Press Review [Archives:2001/39/Press Review]

Main Headlines: 
America Looks for Regional Cover for Undeclared Operations  
Precautionary Closure of Al-Imman University 
YSP Condemns Terrorism, Calls for Confuting Hatred, Fomenting Against Arabs & Muslims  
U.S. Events Hit Tourism in Yemen  
War on Terrorism Imminent 
UN Security Council Calls on Taliban Handover Bin Laden Immediately 
Yemen, Syria Confirm Refusal of Linking Terrorism to Islam and Arabs 
U.S. Defense Secretary Hints Involvement of more than One country in Bloody Tuesday Events 
Bush Declares it Crusade War, Zionist Movement Prime Beneficiary 
America Seeks Yemen’s Cooperation in Disclosing Secrets of Tuesday’s Attacks  
RAY Party Condemns Attacks on WTC, Pentagon 
4000 Jewish Employees at WTC Stayed Away on Tuesday’s Events 
Foreign Minister: Yemen to Offer all Information it Has. 
Ath-Thawri weekly, organ of the YSP 20 September 2001 
The newspaper’s editorial comments on Tuesday’s attacks in New York and Washington and says that confronting currents of violence has to overstep the states of passionate commotion and vengeance tendency to a degree providing decision-makers with an opportunity to see the scene from different angles and dimensions. This would force Washington and the industrialized world to study the environment incubating terrorism and define its roots and to come forward with a comprehensive economic, developmental and political project to help those peoples come out from their crisis and solve their compound problems. Such problems are represented in ways of strengthening the economy, putting an end to plundering of wealths, improvement of income level, elimination of unemployment and putting pressure for reformation of political systems’ infrastructures and broadening of the social base of rule. Betting on the use of force, in its absolute concept, in its ability to achieve political goals as aimed at by Washington is something skeptical. These suspicions would be futile when the war is waged on obscure organizations the American intelligence apparatuses, and those allied with it, have but little information about. 
The editorial further mentions that if America has defined its target in Afghanistan, it has no doubt invoked by now its previous unsuccessful experiments in more than one region of international conflicts. This would dictate on U.S. military policy decision-makers a state of unhurried lesson and not to be involved in a war of numerous victims with less benefits and objectives particularly that Washington fully realizes that it is fighting ghosts and that its interests would preferable targets. If the U.S. does not change its foreign policy and has a parallel and just vision towards what is going on in the region and the world, the situation would lead not only to threaten the American interests but rather provoke the Arab regimes themselves.    Al-Ayyam weekly, 19 September 2001 
Ahmed Omar bin Freed has written an article saying that the huge debris of thousands of tons resulted from attacking the WTC in New York on September 11 aroused a host of questions the U.S. Administration has to give answers to. It has to sincerely, realistically and with a sense of responsibility answer the question ” why did that happen?” , not how. 
Personally I think such an answer is the main key to finding ways of drying up the sources of terrorism and suicide attacks. Bush administration has to be realistic with itself and recognize that the American unjust policy and rather biased in dealing with the Middle East issue is the only major cause that of Tuesdays explosions and it has itself indirectly killed thousands of people. 
The author concludes that the first and most effective and reasonable act to be adopted in the process of combating terrorism is to remove injustice suffered by peoples especially of the Middle East region. It should be the strategy required from America to adopt in the coming stage. 
 
