MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Syria-Lebanon Rice European

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SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Syria-Lebanon Rice European
Visit and Renditions IraqPARIS - Wednesday, December 14, 2005
(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT:Syria-Lebanon
Rice European Visit and Renditions
IraqB) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE:Domestic social and economic issues

dominate, with France's national debt in the lead in several
outlets. Liberation devotes a harsh editorial to Assad's
involvement in recent assassinations in Lebanon, calling the
international community to "not allow him to go unpunished."
Le Figaro's editorial urges France and the U.S. to support
Lebanon's PM's "courageous" request for an international
tribunal. (See Part C)

Iraq and the legislative elections are today's second
international story. Le Figaro titles one of its stories:
"France, Concerned for the Region, Is No Longer Eager to See
the Americans Leave." In his report Alain Barluet contrasts
France's position before the war and now, quoting Interior
Minister Villepin in his interview last week with CNN. (See
Part C)

Les Echos carries an opinion piece by editorialist Sergio
Romano entitled: "Europe-U.S.: A Strange Cordiality" in which
he contends that "Rice's visit did not dissipate every
misunderstanding" regarding rendition flights and torture.
(See Part C)

Two summits, the WTO in Hong Kong and the EU summit in
Brussels elicit commentaries on the difficulties both summits
face in reaching agreements, as well as the need to succeed,
despite the difficulties. Catholic La Croix leads with
tomorrow's EU Summit on the budget and headlines "Barroso
Confident in Europe's Strength." Barosso gives an interview in
which he states: "Failure this week would have negative
economic consequences for the new members. No one would gain
from a new European crisis." On the WTO Ministerial he says:
"We would all gain from a successful summit in Hong Kong
because Europe leads in matters of trade." The editorial
suggests that the EU summit will be a "bartering session
between friends." Les Echos carries an op-ed by British
Ambassador Sir John Holmes titled "Our Project for Europe" to
explain Blair's EU budget proposals: "I believe that the
negotiations, although difficult, can lead to a successful
agreement at the EU summit. Everyone will have to make an
effort, even if everyone may not come out a winner. But the
need for justice must apply to everyone, including Great
Britain." Le Monde carries an open letter from WTO Director
Pascal Lamy to participating Ministers: "These negotiations
could turn out to be the most complex ever. You will need
political courage in the next few days. Either we close the
Cycle at the end of 2006, or the entire world trade system
will lose its purpose."
Popular right-of-center Le Parisien devotes its lead to a
Senate report which indicates that "every year in France, 600
000 blank passports and ID cards are stolen." Inside, a small
article reports on the new passport and visa requirements to
travel to the U.S. and comments: "France is unable at this
date to provide (biometric) passports. They will begin to be
issued during the first semester of 2006. Some French
travelers may therefore see their trips to the U.S.
compromised. The U.S. Embassy in Paris is unable to satisfy
all the visa requests. People living outside Paris are doubly
penalized because they have to travel to Paris for their
visas, which costs 90 euros." The story was also reported this
morning on France 2 television. Le Figaro equally notes:
"Visas: U.S. Embassy Swamped."

The tenth anniversary of the Dayton-Paris Accords is noted in
Liberation: "This anniversary reminds the Europeans of their
tragic inaction then, and the primary role that is theirs
today in the pacification and reconstruction of the region."

The execution of `Tookie' Williams is front-paged in Le Monde
and communist l'Humanite which titles: "Blood on America's
Hands." France Soir titles its story: "Terminator Executes
Tookie." Le Figaro focuses on the "changed man" and the
"remarkable transformation" of Williams.
(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES:Syria- Lebanon

