Military

DATE=2/27/03

TYPE=U-S OPINION ROUNDUP

TITLE=BUSH / MIDEAST

NUMBER=6-12844

BYLINE=JOHN GUCHEMAND

DATELINE=WASHINGTON, D-C

TELEPHONE=619-2702

CONTENT=

INTRO: Newspaper editorial writers in the United States are commenting on President Bush's Wednesday evening speech, in which he laid out his vision for the Middle East. Here is ____________ with a sampling of opinion from newspapers around the United States.

TEXT: On the U-S West Coast, in San Diego, California, the Mercury News takes issue with the remarks President Bush made on Wednesday, in his speech about possible war with Iraq and his vision for the future of the Middle East. The newspaper's editorial says the president has done too little to help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and criticizes him for saying were Saddam Hussein to be removed, the United States would be better able to "seize every opportunity" to pursue peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

VOICE: The president is correct in one thing: A change of regime in Iraq will have profound political, military and psychological repercussions on governments and populations from Cairo to Tehran and beyond. The question, though, is whether those shifts will be, as the administration says, supportive of democracy and democracies, or whether they will bring about a surge in radical militancy that destabilizes the region further, making peace all the more elusive. Pursuing peace between Israelis and Palestinians ought to be a top priority for any U-S administration -- not a pretext for going to war with Iraq.

TEXT: The words of San Diego, California's Mercury News.

An editorial in the Denver (Colorado) Post takes a different view of the president's remarks. It says:

VOICE: We hope that President George Bush's Wednesday pledge to work toward a "free, democratic Palestine" wasn't just empty rhetoric designed to shore up support for the upcoming ouster of Iraqi despot Saddam Hussein. As difficult as it undoubtedly will be to achieve, a free and at least somewhat democratic Palestine is crucial to the broader goal of restoring stability to the Middle East. ...A free and at least somewhat democratic Palestine would give the progressive forces in the Arab world and in non-Arab Islamic countries like Iran crucial leverage in their own struggle with radical reactionaries.

TEXT: Views from the Denver Post, (in the western U-S State, Colorado).

The Indianapolis (Indiana) Star, (in the American midwest), applauds President Bush for making the spread of democracy in the Middle East a high priority. The newspaper's editorial says while the United States' motivation for seeking regime change in Iraq is based primarily on Saddam Hussein's pursuit of biological, chemical and nuclear weapons and his support of terrorism, the Iraqi people deserve protection from the Iraqi dictatorship, as well.

VOICE: President Bush made a strong case Wednesday for freeing the Iraqi people from their tyrannical government, which has stifled that nation's economic growth and helped destabilize the Middle East... He spoke extensively about the welfare of the Iraqi people, who have lived on rations since the United Nations imposed

sanctions on Iraq for its failure to cooperate with weapons inspectors after the 1991 Gulf War. The people of Iraq deserve protection from a murderous dictator who promotes terrorism and pursues weapons that can threaten the world.

TEXT: Editorial comment from the Indianapolis Star.

(Also in the midwest,) the Detroit (Michigan) Free Press admonishes its readers not to expect war to solve all of the region's troubles. As the newspaper's editorial puts it, President Bush's vision only works, if it includes a clear picture of reality:

VOICE: (President) Bush seems to think he can inject democracy into Iraq, and thus make the Palestinians follow suit. With this one war he's been selling, he expects to rid the world not only of Iraqi dictator

Saddam Hussein, but also the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian violence that no president before him has been able to solve. ...Succeeding at defeating (Mr.) Hussein and helping Iraq form a new government will be tough enough. Expecting it to cause terrorists everywhere to lay down their arms is naive.

TEXT: The midwestern Kansas City Star, agrees that the United States has set extremely challenging goals for itself. Despite the challenges, the newspaper believes the U-S is pursuing worthy ends.

VOICE: Rebuilding Iraq and establishing democracy there would not be easy, as Bush acknowledges. Encouraging political reforms elsewhere in the region and draining it of violent extremism would be monumental undertakings. But the rewards, too, would be monumental -- for the Middle East, the United States and the rest of the world.

TEXT: The Los Angeles Times writes that Middle East peace lies in resolving the Palestinian - Israeli fighting, not in focussing U-S arms on Iraq.

VOICE: Bush said Thursday his administration was working on the Middle East every day. However, his last major address on the Palestinian - Israeli conflict was in June. U-S diplomats in the region say they have seen no indication that Washington puts a high priority on bringing both sides together. Instead, the focus has been on Iraq.

The president said "success in Iraq" could launch progress toward a democratic Palestinian state by depriving terrorists of the patronage of Saddam Hussein. But Hussein has given less aid to terrorists than Iran and Syria have.

TEXT: That from The Los Angeles Times.

This is ___________ concluding today's summary of editorial pages in newspapers from around the United States.

NEB/JG/FC/RH