BRITAIN

BRITAIN
Daily Telegraph, London, Sept. 26: If Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's aim has been to show that the West is weak and decadent, then there has been much to cheer him in recent days. In their coverage of Kenneth Bigley's appalling case, the British media have conspired unwittingly in the terrorists' objectives, which have been to control the agenda, nurture the impression of Western impotence, and encourage the misapprehension that Mr. Bigley's suffering is somehow the consequence of decisions taken by President George Bush and, more specifically, Tony Blair.
Question of proportionality
It is understandable that news organizations should wish to cover Mr. Bigley's dreadful story first and most vividly. But there is a question of proportionality: hundreds of Iraqi families have already had to deal with the vicious practice of hostage-taking. It is notable, too, that the American media treated the captivity and murder of Mr. Bigley's fellow hostages, Eugene Armstrong and Jack Hensley, with much greater restraint.
The most dangerous delusion that British coverage of Mr. Bigley's case has encouraged is the myth that it is possible to negotiate with fundamentalist terrorists. It would have been quite wrong, strategically and morally, to capitulate to the demands made by Zarqawi for the release of female Iraqi prisoners.
The mawkish, hand-wringing coverage of Mr. Bigley's case will encourage prospective hostage-takers to believe that their activities will be rewarded with acres of newsprint and hours of airtime. The practical effect will be to make Britons in Iraq all the more vulnerable to kidnap.
JAPAN
Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo, Sept. 26: Investigations by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reveal that North Korea and Iran have been active in the smuggling of uranium enrichment-related parts.
The threat of terrorists planning a "nuclear 9/11" with technology and raw materials acquired from the black market is no longer the stuff of science fiction fantasy.
To help prevent the situation from worsening, we offer three proposals.
First, there should be a bigger push to promote implementation of Resolution No. 1540, adopted by the United Nations Security Council in April, which seeks to halt trafficking in weapons of mass destruction (WMD). This resolution demands that U.N. member countries criminalize the proliferation of nuclear arms and other WMD while implementing export control systems to root out illicit sales of such weapons.
Snap inspections
Secondly, we support an increase in the signatory parties to the additional protocol designed to streamline compliance snap inspections by the IAEA.
If the agency were able to steadily increase the number and frequency of its surprise checks under this protocol, ... the odds of being able to detect secret testing of weapons early would be improved.
Thirdly, we propose a treaty to ban production of fissionable materials for use in weapons.
Inking such a treaty would be a means to stop the arms race, and simultaneously block proliferation of nuclear weapons to nuclear-free countries. It will also be important, meanwhile, to equip the treaty adopted with an inspection system capable of verifying implementation.
JORDAN
Jordan Times, Amman, Sept. 28: Whether the eastern wall of Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem is safe and fit is a technical issue that must be tackled by all sides. The Israeli authorities are now claiming that the wall is cracked and that there is an imminent danger of collapse.
There is now an engineering effort to use rods to strengthen the wall against earthquakes or any other stress that it may be subjected to in the future. This suggests that the wall may indeed require reinforcement, irrespective of the true intentions of the Israeli side. It would be safer to use the Israeli recommendation to address the construction weaknesses in the wall as a serious warning rather than to see in it a merely political ploy to prevent worshippers from carrying out their religious duties.
Play it safe
Since all that Israel is calling for is reinforcement of the wall, and since the Muslim authorities are actually aiming to do just that, why not strengthen the wall and play it safe?