MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Middle East - Israeli

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 001637 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 - Middle East - Israeli Incursion Moussaoui Trial Iraq U.S. - India Nuclear Accord Milosevic PARIS - Wednesday, March 15, 2006 (A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT: Middle East - Israeli Incursion Moussaoui Trial Iraq U.S. - India Nuclear Accord Milosevic B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE: International news is dominated by the Israeli incursion into Jericho and the ensuing violence and kidnappings of westerners, including two French journalists, while on the domestic front PM Villepin's tug of war with student and workers unions over his youth employment legislation is growing in intensity. Yesterday's not so peaceful demonstrations in front of the Sorbonne University, which ended up in skirmishes with riot police, are "reminiscent of May 68" according to some commentators. President Chirac, as predicted yesterday, spoke in favor of his Prime Minister's legislation, while on a visit to Berlin. But some commentators suggest his support "was lukewarm." The Israeli raid of a Jericho jail is front-page news, with Liberation making the following editorial commentary on its front page: "Electoral Incursion into Jericho." In the editorial Pierre Haski explains: "It is one more gesture towards the extreme right made by Olmert before the legislative elections." (See Part C) Liberation also reports on Iraq and the U.S. "new strategy" as it turns to the Sunnis. The article is entitled: "Daily Massacres in Iraq Between Religious Groups." (See Part C) The resumption of the Moussaoui trial leads Philippe Gelie in Le Figaro to comment: "The Bush Administration Could be Facing a Fiasco." "The failure. would re-enforce the Pentagon hard liners that it is better to settle accounts with terrorists in ad hoc military courts, than in civilian courts." (See Part C) Le Figaro also carries an op-ed on the "new alliance of the century" between India and the U.S. Guy Sorman wonders "whether democratic India will develop faster than tyrannical China. "His answer is "probably yes. And American investments will help it along," (See Part C) In his political analysis in Le Figaro, Pierre Prier asks "whether Saudi Arabia can escape the fate of other Arab countries?" which have had free elections. Les Echos carries an op-ed by Jacques Hubert-Rodier, the international political editor on "Milosevic or the End of Impunity." (See Part C) Liberation carries a small article about a petition, which is circulating in the U.S. "asking that the U.S. grant asylum to `persecuted' Jews from France." The petition is said to have been launched in Los Angeles by French Jews living there, as a reaction to the death of Ilan Halimi. Le Figaro interviews Bernard-Henri Levy on his "American Vertigo," an interview entitled American Vertigo, French Perils." (C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES: "Middle East - Israeli Incursion" "Short Term" Pierre Haski in left-of-center Liberation (03/15): "What has Israeli gained with this spectacular military incursion in a forbidden zone? While there is no denying that capturing Ahmed Saadate was a long-standing Israeli objective, the moment chosen is not so banal. With two weeks to go before the Israeli legislative elections, Olmert seems bent on giving the Israeli extreme right tokens of good faith. Olmert is not a career military man. But yesterday he proved he was able to carry out such a military operation successfully. But at what cost? The pictures of prisoners in their underwear taken away in military trucks will be interpreted as one more humiliation by the Palestinians. It is impossible not to make the comparison with the Abu Ghraib pictures, which were so instrumental in discrediting America's policy and fed the rebel's ranks. Israel's forceful raid could well re-enforce resentment in a Palestinian population already under financial hardship for not having voted `as they should have.' This is a strange approach for a government that says it is trying to find peaceful ways of coexistence between the two people." Moussaoui Trial "A Legal Fiasco for the Bush Administration?" Philippe Gelie in right-of-center Le Figaro (03/15): "Beyond the legal consequences, the mishandling of the witnesses in the Moussaoui trial could turn out to be more serious than just a procedural hitch. For some, it is a sign of how badly the government wants Moussaoui's head. While Moussaoui's guilty plea gave the government a lot of work, the Bush administration's objectives are far too complex to be content with a partial confession. With this trial the Bush administration is trying to prove that one can try terrorists within the right of law; it also wants to make this the trial of 9/11 and for lack of having Ben Laden in