Cablegate: Uae Reaction to Saddam Verdict Generally Muted

VZCZCXRO3048
PP RUEHDE RUEHDIR
DE RUEHAD #4234 3121124
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 081124Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7631
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 0255

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 004234

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM KCRM IZ AE
SUBJECT: UAE REACTION TO SADDAM VERDICT GENERALLY MUTED

Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly.

1. (SBU) Emiratis have been slow to comment on the November 5
announcement of Saddam's verdict and sentencing. One Dutch
diplomat summed up his extensive efforts to glean UAE views
on the verdict as "justice is justice," with few Emiratis
offering explanatory comment. An Emirati academic told
PolChief that people here had little reaction to the verdict
itself, which was consistent with the actions of Saddam.
However, he had heard many people talking about the potential
political implications of the trial process and the
coincidence of the verdict with U.S. elections (noting that
all sides would/could use the verdict to their own political
ends). At an evening gathering involving dozens of senior
Emirati businessmen and UAE officials on November 7,
Ambassador noted that no one brought up either Saddam or the
verdict--a further indication of the importance of the issue
in the UAE.

2. (SBU) The announcement of Saddam's sentencing produced
little public reaction in either the Arabic or English press,
and no reaction at all by the UAEG. On November 6, although
all major dailies carried headlines of Saddam's sentence,
only the Arabic-language dailies "Al-Khaleej" and "Al-Bayan"
ran editorials on the announcement finding the sentence "not
surprising" and "a remarkable station in the history of
Iraq," respectively. The "Al-Khaleej" piece went on to note
that the strife in Iraq today "is larger than Saddam's
destiny," and called for re-unification and a commitment
from all sides to place Iraq "on the right track."

3. (SBU) On November 7, most dailies reported news of
Saddam's defense appeal on the front-page, but the articles
were short (less than six inches), and often ran below the
fold. Only the English-language "Gulf News" ran an
additional Op-Ed piece on the verdict--a harsh criticism of
suspected U.S. involvement in the outcome (written by a
British journalist.) The UAEG's official Emirates News
Agency (WAM) remained completely silent on the announcement
with no mention of either Saddam or his trial anyplace on its
website.
SISON

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