Cablegate: Media Reaction Report - Iran Lebanon

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Lucia A Keegan 08/31/2006 09:44:17 AM From DB/Inbox: Lucia A Keegan

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UNCLAS PARIS 05815

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APPROVED: PRS: PLATT
DRAFTED: PR: FTHOMAS
CLEARED: NONE

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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 005815

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DEPT FOR INR/R/MR; IIP/RW; IIP/RNY; BBG/VOA; IIP/WEU;
AF/PA; EUR/WE /P/SP; D/C (MCCOO); EUR/PA; INR/P; INR/EUC;
PM; OSC ISA FOR ILN; NEA; WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC/WEUROPE; DOC FOR
ITA/EUR/FR AND PASS USTR/PA; USINCEUR FOR PAO; NATO/PA; MOSCOW/PA;
ROME/PA.

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR FR

SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Iran Lebanon
PARIS - Wednesday, August 30, 2006

(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT:

Iran
Lebanon

B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE:

Domestic social issues dominate today's front pages, but Iran and
its tug of war with the West is the day's major international story,
with Lebanon and the UNIFIL a close second. Le Figaro entitles an
article: "Europe Wants to Dialogue With Iran" in which Alexandrine
Bouilhet opposes Europe's wish "to resolve the crisis through
negotiations" to the U.S. push "to get sanctions imposed on Iran."
Another article prominently features Ambassador Bolton "who wishes,
if need be, to impose sanctions outside the jurisdiction of the
UNSC, through a 'coalition of the willing.'" The article entitled
"Washington Flexes Its Muscles But Seeks a Strategy" also notes the
U.S. effort led by Ambassador Nick Burns to draft a new resolution
to halt delivery of "sensitive materials" to Iran. The editorial is
entitled "Bringing Iran Around to Negotiations." (See Part C)

An op-ed in Le Figaro entitled "Iran's Ultimate Plan After the Bomb"
explains that "Ahmadinejad has no fear of triggering a clash between
civilizations" and that "'Iranium' will seek to negotiate after it
has acquired the bomb."

Interior Minister Sarkozy pens an op-ed in Le Figaro on France's
commitment in Lebanon, today's second major international story:
Calling for national unity, Sarkozy's op-ed is a strong endorsement
for France's participation in an international peacekeeping force in
Lebanon. Noting that the Lebanon issue is part of one of the key
axes of French foreign policy (and as such should be off-limits for
political jockeying in the run-up to the 2007 elections), Sarkozy
characterizes the conflict as "a war provoked by third countries and
relayed by radical militias." Sarkozy does, however, insist that
mission and lines of command be clearly established in order to
avoid the mistakes of pre-1995 interventions in Bosnia. Sarkozy
argues convincingly against those who insist that France should stay
out of a war that does not concern it, posing the rhetorical
question, "What is the alternative?" and concluding "It is
absolutely necessary that the people of France as a whole support
the mission of our soldiers in Lebanon."

Le Figaro's article on Lebanon details France's "important" and
robust deployment of troops and equipment, including its Leclerc
tanks, "to break with the tradition of impotence of other UN
operations." (See Part C) La Croix devotes a commentary to
"introspection" in the Middle East which analyzes the
"acknowledgments by Olmert, Nasrallah and Hamas leader Ghazi Hamad
of having made errors." (See Part C)

Le Figaro interviews Hussein Haj Hassan, a Hezbollah representative
in the Lebanese Parliament, who says "the Lebanese army cannot
defend the country ... and the international community must offer
something concrete to counterbalance Hezbollah's disarmament..."
Hassan adds that "UNIFIL is welcome and that France's role is
accepted, despite France's sometimes ambiguous stance..." Hassan
also describes Hezbollah's goals: "Give back the Palestinians what
is there's..." Hassan also decries the international community's
description of the party as "a terrorist movement" and points to the
U.S. "as having pushed the Israelis to attack: the Americans' final
objective is to eliminate Hezbollah and Hamas, encircle Syria and
establish their version of the Middle East. The attempt has failed,
but they will try again, with Iran or Syria."

