MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Iraq Iran International

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 008608 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 - Iraq Iran International Terrorism - Hammadi Release PARIS - Thursday, December 22, 2005 (A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT: Iraq Iran International Terrorism - Hammadi Release B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE: A majority of today's front pages are devoted to the stalled negotiations to redefine France's unemployment insurance benefits. But Le Figaro headlines: "With the U.S. Marines In the Sunni Triangle." Embedded Adrien Jaulmes writes about the U.S. Army's "relentless search for an elusive enemy." (See Part C) Embedded photographer Laurent Van der Stock's photo- reportage of his stay with the Golf Company near Karmah appears in this week's Paris Match. Reports note the resumption of Saddam's trial as well as his accusations of torture against the U.S. Le Monde devotes a full page to the French kidnap victim Bernard Planche missing in Iraq and whose abduction has yet to be claimed. Iran's intransigence elicits several commentaries and editorials, including a scenario of "a Nuclear Iran" in Liberation. (See Part C) Angela Merkel is profiled by columnist Alexandre Adler in Le Figaro. Adler contends that that there is "a Merkel effect. First in domestic German affairs, and more recently in European affairs." Adler believes she will have a positive impact on other women political leaders, or aspiring leaders. Angela Merkel is also central in reports about the release of former highjacker Hammadi. Left-of-center Liberation reports that "a chill" has developed between Berlin and Washington over the release. (See Part C) Le Figaro reports that two French associations defending human rights have filed a complaint in connection with alleged CIA rendition flights having transited through France. The article reports "it is up to the prosecutor of Bobigny to decide whether to open an investigation further to the complaint." The resignation of Federal Judge James Robertson to protest against the government's eavesdropping scheme is reported in La Croix by Francois D'Alancon. (C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES: Iraq "OP3, an American Fort, Somewhere in Iraq" Adrien Jaulmes in right-of-center Le Figaro (12/22): "On the front linnes facing insurgents who are blended into the population, the Marines stationed near Faluja live in fear of improvised explosives. Every morning the Marines patrol the sector of Karmah. Their Lieutenant recently graduated from the Naval Academy is taking this war against an elusive enemy as a personal challenge. Most of the soldiers are white and come from the Southern United States. They are professionals who remain on their guard: attacks against the Marines are a daily occurrence and the danger can come from just about anywhere. The Marines are mostly afraid of suicide car bombings." Iran "Iran - A Real Problem" Jean Levallois in regional La Presse de La Manche (12/22): "Iran has indeed become a real problem for the international community. Ahmadinejad is an elected president, but he embodies an Iran that is regressing and adopting everyday a more fanatic stance. At this point, controlling the dissemination of nuclear weapons is being overtaken by a more urgent need: neutralizing the ambitions of Iran's leaders. Can the international community allow a nation, which talks of the annihilation of an entire people, to retain the ability to pursue this goal? More than ever, the international community must keep Iran from developing a bomb which harsh regimes will not hesitate to use. Peace for the world will necessarily require putting Iran back in line, but at what cost?" "Scenario of a Nuclear Iran" Jacques Amalric in left-of-center Liberation (12/22): "No one expects any positive outcome from the talks between the EU-3 and Iran, considering the stance adopted by Iran's president. Tehran's recent back-tracking on the nuclear issue is all the more critical since Ahmadinejad's provocative remarks about Israel. His verbal assaults are in violation of the UN Charter. But he has yet to be truly condemned. Such caution by all, Moscow, the Europeans and Arab nations who have recognized the existence of Israel, help only to confirm Ahmadinejad's extreme positions. Added to this, the Iranian President is well-served by the international context: i.e. the U.S. is mired in Iraq and knows that Tehran can complicate things even further with Iraq's Shiites. The U.S. is also aware that Iran carries weight in Lebanon with Hezbollah. Last but not least, the oil needs of India and China ensures their opposition to economic sanctions by the UN." International Terrorism - Hammadi Release "Hammadi Case Casts a Chill Between Berlin and Washington" Jean Ryga in left-of-center Liberation (12/22): "Why did Germany release a convicted highjacker who was a member of Hezbollah and who killed a U.S. Marine? Is there a link between the release of Hammadi and the recent release in Iraq of a German hostage? The story is proving to be embarrassing for Berlin and Germany's relationship with the U.S. His release has elicited an angry reaction from Washington. The State Department has declared it is `very disappointed' with the German decision. The controversy comes at a particularly bad time for Merkel who has been trying to revive the transatlantic ties since she took over from Chancellor Schroeder." STAPLETON