AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: September 12, 2007

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SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: September 12, 2007


OeGB Lost Billions Because of Bawag


1. All Austrian media report that the Austrian Unions Association
OeGB has lost almost three billion Euros as a result of the failed
currency speculations by formerly union-owned bnk Bawag. The OeGB's
losses from the Bawag's nea-bankruptcy are thus much higher than
initially hought, the Union Association's financial officer aid.
Mass-crculation daily Kurier reports like al Austrian media on the
huge losses the AustrianUnions Association OeGB incurred as a
result of ank Bawag's near bankruptcy. The head of the OeGB'
finance department, Klemens Schneider, stated a a Bawag trial
hearing that the sale of the bank had failed to pay off: The Bawag's
vast losses had been far greater than feared, and had eaten up
almost all of the OeGB's gains from the sale of the bank, he
explained. The damage to the Union Association is this far greater
than anticipated, says the Kurier.


Joe Zawinul Has Died


2. Tributes have been flowing for Austrian jazz legend Joe Zawinul,
who died yesterday aged 75. Austrian President Heinz Fischer said
Zawinul's death meant Austria had lost a "music ambassador known and
cherished around the world." The keyboard player and composer is to
be given a grave of honor by the city of Vienna.
Austria and jazz fans worldwide are mourning the death of legendary
musician Joe Zawinul, who died at a Vienna hospital early Tuesday
following a battle with skin cancer, semi-official daily Wiener
Zeitung says. The daily quotes President Heinz Fischer, who called
Zawinul a "music ambassador," and Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer, who
underscored that "Joe Zawinul dedicated his life to jazz and his
legacy will continue to thrive." Zawinul was born in Vienna and his
first professional jobs were with jazz bands in his home city. In
the late 1950's he went to the United States and soon made a name
for himself as a pianist, keyboarder, arranger and composer. He
eventually teamed up with trumpet superstar Miles Davis and together
they pioneered the genre known as electric jazz. Joe Zawinul
co-founded Weather Report in 1970, a jazz-rock formation which, for
over 15 years, dazzled audiences around the world with its music and
performances. More recently Zawinul performed with the Zawinul
Syndicate and sponsored a jazz club in Vienna, Joe Zawinul's
Birdland, named after his best-known musical composition, writes the
Wiener Zeitung.


Call to End Daytime Lights for Cars


3. Austrian Infrastructure Minister Werner Faymann from the Social
Democrats and Interior Minister Guenther Platter from the People's
Party announced plans Tuesday to ask Parliament to drop a
two-year-old law requiring drivers in Austria to keep their car
lights on during the day. A new study has revealed that the law does
not significantly improve safety, says semi-official daily Wiener
Zeitung.


Euro Hits New Record High


4. The US Dollar has fallen to a record low against the Euro, as
investors bet that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates to
help the economy. The US Dollar dropped to $1.388 per Euro, passing
the previous record of $1.3852 that was set on 24 July. Many
analysts are predicting that the Federal Reserve will cut interest
rates next week, as it looks to reassure markets and consumers amid
a global credit crunch, according to ORF radio early morning news
Morgenjournal.