Kofi Annan's visit to Lebanon and Israel is widely reported and his
visit to Damascus announced for tomorrow, where he will discuss the
deployment of UNIFIL along its border with Lebanon. FR3 focused on
his call on the Israeli government to lift the blockade... while TF1
and FR2 emphasized France's role in UNIFIL. FR3 aired a report on
Italy's involvement: sending 2,500 soldiers to Lebanon is not just
"a diplomatic or a humanitarian gesture; Lebanon is also a big
market for Italian companies." This morning, Radio Europe 1 said
that "the cease fire in Lebanon was closer to war than peace."

Every outlet reports the accidental explosion of a pipeline in Iraq.
In communist l'Humanite the accident is announced on the front page:
"Iraq: The Day's Explosion." Inside, the report quotes Secretary
Rumsfeld's remarks in Nevada: "We will not say today to 50 million
Afghans and Iraqis that because of the difficulties we are facing,
we will abandon them to executioners, terrorists, assassins who are
the fascists of the 21s century and who try to attack us abroad and
at home..."

In an op-ed on the future of the European Union, Economist Pierre
Jaillard argues in La Croix that to open the EU to Turkey would be
tantamount to abandoning the EU's democratic aspirations for a
strategic/economic quagmire. Using the occasion of Montenegro's
independence and the dissolution of Yugoslavia as a starting point,
Jaillard insists that Europe's common Judeo-Christian heritage is
essential to its identity, and that Turkey or Morocco have no place
in a common Europe.

Financial La Tribune announces on its front page "a new battle
between Boeing and Airbus" over their B737 and A320 programs,
respectively. According to La Tribune the stakes are "enormous." Le
Figaro Economie reports that a Russian bank has bought 5% of EADS,
the parent company of Airbus.

(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES:

Iran

"Bringing Iran Around to Negotiations"
Pierre Rousselin in right-of-center Le Figaro (08/30): "... The
international community will have no bearing on Iran until it can
set an ultimatum it can stick to... Iran's tactics is to divide the
major powers: the U.S. will call for sanctions in which no one
believes, the Russians and Chinese will oppose them and France and
Europe, caught in the middle, will try to balance things out and
find a consensus which does not exist... And once again Tehran is
about to get what it wants: more time... Meanwhile Ahmadinejad can
threaten to use his own weapons of retaliation, i.e. oil. The recent
Lebanese war proves Tehran's capacity for nuisance. It is
unfortunate that the offer made before the summer, which offered a
dialogue with Iran and which had the support of the U.S., was not
accepted. The major powers' goal should not be to bring Iran to
bend, but to lead this strategic nation to understand that it is in
its own best interest to negotiate. With good diplomacy, this
objective is not out of reach."

Lebanon

"France's Heavy Deployment in Lebanon"
Arnaud de La Grange in right-of-center Le Figaro (08/30): "The
firepower France is deploying in Lebanon has never been seen outside
NATO... The significance of this important deployment is twofold.
Politically, France wants to avoid being humiliated by either of the
two forces present... But the military choices made by France's
generals have also a tactical significance and are a response to
Hezbollah's ability to launch missiles... As France awaits the final
strategic rules to be set by the UN, one concern remains: deployment
on the border with Syria. Beirut opposes it, while Israel is
convinced that weapons continue to be delivered to Hezbollah along
this border. This is where the highest risks of missteps exist. This
is indeed a real time bomb."

"Introspection"
Jean-Christophe Ploquin in Catholic La Croix (08/30): "Necessity has
pushed all parties, Olmert, Hezbollah and Hamas to admit they made
errors... Anger among their respective constituents has pushed them
to speak up. But anger is seldom of good council. This is why
finding an out to the crisis is urgent... From Washington to Moscow,
Cairo and Paris, the broad lines for resolving the crisis have the
solid support of a consensus. Although risks for slippage exist,
hope prevails for the Lebanese conflict. Not so for the conflict
between Israel and the Palestinians... The goal is to set the
negotiations back on track, for Hamas to recognize Israel, give up
violence and offer a 'political initiative' at the UN in September.
But Hamas's authority is too weak to be able to trigger such
changes. This can only happen if another partner comes to recognize
its own errors: the Bush Administration, which is not talking as
much as it should with the Israelis about the consequences of its
choices, and which has given up on the role of mediator which former
President Clinton had taken on." STAPLETON

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