The Dweiqa rescue operations dominate the headlines, while reflections on 9/11 and an economy sapped by inflation also intrigue the pundits, write Gamal Nkrumah and Mohamed El-Sayed Whittling at freedom 9/11 seven years on, the assassination of Lebanon's Al-Aureidi, and the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia held the pundits spellbound The assassination in cold blood of preeminent Lebanese politician Salah Al-Aureidi preoccupied Lebanon's pundits and pan-Arab columnists. "The consensus among leading Lebanese politicians and the perspectives of top officials in Lebanon was that the assassination of Salah Al-Aureidi was aimed at wrecking the Lebanese peace process," stated a front page article in the pan-Arab London-based Al-Hayat. "The assassination is designed to disturb the atmosphere of dialogue that prevailed after the Memorandum of Reconciliation signed between rival confessional factions in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli," the paper said. The deceased was a critically important figure for he represented the type of politician who works behind the scenes to reconcile the various opposing sectarian factions of Lebanon. He was regarded as a mediator between the rival Democratic Party, headed by Prince Talal Arslan of the Druze community of Lebanon, and another Druze leader, Walid Jumblatt, head of the Progressive Socialist Party. In a full page spread documenting the life and highlighting the political stature of Al-Aureidi, Al-Hayat stressed that the objective of the assassination was to drive a wedge between the two main Druze factions of Lebanon. It was also designed to cause political unrest in the Druze heartland of the Chouf Mountains and the entire Mount Lebanon region, perhaps the most politically charged and influential part of the country. According to Al-Hayat, there was a consensus among Lebanon's sectarian leaders that Israel was to blame for the assassination of Al-Aureidi. In an unusual show of solidarity, all the leaders of Lebanon's confessional-based parties expressed deep sadness at the assassination and condemned the assassins. The paper pointed out that all Lebanese would pay the price of Al-Aureidi's demise. "Only those who stand to benefit from the failure of the Lebanese peace process could have assassinated Al-Aureidi." The press also paid some attention to the seventh anniversary of 9/11. "No politics, but nationalistic jingoism on the seventh anniversary of 9/11," ran a front page in Al-Hayat. Another pan-Arab London-based daily, Asharq Al-Awsat, showed a heart-wrenching photograph of United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wiping her streaming tears. The paper, however, was derisively unconvinced by American politicians' showy demonstration of remorse. The paper noted that the war on terror has shifted from Iraq to the Afghan-Pakistani border. In a thought-provoking photo-essay, Asharq Al-Awsat exhibited a dramatic photograph of a handsome traditional Saudi-dressed young man whom it purported to be the son of the head of Al-Qaeda, the Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden. Omar bin Laden ostensibly laid an Iftar banquet "for peace" in the vicinity of the Pyramids in remembrance of the victims of 9/11. The paper noted that, "Omar had left the Al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan on his own volition, and with the blessing of his father, because he could no longer condone the killing of innocent civilians. Father and son parted company amicably, even though Omar bin Laden condemned 9/11 but at the same time refuses to describe his father a terrorist," Asharq Al-Awsat stressed. In another controversial issue that surfaces with monotonous regularity every year: the issuing of fatwas (religious edicts) banning the savouring of soap operas in Ramadan. Indeed, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia Sheikh Abdul-Aziz Al-Ash was quoted in an extensive interview in Al-Watan, the Emirates-based independent daily, in what was widely seen as a provocative fatwa outlawing the watching of soap operas, especially the Turkish varieties. "These are serials of immortality. They are prepared by people who are specialists in crime and terror, people who invite men and women to the devil," the enraged mufti warned. "It is not permitted to look at these serials or to watch them. They contain so much evil, they destroy people's ethics and are against our values," he added. "Turkish soap operas corrupt individuals and spread vice in society," the Saudi mufti concluded. The Palestinian question also received some attention in the Arab media. According to Al-Hayat, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was pessimistic about the future of talks with Israel. "Abbas discounts a peace deal [with the Israelis] by the end of the year. And, [Hamas leader Khaled] Meshaal criticises Abbas's handling of the issue and insists that the Palestinian presidential poll be held as scheduled." Developments in the Caucuses also busied the pundits. In an opinion piece in Al-Hayat, Elias Hanna warned that the recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and the change of borders are a dangerous precedent. "Is it not strange that Russia recognises these two Georgian autonomous regions, while there are several Russian autonomous regions that are seeking independence?" However, Hanna did concede that Russia has the means -- militarily, financially and politically -- to subdue these miniature autonomous regions. "Russia has so subjugated Chechnya, for instance, that a Chechen general oversaw the war against Georgia," he pointed out. Hanna raised the prickly question of a comparison between the Chinese and the Russian relationships with the West. They are not identical. China, a member of the World Trade organisation (WTO), is energy hungry. Russia, on the other hand, is one of the most important suppliers of energy and hydrocarbons in the world, and it so far has failed to join the WTO. From foreign concerns to Egyptian foreign policy, the Arab critique of Egypt is gaining momentum. Egypt's policy towards the Palestinians came under strict scrutiny. Writing an open message in Al-Hayat to President Hosni Mubarak, Mahmoud Al-Mubarak reminded President Mubarak of the oath he took in January when he vowed not to let the Palestinians in Gaza die of hunger. "The Egyptian and Arab peoples still remember your vow not to let the Palestinians in Gaza die of hunger or let a disaster take place there... I would like to remind you of the fact that since then the number of people killed in Gaza hit 240 because of banning medicines and food [from entering to the Strip]." He was adamant that Egypt did have a prominent role to play in alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people. Al-Mubarak continued, "Egypt can stop death in Gaza if its authorities stop standing in the face of relief missions formed by Egyptians." He called upon President Mubarak not to abide by international conventions that might hinder the opening of Egypt-Gaza borders. "Letting the people [in Gaza] die on the pretext that [Egypt] wants to abide by international agreements is unacceptable according to international law. "Preventing relief missions from reaching civilians who are in bad need of them is a crime according to international law." International affairs also interested the Arab media. The most engaging topic was that of 9/11. Most writers agreed that it was a watershed date, and a defining moment, for Arab-American relations. Writing in Asharq Al-Awsat, Bothaina Shaaban reflected on the consequences of 9/11. She argued that, "after 9/11 it would be very difficult, if not impossible, for an Arab to study physics in Western universities. Given the deterioration in most Arab universities, we can conclude that the Arabs' knowledge about physics will be very limited in the future, a matter which will negatively affect scientific progress in the Arab world." Domestic Israeli politics also aroused the curiosity of the Arab press. Asharq Al-Awsat highlighted Ehud Olmert's comments on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. "Olmert announces the end of the dream of the Great Israel land for the Jews", ran the headline of the paper. "For 40 years we have been creating pretexts in order not to take any positive step towards peace with the Palestinians... We refused to see the reality... I personally believed that the land located between the sea and the river is ours alone. However, after a long time of hesitation I eventually reached the conclusion that we have to share the land with those people [living on] it. We don't want one country for two peoples," the paper quoted Olmert as saying.