Cooperation against Terror


5. ... is the title of a guest commentary by US Ambassador to
Austria Susan McCaw published by a mass-circulation daily on the
occasion of the sixth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations "remain active
worldwide," the Ambassador says, and underscores the "importance of
being alert to the threat of terror, and of the need to cooperate."
She emphasizes that "terror has no justification. The intentional
killing of innocent civilians (...) is a perversion of everyone's
spiritual values and accomplishes nothing but despair, suffering and
hatred." That is why a "strong basis for transatlantic cooperation"
is necessary "in dealing with global challenges," including
terrorism, Ambassador McCaw states.
Mass-circulation daily Kurier publishes a guest commentary by US
Ambassador to Austria Susan McCaw on the occasion of the 6th
anniversary of the September 11 attacks in the United States. As the
recent arrests of terror suspects in Germany and the videotapes
purportedly by Osama bin Laden underscore, "al Qaeda and other
terrorist organizations remain active worldwide," says Ambassador
McCaw, and underscores the "need to cooperate to deny terrorists
access to financing and other resources needed to carry out their
plans. The US appreciates Austria's contributions in this regard."
In Afghanistan, the Taliban "deliberately target civilians,
including children," and the situation is similar in Iraq, "where al
Qaeda and other terrorist groups continually seek to destabilize the
fragile new democracy there." Terror "has no justification," nor has
the "intentional killing of innocent civilians," the Ambassador
emphasizes. And despite the "many differences of opinion between the
US and Europe," there is a "convergence on both sides of the
Atlantic in the way publics view international terrorism, violent
Islamic extremism, and other global issues," McCaw says. She points
out that there is "agreement that the EU should address
international threats in partnership with the United States."
She believes that "with a common outlook on the principal threats
and challenges we face, the transatlantic democratic community (...)
can work better together in facing them."


6th Anniversary of 9/11 Attacks


6. The Austrian Press Agency published a US Embassy press release
noting that the three US Ambassadors in Austria, Susan McCaw, Julie
Finley and Gregory Schulte, as well as Embassy employees attended a
brief ceremony outside the US Embassy building yesterday morning in
commemoration of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the
United States Austrian Press Agency APA reports.



Bush to Announce US Troop Reduction in Iraq


7. Later this week, US President George W. Bush is expected to
announce plans to reduce US troops in Iraq by about 30,000. White
House officials say the cuts will be announced in a major television
address. There are currently 168,000 US troops in Iraq, with 30,000
of them having been deployed in the so-called "surge" between
February and June of this year. Meanwhile, the top US military
commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, has faced severe criticism,
particularly from Democrats, during two days of testimony in
Congress.
All Austria media continue to comment on Gen. Petraeus' report on
Iraq and President Bush's expected announcement in a major
television address later this week to reduce US troops in Iraq.
Regarding the Iraq Report to Congress, mass-circulation provincial
daily Kleine Zeitung says that Democrats "are outraged over the
'bogus numbers' Gen. Petraeus presented in order to justify why US
forces need to remain in Iraq. 1,000 attacks a week are not a sign
of improvement," they argue. Similarly, independent provincial daily
Salzburger Nachrichten says Congress is "rather skeptical" with
regard to Petraeus' plans for a long-term US military commitment in
Iraq. Petraeus is confident that the US "can reach our goal over
time, even if it will not be achieved quickly or easily." Despite
his and US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker's efforts, leading
Democrats are not convinced the Iraq strategy is working, the daily
says and concludes: Observers agree that the Iraq Report has done
little to overcome the deep rifts between the White House and the
Democratic majority in Congress. Centrist daily Die Presse meanwhile
says that Gen. Petraeus' report will "support President Bush's Iraq
course." After Petraeus' "evaluation, there will be no majority in
Congress in favor of an immediate US troop pullout from Iraq. The
Presse also suggests the White House may be "playing for time." In
his address to the nation later this week, the US President will
"use Petraeus' favorable evaluation of the US troop surge to demand
more time for his Iraq policy - time until January 20, 2009, when
the next US President will be sworn in and Bush will be rid of the
problem once and for all."


IAEA in a Time Machine


8. ... is the headline of an analysis of the current round of
International Atomic Energy Agency talks with Iran regarding a
timetable for the disclosure of Tehran's' nuclear programs and
capabilities.
Reporting on the IAEA's efforts to get Tehran to disclose its
nuclear program, liberal daily Der Standard says the recently
introduced "work plan" is to provide answers regarding the Iranian
nuclear program, the details of which Tehran has kept secret for 18
years. Western representatives are now making a clear distinction
between what was and what is still going on today, says the
Standard. US Ambassador to UNVIE Gregory Schulte stressed at the
beginning of the IAEA board of governors' meeting in Vienna this
week that "even if Iran succeeds in shedding light on its past, the
IAEA will still need to get an insight into the present."
McCaw