their hands, the Americans need someone to bear the responsibility. By ricochet, the administration also wants to exonerate the FBI and other agencies for their mistakes and their inability to prevent the attacks. All of these ambitions are being threatened. Moussaoui is not as good a culprit as they had hoped. The legal system will need to be extremely convincing to turn Moussaoui's silence into a criminal act. Failure of the proceedings. would re-enforce the Pentagon hard liners that it is better to settle accounts with terrorists in ad hoc military courts, than in civilian courts." Iraq "Daily Massacres in Iraq Between Religious Groups" Jean-Pierre Perrin in left-of-center Liberation (03/15): "For Iraq, the worse possible scenario is on the move: the scenario for a civil war. Since the February attacks on the Golden Mosque in Samarra, not a day goes by without dozens of Iraqis being executed in groups. Most of the bodies found show traces of torture. Reprisals against the Sunnis are on the rise. This ante-chamber to a generalized civil war is of such concern to the U.S. that it has begun to change strategies. After its invasion in 2003. Washington favored the emergence of a Shiite and Kurdish leadership. This attitude fed Sunni resentment and fueled the rebellion. Now, the Bush administration is turning to the Sunnis. The U.S Ambassador acknowledged the existence of Shiite `death squads' with links to the Defense Ministry. Ambassador Khalizad has also made remarks meant to please the Sunnis, such as saying that the U.S. would withdraw from Iraq and leave no permanent military bases. Can this be a turning point in U.S. strategy or just a new tactic to overcome a difficult moment? . If this is a new U.S. strategy, it seems to be an answer to another set of concerns: the deteriorating situation in Southern Iran, a Shiite stronghold." U.S. - India Nuclear Accord "U.S. -India: The Alliance of the Century" Guy Sorman in right-of-center Le Figaro (03/15): "Nixon went to China. Bush to India. While relations between the U.S. and China have helped China's economic development, China remains a source of concern for the U.S. and the world. The Chinese communist party is totalitarian, unpredictable and therefore dangerous. Meanwhile India is back. A forgotten India on which the West had turned its back. But India is a liberal democracy. English is spoken here and India likes America. You have only to look at the long lines in front of the U.S. consulate in Delhi to see the attraction of the U.S. This is why the new alliance between the U.S. and India looks very natural. Also playing into India's favor is its religious diversity: India is mystical, something that appeals to America. Islam is widespread and it cohabits nicely with Hinduism, except for small regional conflicts. The moderate Islam which the West is seeking dominates in India. Why has Europe, and France in particular, not anticipated this new alliance? Because Europe does not have a common foreign policy, the individual countries' diplomacies compete with each other in India. And the Europeans are afraid to irritate the Chinese leaders if they are too friendly with India. Europe is not at ease in India: it does not give brownie points for its democracy. Bush on the other hand has not made this diplomatic faux-pas. As exporters of democracy, the Americans praise India's model. Can we call this new alliance between the U.S. and India the alliance of the century? Maybe. Let's now watch the match between India and China. Will democratic India develop faster than tyrannical China? Probably yes. And American investments will help it along." Milosevic "Milosevic or the End of Impunity" Jacques Hubert-Rodier in right-of-center Les Echos (03/15): "The Hague tribunal, despite its errors. will remain in history, like the Rwanda tribunal, as the first to judge war criminals since the Nuremberg trials. There is nevertheless a big difference between the Nuremberg tribunal and that of former Yugoslavia. The first was created by the four victorious powers of WWII, while the Hague tribunal, as that of Rwanda, resulted directly from a decision of the UN Security Council, which is supposed to represent the international community. The International Criminal Court, which is always confronted with U.S. opposition, is strictly limited. One cannot turn to it except when national tribunals break down or at the request of the UN Security Council. One can also question the deterrent quality of international justice. Nuremberg didn't stop the genocides of the latter half of the 20th century. But, Washington, in the Security Council, finally let the ICC take up the question of war criminals in Darfur. The message of Milosevic's trial, even though it was not concluded, and that of Saddam Hussein's as well, is clear. Escaping justice has become more difficult, even if international justice remains imperfect." STAPLETON