Cablegate: Media Reaction Report - Lebanon - Turkey in Unifil

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Lucia A Keegan 09/05/2006 05:30:42 PM From DB/Inbox: Lucia A Keegan

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UNCLAS PARIS 05926

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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 005926

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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;
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TAGS: OPRC KMDR FR

SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Lebanon - Turkey in UNIFIL
Darfur Afghanistan - NATO - Drug Trafficking September 11 -
East-West: Dialogue or Confrontation
PARIS - Tuesday, September 05, 2006

(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT:

Lebanon - Turkey in UNIFIL
Darfur
Afghanistan - NATO - Drug Trafficking
September 11 - East-West: Dialogue or Confrontation

B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE:

Although French domestic stories dominate today's front pages,
several international stories receive wide coverage: Le Croix leads
with "the forgotten Christians in Lebanon" while the editorial in Le
Figaro sees Turkey's participation in UNIFIL as a "test" with
"positive impact" on the debate about its EU membership. (See Part
C) Le Figaro interviews Brussels think-tanker Kristy Hughes, who
authored a report on the EU-Turkey negotiations: "Undeniably,
Turkey's involvement will remind Europe that Turkey is an important
ally."
La Croix, TF1 and FR2 note that Qatar is the first Arab country to
participate in the international force. FR2 reported that 200 to 300
soldiers will be sent in the next few days, whereas La Croix reports
that "despite the Israeli blockade, the first Doha-Beirut flight ran
as scheduled yesterday. The Qatari authorities want to increase
their presence in the region."

La Croix carries two op-eds on the new "East-West Antagonism" and
the relationship between Orient and Occident, "dialogue or
confrontation." Regional La Presse de La Manche devotes its
editorial to 9/11, "a war unlike any other in the history of the
world." (See Part C)

Le Figaro analyzes Darfur and the tug of war between Khartoum and
the international community, commenting that the "Sudanese
government is making economic calculations" and that "the Janjawids
wants to increase Arab influence in the province." The report
mentions U.S. envoy Jendayi Frazer's efforts to "convince the
Sudanese government of accepting a UN-led force." In La Croix, one
report contends that "Khartoum wants to resolve the crisis by
itself." (See Part C)

La Croix reports on NATO's offensive in Afghanistan against the
Taliban and notes that "18 soldiers from the Atlantic Alliance died
over the weekend." The same report explains the "one of the roles of
the ISAF is to gain the confidence of the local population in order
to help support Hamid Karzai's government." (See Part C) The front
page of Le Monde announces that in 2006, Afghanistan will produce
92% of the opium in the world according to the findings of the UNODC
and "in spite of the 2 billion dollars spent by the international
community to fight drug trafficking in Afghanistan." The editorial
underscores the "failure of the international community's efforts."
(See Part C)

Economic Les Echos leads with the changes at the helm of Airbus and
its parent company EADS and the impact on the A380 program. After
two major changes this summer at EADS, a new director was named on
Monday for the A380 program, Mario Heinen, who previously led the
A320 program.

Financial La Tribune devotes its lead to the tension brewing at the
Paris stock exchange about several controversial mergers: at the
international level, Euronext and the NYSE, and Alcatel and Lucent,
and in France, GDF with Suez.

(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES:

Lebanon - Turkey in UNIFIL

"Turkey: The Road to Europe Passes Through Lebanon"
Laure Marchand in right-of-center Le Figaro (09/05): "Kofi Annan's
presence today in Ankara will give the Turkish government the
support it needs as the Turkish Parliament debates on the mission
its soldiers will undertake as part of UNIFIL... Despite the
opposition of the conservative Islamic party, the Turkish PM is
hopeful to avoid a repeat of what happened in March 2003 at the
start of the Iraq war... Torn between domestic dissension and
pressing appeals from the international community, the Turkish
government is giving priority to diplomatic imperatives and is
siding with Brussels... The presence of Turkish soldiers in the
Middle East will consolidate Turkey's wish to become a 'bridge
between civilizations.'"
"Lebanon, a Test for Turkey"
Pierre Rousselin in right- of-center Le Figaro (09/05): "Turkey's
participation in UNIFIL can have a positive impact on the European
debate about its EU membership... Turkey's decision is doubly
meritorious. First because Turkey's Ottoman past has left a negative
imprint in the region. Second, the decision was made by a moderate
Islamic regime which is taking the risk of upsetting its base... But
the good relations which Turkey has with Iran and Syria as well as
Israel make its contribution priceless. This is the first positive
argument in favor of Turkey's EU membership. Geo-strategic reasoning
says it is better to have this great Muslim country with us than
against us... and that this bridge will help avoid a shock between
civilizations. The Lebanese crisis is a first test... While this
participation changes nothing with the controversial issues, such as
Cyprus, that will need to be resolved, it can improve things by
giving a different image of Turkey: that of a nation ready to help
Europe play its role in the world."