Al-Wahda weekly, 19 September 2001 
 Columnist Hamoud Mansar says in an article that it seems that the call for establishment of an international alliance for combating terrorism needs American reconsideration and realization of certain European and Russian and Chinese conditions. There must also be some Arab and Islamic conditions, the most important of which is correcting the American idea of terrorism and differentiation between it and that of resisting occupation and not to attach terrorism to Arabs and Islam. 
Arab and Muslim decision-makers have to comprehend that the changeable and challenges dictate on them to stand courageously with themselves and their peoples to stave dangers off. They should tell America ” we are with you in the battle against terrorism, but first let’s agree on the concept of terrorism. If it is going to be a crusade war, as Bush has termed it, there would be no chance of alliance. 
As-Sahwa weekly 20 September 2001 
The newspaper’s editorial says that the American focusing on the use of force and naming the enemies beforehand may push the world forget its agonies and think about pains of those to be America’s victims. 
The editorial maintains that certain points should be remembered: 
– the U.S. voicing if accusation before removing debris is repeating what happened following the attack of Oklahoma in 1995 when the U.S. implemented strikes against Afghanistan and the Sudan, terrorizing their Muslim and Arab population and now it is leveling the same charges at the Arabs and Muslims and without clear evidence. 
_passengers of attacking planes were from all nationalities and religions but the focus is attaching accusations is on Arabs and Muslims, 
-the recent events have disclosed level of the Jewish role in making the American decision and steering media towards defaming the image of Islam and attracting sympathy towards the Zionist entity, 
– during previous experiences there appeared some reasonable voices in Europe warning America against hasty reactions because that would lead to continuation of violence, 
– tackling issues of terrorism would be through considering the causes and America’s reconsideration of its internal and external policies, the most outstanding of which is its complete partiality with Israel, 
-the issue of terrorism has become an international one not confined to certain country, race or religion and America has to consult the world in taking the decision towards it and there should be a definition of concepts of terrorism, differentiating it from the legitimate right to defending the land and dignity, 
– killing the innocent is not approved by legislations and religions and thus America must remember the children of Iraq, Libya and Sudan and not to get involved in again punishing the innocent. 
Al-Jamaheer weekly, organ of the Arab Baath Socialist party, Syria organization, 16 September 2001 
The newspaper’s chief editor writes saying that we are not with terrorism neither with rendering civilians into military targets because that contradicts our beliefs and principles. 
What happened in America is a natural outcome of the rule that terrorism breeds but terrorism. America’s practices all over the world have clearly depicted a number of inhumane stands characterized by a hostile tendency towards peoples especially the stand towards the Palestinian cause and siding with the Zionist entity, terrorism against the people of Iraq, Sudan and Libya, in addition to other peoples of the world. America’s endeavor to invest globalization under the international imbalance to impoverish countries and control their economies has created many human accumulations and various reactions reflected by a number of acts targeting American interests. These reactions cannot be confined to a certain area or religion or a certain group because they entertain the characteristic of comprehensiveness and civilization conflict aimed at effecting balance in the world. 
 
Al-Wahdawi weekly, 18 September 2001 
Columnist Ali Al-Saqqaf has said that attacks on the WTC in New York city and the Pentagon in Washington are still like a puzzle difficult to solve. If astonishment resulting from the shock has subsided a little there should be a re-arrangement of questions. The question of who has been behind the attacks must be in the second place to open way for the question about the reason why they have been carried out. Whoever the perpetrator or the side that is behind the events and whatever the degree of our condemnation, there is certainly a motive behind them.   
Whether it was the act of American rightist organizations, or the MOSAD or by Osama bin Laden, America has to study carefully the motive in order to avoid any similar catastrophe in future. America’s interest and that of humanity necessitates that America should reconsider its calculations as a precautionary measure. 
Al-Mithaq weekly , organ of General People’s Congress party 17 September 2001 
Columnist r Abdulaziz al-Maqalih says in his article that he is as sad for the victims of explosions that happened in various areas in the United States of America as for he victims as a result of daily blasts in occupied Palestine, the majority of whom are children, elderly people and women. Those blasts include destruction of houses, burning farms and indiscriminate shelling. Talking about my sadness for the victims here and there, implicitly confirms a causative relationship joining the what happens in Palestine and that which took place in New York city and Washington. The enemy is the same, i.e. the Zionist terrorism. The American administration tries to exclude and rule out that despite its bearing the responsibility for what happens in Palestine owing to its insistence on providing the Zionist entity with all lethal weapons that help it continue its annihilation war against the Palestinian people. The stands of the American administration make millions of people inside and outside the this homeland charged with indignation and resentment towards this administration, considering it their prime enemy. 
The author maintains that terrorism is condemned and rejected as it is a crime befalling innocent people having nothing to do with in what goes on behind the scenes of conspiracies on peoples and homelands. At the same time it could not at any rate be acceptable to enlist peoples’ struggle and resisting occupation under the banner of terrorism because in such a case it represents injustice. 

Saut Ashoura weekly, organ of People’s Forces Union 16 September 2001 
Mr Yahya al-Haddi writes saying that the atmospheres of nowadays remind us of those that preceded the Gulf war ten years before. Statements, stances of states, evacuation of nationals and talking about evidence. demonstrate that we are approaching a war, which is prepared for by the United States targeting Afghanistan that no longer possesses on its land to be destroyed and against a legend called Bin Laden, America itself has established in the first place. 
It is natural to denounce the attacks that took place in the U.S. because attacking civilians is a crime that must be encountered and world countries should coordinate efforts to exterminate such phenomenon, but dealing blows to Afghanistan would not solve the problem and Taliban is not the whole problem, a matter the American administration knows well. Although American official statements call for not linking perpetrators of the attacks to Moslems and Arabs, the American media behave in a different way. for there is a clear instigation against Moslems and Arabs. Statements of the American government on investigations do target the same end. From all this it is understood that Arabs and Moslems are the target of accusation despite the fact that kidnapped planes had on board many people from other nationalities. 

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