MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Iraq - Oil For Food Iran

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 002406 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. E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR FR SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Iraq - Oil For Food Iran Italian Elections PARIS - Wednesday, April 12, 2006 (A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT: Iraq - Oil For Food Iran Italian Elections B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE: Headlines agree that Prodi's victory is "precarious" (Liberation) and "too slim" (Le Figaro) but that he will nevertheless "try to reunify Italy" (La Croix) even if the "task appears to be a difficult one." (La Tribune) A majority of today's editorials are devoted to Italy's elections. (See Part C) Le Monde is one exception, with an editorial devoted to the "Oil for Food" scandal (See Part C) Two full-pages in Le Monde are devoted to "Oil for Food: The Disgrace of the French Network." Le Figaro carries an op-ed on the U.S. intervention in Iraq in which Renaud Girard itemizes five paradoxes. (See Part C) Iran's "challenge to the international community" with the announcement it can produce enriched uranium is a front-page story in Le Figaro leading Alain Barluet to report that "Western diplomacy is under pressure." Le Parisien's article is entitled "Iran Takes One More Step Towards the Bomb." (See Part C) Economic Les Echos carries an analysis of the American paradox regarding greenhouse effects in which the author shows that despite the federal opposition to the Kyoto Protocol state authorities are increasingly implementing "green" measures, "which are pressuring Congress and the White House to commit America to this fight." (C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES: Iran "Teheran Puts Western Diplomacy Under Pressure." Alain Barluet in right-of-center Le Figaro (04/12): "Ahmadinejad's announcement that Iran is joining the `nuclear countries' is not really a surprise for western diplomats. it is the logical next step in the unperturbed action undertaken by Teheran since it announced that it had started anew the enrichment of uranium in Natanz last January. It does, nevertheless, present a new challenge for the UN. The timing of Ahmadinejad's announcement is not haphazard as it coincides with the visit of IAEA's el Baradei. As the good chess player that he is, Ahmadinejad knows that his announcement will dent the international front. This is all the more true because the U.S. obviously no longer wants to remain in the background. The U.S. has clearly demonstrated that it seeks to obtain sanctions against Iran and that it has never totally ruled out the military option." "Iran Takes a First Step Towards the Bomb" Bruno Fanucchi in right-of-center Le Parisien (04/12): "After three months of dilly dallying and of mediation attempts by the Europeans which have been for naught, including FM Douste- Balazy's accusations that Iran was pursuing a `clandestine military nuclear program,' Iran has clearly stated `urbi et orbi' that has achieved its first uranium enrichment operation. The timing of the announcement is not innocuous, on the eve of el Baradei's visit to Tehran." "Little `Hiroshimas' to Keep Iran in Check?" Claude Angeli in the Satirical Le Canard Enchaine (04/12): "Iran's nuclear ambitions are not the only concerns shared by the U.S. and British military. Tehran is also accused of infiltrating `secret agents' in Iraq. Some in the Pentagon feel that America's failure in Iraq is giving Iran reason to dream away. Others, like Nicholas Burns feel that it is still possible to contain Iran's nuclear ambitions. and delay its possession of nuclear weapons to a future when a less fanatical regime will be in place. But says a French diplomat, `while the U.S. failure in Iraq has made the Iranians go nuts over their geo-strategic ambitions, it has also made some U.S. hawks go simply nuts.'" Iraq - Oil for Food "The Five Paradoxes of the U.S. Intervention in Iraq" Renaud Girard in right-of-center Le Figaro (04/12): "After the fall of Baghdad, President Bush promised the world that the invasion of Iraq would serve to make the Middle East a more secure region. Paradoxically, compared to the Saddam era, occupied Iraq has become one of the world's most dangerous places. Then, women could walk out without wearing a veil and Christians could openly practice their religion. Today, paradoxically, after one of the most openly Christian leaders of the western world decided to invade Iraq, there is an exodus of the Iraqi Christian community. In their haste to topple Saddam, the Pentagon ideologues went in without proper preparation, ignoring the fact that worse than dictatorship is anarchy, and worse even than anarchy, civil war. While Iraq has become a much more dangerous country than before the invasion, what of the region? Terrorism and Islamism in general have, paradoxically, progressed exponentially in the entire region. Finally the fifth paradox is that by getting mired in Iraq, the Pentagon has lost all of its power of deterrence to deal with Iran. Iran today possesses a tremendous weapon of deterrence against an America trapped in the Iraqi quagmire. American neo-cons truly believed that from the ballots a new model Iraq would rise. But they forgot that in the history of social building, the State always preceded democracy, not the other way around. Yet leaving Iraq today would be an even graver mistake than having occupied it." "Influence Trafficking" Left-of-center Le Monde (04/12): "The 623-page Volcker Report. is sad reading for those who had faith in the transparency and effectiveness of the UN. and even sadder reading for those who saw France as a model for diplomacy based on a certain moral perception in its insistence to adjust the sanctions and oppose the war in Iraq. The Volcker Report demonstrates how Saddam Hussein diverted money from the oil for food program with the complicity of foreign entities, particularly in France. France's responsibility in this case is noteworthy. After Russia is was the second country to benefit from the Oil for Food program and it is the only western, democratic country to be implicated to this extent. Can we really content ourselves with the official line which is to say that the entire scandal was manipulated to tarnish the image of French diplomacy?" Italian Elections "Desperately Seeking Italy" Francoise Crouigneau in right-of-center Les Echos (04/12): "The Italians themselves are torn. Where does reality lie? With Prodi who is celebrating his victory and promising Italy's pullout from Iraq.? Or with Berlusconi and his old anti-communist reflexes? The figures do not augur well for the future. Yet we should not give up too easily, for Italy has previously proven its resilience to bounce back." "Ciao, Silvio!" Patrick Sabatier in left-of-center Liberation (04/12): "Good news from Italy. One of which is that Prodi's victory will have the immediate effect of bringing Italy back into the bosom of the European family, a place that it enjoyed before Berlusconi left it for Bush's America." "The Italian Example and Beyond" Yves Threard in right-of-center Le Figaro (04/12): "Italy, Germany, France: three countries of Old Europe suffering from the economic doldrums and high unemployment. Three countries living beyond their means. Three countries undermined by doubt. The ballots are proof that voters refuse to make a clear choice between the right and the left. A sign that the voters have lost confidence in their politicians. Unless confidence returns it will be difficult to make plans and to build, whether in individual countries or in Europe." STAPLETON