Darfur

"Khartoum Challenges the UN"
Tanguy Berthemet in right-of-center Le Figaro (09/05): "Peace has
never appeared so elusive in Darfur... Once again Khartoum is
challenging the international community and rejecting the UN
resolution, leading some to fear a renewal of massacres between
'Arab' and 'African' militia in the region... The Sudanese regime is
afraid that the arrival of UN troops will lead to the arrest of
Sudanese high officials for war crimes... Because of the Sudanese
opposition, the UN, led by the U.S., has decided to force its way,
hoping the see the Sudanese government bend to a fait accompli. But
Khartoum is resisting what it calls a 'foreign presence.' According
to the International Crisis Group, the UN resolution has little
chance of succeeding unless it is accompanied by coercive measures.
It could even have disastrous effects... because meanwhile, Khartoum
is said to be amassing its soldiers in certain areas of Darfur..."

"The Darfur Genocide: Economic Calculations of the Sudanese
Government"
Pierre Prier in right-of-center Le Figaro (09/05): "President Bush's
envoy Jendayi Frazier was unsuccessful in her mission to convince
the Sudanese government of accepting the deployment of UN troops...
The Islamic rhetoric used by Sudan, which has proclaimed it would
'welcome the presence of foreign troops like Hezbollah welcomed the
Israelis' hides a conflict which has nothing to do with religion...
The conflict between Muslims is about land, water and the sharing of
the wealth... This is a war of the poor because the resources are
scarce. It is a war that is spilling over onto neighboring
countries... The Arab tribes, the 'Janjawids' which the Sudanese
government is using as its militia in Darfur are accused of wanting
to widen 'Arab' influence in the province... making the conflict
more political... and spilling over to Chad... Despite the
reconciliation between Chad and Sudan under the aegis of Ghadafi, in
Darfur, the conflict opposes everyone against everyone. And the end
of the rainy season could accelerate a generalized war for power,
the only entity that dispenses the wealth."

Afghanistan - NATO - Drug Trafficking

"NATO's Offensive Against the Taliban Continues"
Emeline Henique in Catholic La Croix (09/05): "Despite NATO's
initial encouraging results, the forces of the transatlantic
alliance are paying a heavy price, with 18 soldiers killed over the
weekend... leading the new commander, Richard Dannat to say that his
forces are taking too much heat... Since their fall in 2001, the
Taliban have never relented their attacks in the hopes or
re-conquering Kandahar. Meanwhile NATO's objective is to secure a
region which is key to its 'development' phase, which includes
gaining the confidence of local populations to support the
government's efforts."
"Afghan Opium"
Left-of-center Le Monde in its editorial (09/05): "The UNODC has
declared that opium is Afghanistan's number one employer, its
largest source of wealth and the basis for its economy. The country
has become once again a drug state, as it was five years ago under
the Taliban, and before the U.S.-led war to topple and vanquish
Al-Qaeda. What is even worse is that the figures given by UNODC mark
the failure of the international community in this sector as well as
in securing the country. The international community has proven
itself incapable of promoting security, normalizing the economy and
establishing a lucrative agricultural alternative to opium... The
situation cruelly underscores the impasse that the US and the
international community find themselves in five years after the
intervention in Afghanistan."

September 11 - East-West: Dialogue or Confrontation

"A War Unlike Any Other"
Jean Levallois in regional La Presse de La Manche (09/05): "On
9/11/2001, an event of extraordinary magnitude took place. A war had
been declared unlike any other in the history of world wars. It was
not a state or a people against another, but Al-Qaeda, a terrorist
organization challenging the world's major power and striking it at
its core. This is a war of religion that does not say its name, a
war of ideology without mercy because it is fed by fanaticism...
This war, by its nature, cannot be fought like other wars. Herein
lies the tragedy for George W. Bush, who waged a war against Iraq
when in fact Al-Qaeda is the enemy, hence the fiasco that ensued. On
9/11/2001, airplanes full of civilians turned into bombs which blew
up many of our beliefs. Five years later the solution has yet to be
found."

"New Antagonisms Rising"
Pierre de Charentenay in Catholic La Croix (09/05): "... Terrorism
demonstrates an opposition between those who have been enriched by
globalization and individuals, who, in the Muslim world, are seeking
their identity. But it is not a confrontation between
civilizations..."

"Orient - Occident: Confrontation or Dialogue"
Joseph Yacoub in Catholic La Croix (09/05): "The West, if taken
globally, is more sensitive to democracy, to institutions and human
rights. In the East, national and identity issues are primordial.
Collective, community and spiritual rights dominate... But what
unites men together is stronger than what separates them. The West
needs the East and the East needs the West. These two worlds are
complementary... because civilizations are not abstract entities.
They are tied in space and time, find their way within power
struggles and are influenced by the men that lead them, and who are
themselves moved by their ambitions and desire to dominate. Yet
these civilizations have always interacted and influenced each other
for the better." STAPLETON

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