JORDAN

JORDAN
Jordan Times, Amman, Nov. 6: With the onset of Ramadan, Muslims around the world begin a month of spiritual rebirth. This is a time of inner cleansing, soul-searching and of coming closer to God.
But this year the Muslim communities of the world, particularly the Arab world, begin their month of fasting with trepidation. Brothers in Palestine continue to face a fierce occupation by an Israeli government that can only be seen as even more dangerous following the breakup of the Sharon coalition and the arrival of Likud hard-liner Benjamin Netanyahu as temporary foreign minister.
Sense of hopelessness
Brothers in Iraq continue to suffer under more than a decade of U.N. sanctions compounded by fears of an attack by the U.S. Many in the region have a sense of hopelessness, and they fear drastic changes are in store for this part of the world.
Jordan prides itself in continuously striving for peaceful means to resolve conflicts. Its voice abroad has spoken volumes of what can be achieved by practicing moderation and tolerance. These are the messages that need to be heard. As Ramadan is a test of one's endurance, the work to get these messages out should not stop.
SWEDEN
Svenska Dagbladet, Stockholm, Nov. 6: Both Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon are standing with both feet firmly established in the past. Is there any future for peace? In the short term international observers could contribute to reducing violence.
Otherwise it is probably the long process that counts: To work internationally to make democracy light up the darkness in the Arab world and break stereotyped enemy images, for instance the hate propaganda in the Palestinian schools. What about Israel?
Laws of war
The country has the full right to defend itself against terrorism, but there are also obligations in connection with this right. Israel cannot just set a bad example and ignore the accusations of crimes against the laws of war.
BRITAIN
The Guardian, London, Nov. 6: Zap! Pow! The bad guys are dead. And they never knew what hit them. Living his presidency like Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, George Bush etched another notch in his gun butt this week, blowing away six "terrorists" in Yemen's desert.
Their car was incinerated by a Hellfire missile, fired by a CIA unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone. Dealing out death via remote-controlled flying robots could be the spooks' salvation after the September 11 and Afghan intelligence flops. It makes the agency look useful.
Peacekeeping
Zap! Ping! Even as the bullets ricochet, it should be said there are some problems with this approach to international peacekeeping. For a start, it is illegal. The Yemen attack violates basic rules of sovereignty. It is an act of war where no war has been declared. It killed people, some of whom who may have been criminals, but who will never now face trial. It assassinated men who may have been planning attacks. But who can tell? It is, at best, irresponsible extra-judicial killing, at worst a premeditated, cold-blooded murder of civilians. And it is also, and this is no mere afterthought, morally unsustainable. Those who authorized this act have some serious ethical as well as legal questions to answer. That there is no prospect at all that they will, and no insistence by Britain or others that they do so, only renders ever more appalling the moral pit which gapes and beckons.
Fearsome scourge
Stateless gangster terrorism is a fearsome scourge. But state-sponsored terrorism is a greater evil, for it is waged by those who should know better, who are duty-bound to address causes not mere symptoms, who may claim to act in the people's name. As Alexander Herzen said in another age of struggle: "We are not the doctors. We are the disease."