MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Middle East - Israeli

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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