"Saddam Assad"
Patrick Sabatier in left-of-center Liberation (12/14): "In an
interview with Time magazine, Syria's al-Assad tried to
convince everyone he was not another Saddam Hussein, that he
wanted to cooperate with the UN. But the Mehlis report proves
Syria has not cooperated. Assad is increasingly looking like
the brains behind the recent attacks in Lebanon. Since
Hariri's assassination, Syria is waging a real war in Lebanon.
Everyone knows that the terrorists who are killing in Beirut
get their orders from Syria. Assad, like Saddam before him,
has chosen a strategy of tension. against the international
community. His wager is that it will not try to destabilize
Syria and Lebanon, for fear that the chaos that reigns in Iraq
might spread, thus playing into the hands of Islamic forces.
He knows that some UN members are, out of principle, against
sanctions. But the UN, although it is not all that credible,
must not back down: it must punish Assad, investigate the
Harriri assassination fully, as well other assassinations. It
must isolate Assad until he gives up on his dream of
annexation of Lebanon. Or until his own people topples him and
serves him a fate similar to Saddam's."

"The Lebanese Stakes"
Pierre Rousselin in right-of-center Le Figaro (12/14):
"Lebanon continues to pay the price for freeing itself from
Syrian interference. The latest assassination proves to what
extent terror is the only way for Damascus to keep its hold on
Lebanon. Skeptics will counter by saying that nothing has
changed and that international pressure, for once jointly
applied by Washington and Paris, only serves to push Bashar-al-
Assad into a corner and to become more dangerous than ever.
all the while discrediting the UN and mocking America's
powerlessness because stuck in the sands of Iraq. Others may
even go so far as to denounce Paris's rallying with American
diplomatic efforts to bring about change in the Middle East.
While the Mehlis report does not explicitly point to Syria.
clues are beginning to emerge. This is why the investigation
into Harriri's assassination must continue. No one must oppose
the Lebanese PM's courageous initiative in asking for an
international tribunal. France and the U.S. must do everything
so that this initiative can succeed."

Rice European Visit and Renditions

"Europe-U.S.: A Strange Cordiality"
Sergio Romano in right-of-center Les Echos (12/14): "During
her recent trip, Condoleezza Rice tried to pacify America's
allies with reassuring remarks. The UN Convention on torture
would be respected and errors, if any were made, would be
rectified. But other voices, (Dick Cheney's) spoke
differently. But the fact is that during her trip, Secretary
Rice changed course. Before her trip, she reminded European
governments, not without some arrogance, about America's role
in safeguarding them from terrorism. At the end of her trip,
having noted the nature of European public opinion, she
thought it necessary to adopt a different approach. Must we
conclude then that the entente has become once again cordial?
Europe and the U.S. share too many common interests to let
differences affect their relationship for too long. But it
would be dangerous to delude ourselves. The controversy of the
past weeks (about renditions and torture.) illustrate a
philosophy adopted by the U.S. which is clearly in
contradiction with that of European countries. For a large
part of the American political class, the end of the Cold War
meant an opportunity for America's might to become free and
expand in all directions. After the election of President Bush
and 9/11, the trend intensified. Today, there exists an
American space of security which goes beyond America's
geographical boundaries and in which Washington believes it
can operate as it pleases. If Europe hopes to build its
identity and its sovereignty, it cannot accept this
philosophy."

Iraq

"France, Concerned for the Region, Is No Longer Eager to See
the Americans Leave."
Alain Barluet in right-of-center Le Figaro (12/14): "After
standing up against the war, France today is rather in favor
of Americans staying in Iraq. In an interview last week on
CNN, PM Villepin warned that `chaos in Iraq, which would be a
disaster for the region, needs to be avoided at all costs.'
France is not so eager to see the Americans leave Iraq because
it is aware of the threats that hover over the country and the
region. In this context, the legislative elections are seen by
Paris as an important step towards the stabilization of Iraq.
The difficult situation with Syria and Iran has prompted Paris
to rethink American troop withdrawal. Seen from Paris,
America's presence (in Iraq) has not reduced the terrorist
threat. Revelations about CIA secret prisons and renditions
via European airports have cast a new shadow on America's war
against terror. But it is undeniable that these practices have
elicited few and weak official reactions, including from
France." STAPLETON