MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Lebanon - Turkey in UNIFIL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 005926 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 - Lebanon - Turkey in UNIFIL Darfur Afghanistan - NATO - Drug Trafficking September 11 - East-West: Dialogue or Confrontation PARIS - Tuesday, September 05, 2006 (A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT: Lebanon - Turkey in UNIFIL Darfur Afghanistan - NATO - Drug Trafficking September 11 - East-West: Dialogue or Confrontation B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE: Although French domestic stories dominate today's front pages, several international stories receive wide coverage: Le Croix leads with "the forgotten Christians in Lebanon" while the editorial in Le Figaro sees Turkey's participation in UNIFIL as a "test" with "positive impact" on the debate about its EU membership. (See Part C) Le Figaro interviews Brussels think-tanker Kristy Hughes, who authored a report on the EU-Turkey negotiations: "Undeniably, Turkey's involvement will remind Europe that Turkey is an important ally." La Croix, TF1 and FR2 note that Qatar is the first Arab country to participate in the international force. FR2 reported that 200 to 300 soldiers will be sent in the next few days, whereas La Croix reports that "despite the Israeli blockade, the first Doha-Beirut flight ran as scheduled yesterday. The Qatari authorities want to increase their presence in the region." La Croix carries two op-eds on the new "East-West Antagonism" and the relationship between Orient and Occident, "dialogue or confrontation." Regional La Presse de La Manche devotes its editorial to 9/11, "a war unlike any other in the history of the world." (See Part C) Le Figaro analyzes Darfur and the tug of war between Khartoum and the international community, commenting that the "Sudanese government is making economic calculations" and that "the Janjawids wants to increase Arab influence in the province." The report mentions U.S. envoy Jendayi Frazer's efforts to "convince the Sudanese government of accepting a UN-led force." In La Croix, one report contends that "Khartoum wants to resolve the crisis by itself." (See Part C) La Croix reports on NATO's offensive in Afghanistan against the Taliban and notes that "18 soldiers from the Atlantic Alliance died over the weekend." The same report explains the "one of the roles of the ISAF is to gain the confidence of the local population in order to help support Hamid Karzai's government." (See Part C) The front page of Le Monde announces that in 2006, Afghanistan will produce 92% of the opium in the world according to the findings of the UNODC and "in spite of the 2 billion dollars spent by the international community to fight drug trafficking in Afghanistan." The editorial underscores the "failure of the international community's efforts." (See Part C) Economic Les Echos leads with the changes at the helm of Airbus and its parent company EADS and the impact on the A380 program. After two major changes this summer at EADS, a new director was named on Monday for the A380 program, Mario Heinen, who previously led the A320 program. Financial La Tribune devotes its lead to the tension brewing at the Paris stock exchange about several controversial mergers: at the international level, Euronext and the NYSE, and Alcatel and Lucent, and in France, GDF with Suez. (C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES: Lebanon - Turkey in UNIFIL "Turkey: The Road to Europe Passes Through Lebanon" Laure Marchand in right-of-center Le Figaro (09/05): "Kofi Annan's presence today in Ankara will give the Turkish government the support it needs as the Turkish Parliament debates on the mission its soldiers will undertake as part of UNIFIL... Despite the opposition of the conservative Islamic party, the Turkish PM is hopeful to avoid a repeat of what happened in March 2003 at the start of the Iraq war... Torn between domestic dissension and pressing appeals from the international community, the Turkish government is giving priority to diplomatic imperatives and is siding with Brussels... The presence of Turkish soldiers in the Middle East will consolidate Turkey's wish to become a 'bridge between civilizations.'" "Lebanon, a Test for Turkey" Pierre Rousselin in right- of-center Le Figaro (09/05): "Turkey's participation in UNIFIL can have a positive impact on the European debate about its EU membership... Turkey's decision is doubly meritorious. First because Turkey's Ottoman past has left a negative imprint in the region. Second, the decision was made by a moderate Islamic regime which is taking the risk of upsetting its base... But the good relations which Turkey has with Iran and Syria as well as Israel make its contribution priceless. This is the first positive argument in favor of Turkey's EU membership. Geo-strategic reasoning says it is better to have this great Muslim country with us than against us... and that this bridge will help avoid a shock between civilizations. The Lebanese crisis is a first test... While this participation changes nothing with the controversial issues, such as Cyprus, that will need to be resolved, it can improve things by giving a different image of Turkey: that of a nation ready to help Europe play its role in the world." Darfur "Khartoum Challenges the UN" Tanguy Berthemet in right-of-center Le Figaro (09/05): "Peace has never appeared so elusive in