasted what it called the American troops' massacres of Iraqi Sunnis because they support the anti-occupation insurgency.
The mass-circulation daily compared the U.S. forces' entry of homes and shooting civilians to massacres that were committed against Palestinians in Palestine and Lebanon. It said the problem with these massacres is that they're mostly "silent because the embedded media with the American forces cannot publish these atrocities, while the new Iraqi media is concerned with the political and sectarian differences more than with the American crimes."
The paper, which describes itself as independent but is partially owned by the government, added the Arab media is preoccupied with al-Qaida's struggle with the Iraqi people, the kidnappings and the bombing attacks against civilians and holy shrines, adding the "crimes of the American occupation forces are revealed only by some independent American and European media."
The official American reaction of shock after the publication of the massacres is not because of this behavior, it insisted, but because these images reveal to the world the "criminal American approach."
The daily argued that Iraq and its people are paying a high price between the American occupation and the terrorist groups, "but history will record that this war is one of the dirtiest." It urged the Iraqi government that is defending the American presence in Iraq to "fear God."
The paper opined these American massacres and those being carried out by the pro-government militias are no different than those committed by Saddam Hussein's regime, "whose symbols today stand accused of crimes they committed 20 years ago, while new crimes are being committed every day under the slogans of American democracy."
--
The United Arab Emirates' al-Khaleej said in its editorial that whoever the Iraqis behind the executions and massacres are, and whatever their slogans, they are carrying out the malicious objectives of the occupation.
The pro-government daily said the killers are doing the work the occupation cannot directly do.
One of the biggest sins of the occupation in Iraq, the paper argued, is planting the seeds of sectarian and ethnic sedition, raising gangs and spreading corruption. It opined that "all these seeds sprouted with militias and sectarian and terrorist organization skilled at killing Iraqis, as if the massacres carried out by the occupation forces are not enough."
The Dubai-based daily said the revelation of a massacre of civilians in Haditha six months ago by U.S. troops was another episode in the "black record" of American violations against humanity.
"With what the American occupation forces are doing against the Iraqis and what the terrorist and criminal gangs are doing makes them the same side of the coin, they complement each other, and the aim is to destroy the Iraqi people as long as they believe in their unity," it insisted.
The paper appealed to all Arabs, saying: "Don't let Iraq drown in its blood."
