MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Iran Oil For Food Bush

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 007387

SIPDIS


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; USVIENNA FOR USDEL OSCE.

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR FR
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Iran Oil For Food Bush
Presidency - Plame and Miers
PARIS - Friday, October 28, 2005

(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT:

Iran
Oil For Food
Bush Presidency - Plame and Miers

B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE:

Prime Minister Villepin's plans to "clean up" the public
sector and implement reforms to make the public sector more in
tune with the private sector is one of today's lead stories.
For Liberation, which headlines: "Villepin Tightens the
Screws," the problem stems from Villepin's own Presidential
aspirations: "The tragedy with Villepin is not that he lacks
grand projects, it is that his grandest one, running for the
presidency, is obscuring all the rest. He may one day `Be' the
State, but in the meantime the State can wait." Financial La
Tribune devotes its lead to Villepin's other project,
continuing state ownership of certain companies, which he
considers "strategic," such as Areva, because of its nuclear
activities. In his editorial Pascal Aubert reminds us that
"France's nuclear heritage has granted it its status and a
seat at the UNSC. In French public opinion, the nuclear sector
carries an element of national sovereignty."

Le Figaro devotes its lead to the "The Islamic Threat" in
France and the fact that two ground to air missiles brought
into Europe in 2002 from Chechnya are still missing. The
article contends that these missiles might be in France in the
hands of terrorists planning to use them against commercial
aircraft.

The Volker report on the Oil for Food scandal published
yesterday makes Le Figaro's front page: "The Report That
Accuses France." Inside, Isabelle Lasserre explains the
relationship which linked France to Iraq immediately before
and after the first Gulf war. (See Part C)

Several editorials and op-eds are devoted to Iranian President
Ahmadinejad's "Hatred" and his "irresponsible" calls against
Israel. (See Part C)

The decision by Harriet Miers to withdraw her candidacy for
Supreme Court Justice is widely reported. The articles point
to the "difficulties which are accumulating" for President
Bush: the Miers withdrawal, but also the alleged involvement
of Karl Rove in the Plame affair. (See Part C)

(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES:

Iran

"Hatred"
Left-of-center Le Monde in its editorial (10/28): "The
parenthesis of the Khatami era is over. The hate speech by
Iran's Ahmadinejad took place with the nuclear crisis as
background. The brutality of the Iranian turnaround is more
than just a bad sign. It is a warning. No one believes any
longer the make believe story that Iran is just trying to
develop its commercial nuclear capabilities. The international
community has every right to be very concerned about the
possible use that Iran might make of a nuclear bomb."

"Iranian Threats"
Dominique Quinio in Catholic La Croix (10/28): "Words can be
deadly. The hatred expressed by the Iranian President is
insufferable for the Israelis. It leads them to see in each of
their Muslim neighbors a potential threat. Especially if that
neighbor has the atomic bomb! It makes the position of the
peace proponents in Israel even more delicate. Ahmadinejad's
remarks are irresponsible because they feed the hatred of all
extremists in the Middle East who believe they are invested
with a mission. This verbal violence also makes Mahmoud
Abbas's job even more difficult. And last but not least his
stance is not good news for the Iranians themselves who are
the first victims of such radicalization. International
diplomacy has raised its voice against the Iranian President's
remarks: they are a direct threat to Israel and its American
protector; but beyond that they are a threat to the region and
a provocation for the UN."
"When Iran's President Harms Iran"
Pascal Boniface in right-of-center Le Figaro (10/28): "With
his remarks, Ahmadinejad has gone beyond what is acceptable.
He has done a disservice to the Palestinian cause which he
claims to be defending, compromised his own country's
interests and thrown more oil on the raging fires of a
strategic region. His remarks of hatred and radicalism go
against the spirit of the UN Charter. In taking this line he
is doing a favor to Israel's hawks. Ahmadinejad is probably
looking to strengthen his position within his own country and
hopes to please the Muslim masses of the Middle East who are
exasperated with America's policies, the war in Iraq and the
non-resolution of the Palestinian issue. But while his
domestic position may be strengthened, he will be weakened on
the international scene. His remarks are the worst possible
confirmation of the international community's fears regarding
Iran's nuclear intentions: the expression `wiping off the map'
is very close to `a nuclear attack.' It is clear that
Ahmadinejad and his views fit into the perspective of a shock
between civilizations and break away from his predecessor's
rhetoric of dialogue."

Oil For Food

"France's Dangerous Liaisons With Saddam's Iraq"
Isabelle Laserre in right-of-center Le Figaro (10/28): "If
France retained such a choice position in Iraq, it was because
it kept alive the relationship it had developed before the
Gulf war, at a time when French companies were doing good
business with Baghdad. It was also because at the time
American and British companies were not welcome in Iraq and
the Iraqis did not trust the Russians. It was also because
France, which has a prominent role at the UNSC, had campaigned
actively in favor of the `Oil for Food' program for
humanitarian reasons."

Bush Presidency - Plame and Miers

"Bush's Candidate Ousted"
Pascal Riche in left-of-center Liberation (10/28): "For
President Bush, this new incident is a new sign of weakness.
Stuck in the sands of Iraq, mired in budgetary difficulties,
the White House is also threatened with an explosive scandal
in the Plame affair. With Miers's withdrawal, President Bush
may be tempted to choose a more consensual candidate who would
have the support of part of the Democrats. But he would be
triggering the ire of the extreme right whose support at this
particular time is crucial. He would also be setting off a
`civil war' within his own party. The prospect of a filibuster
is profiled on the horizon."

"Bush Could Loose His Head Honcho"
Rebecca Martin in right-of-center France Soir (10/28): "The
Karl Rove affair is weakening a President who is already
submerged by problems. A political earthquake could hit the
White House today as everyone awaits the results of the
investigation on the Plame affair. Whether or not official
indictments are made, such a scandal must necessarily lead the
President to clean house. The list of possible indictments for
lying, abuse of power, and obstruction of justice is going to
stick the American President into even deeper trouble, after
yesterday's other bad news about the Miers's withdrawal."
HOFMANN