Darfur... Once again Khartoum is challenging the international community and rejecting the UN resolution, leading some to fear a renewal of massacres between 'Arab' and 'African' militia in the region... The Sudanese regime is afraid that the arrival of UN troops will lead to the arrest of Sudanese high officials for war crimes... Because of the Sudanese opposition, the UN, led by the U.S., has decided to force its way, hoping the see the Sudanese government bend to a fait accompli. But Khartoum is resisting what it calls a 'foreign presence.' According to the International Crisis Group, the UN resolution has little chance of succeeding unless it is accompanied by coercive measures. It could even have disastrous effects... because meanwhile, Khartoum is said to be amassing its soldiers in certain areas of Darfur..." "The Darfur Genocide: Economic Calculations of the Sudanese Government" Pierre Prier in right-of-center Le Figaro (09/05): "President Bush's envoy Jendayi Frazier was unsuccessful in her mission to convince the Sudanese government of accepting the deployment of UN troops... The Islamic rhetoric used by Sudan, which has proclaimed it would 'welcome the presence of foreign troops like Hezbollah welcomed the Israelis' hides a conflict which has nothing to do with religion... The conflict between Muslims is about land, water and the sharing of the wealth... This is a war of the poor because the resources are scarce. It is a war that is spilling over onto neighboring countries... The Arab tribes, the 'Janjawids' which the Sudanese government is using as its militia in Darfur are accused of wanting to widen 'Arab' influence in the province... making the conflict more political... and spilling over to Chad... Despite the reconciliation between Chad and Sudan under the aegis of Ghadafi, in Darfur, the conflict opposes everyone against everyone. And the end of the rainy season could accelerate a generalized war for power, the only entity that dispenses the wealth." Afghanistan - NATO - Drug Trafficking "NATO's Offensive Against the Taliban Continues" Emeline Henique in Catholic La Croix (09/05): "Despite NATO's initial encouraging results, the forces of the transatlantic alliance are paying a heavy price, with 18 soldiers killed over the weekend... leading the new commander, Richard Dannat to say that his forces are taking too much heat... Since their fall in 2001, the Taliban have never relented their attacks in the hopes or re-conquering Kandahar. Meanwhile NATO's objective is to secure a region which is key to its 'development' phase, which includes gaining the confidence of local populations to support the government's efforts." "Afghan Opium" Left-of-center Le Monde in its editorial (09/05): "The UNODC has declared that opium is Afghanistan's number one employer, its largest source of wealth and the basis for its economy. The country has become once again a drug state, as it was five years ago under the Taliban, and before the U.S.-led war to topple and vanquish Al-Qaeda. What is even worse is that the figures given by UNODC mark the failure of the international community in this sector as well as in securing the country. The international community has proven itself incapable of promoting security, normalizing the economy and establishing a lucrative agricultural alternative to opium... The situation cruelly underscores the impasse that the US and the international community find themselves in five years after the intervention in Afghanistan." September 11 - East-West: Dialogue or Confrontation "A War Unlike Any Other" Jean Levallois in regional La Presse de La Manche (09/05): "On 9/11/2001, an event of extraordinary magnitude took place. A war had been declared unlike any other in the history of world wars. It was not a state or a people against another, but Al-Qaeda, a terrorist organization challenging the world's major power and striking it at its core. This is a war of religion that does not say its name, a war of ideology without mercy because it is fed by fanaticism... This war, by its nature, cannot be fought like other wars. Herein lies the tragedy for George W. Bush, who waged a war against Iraq when in fact Al-Qaeda is the enemy, hence the fiasco that ensued. On 9/11/2001, airplanes full of civilians turned into bombs which blew up many of our beliefs. Five years later the solution has yet to be found." "New Antagonisms Rising" Pierre de Charentenay in Catholic La Croix (09/05): "... Terrorism demonstrates an opposition between those who have been enriched by globalization and individuals, who, in the Muslim world, are seeking their identity. But it is not a confrontation between civilizations..." "Orient - Occident: Confrontation or Dialogue" Joseph Yacoub in Catholic La Croix (09/05): "The West, if taken globally, is more sensitive to democracy, to institutions and human rights. In the East, national and identity issues are primordial. Collective, community and spiritual rights dominate... But what unites men together is stronger than what separates them. The West needs the East and the East needs the West. These two worlds are complementary... because civilizations are not abstract entities. They are tied in space and time, find their way within power struggles and are influenced by the men that lead them, and who are themselves moved by their ambitions and desire to dominate. Yet these civilizations have always interacted and influenced each other for the better." STAPLETON