MEDIA REACTION: NUCLEAR TEST, GITMO, AFPAK, IRAN, RUSSIA,

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SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: NUCLEAR TEST, GITMO, AFPAK, IRAN, RUSSIA,
FRANCE


1. Lead Stories Summary

2. North Korean Nuclear Test

3. Guantnamo Detainees

4. Pakistan, Afghanistan

5. Iran and the Middle East

6. EU-Russia Meeting

7. New French Base in UAE



1. Lead Stories Summary

Editorials focused on North Korea's nuclear test and on government
subsidies for Germany's farmers. The nuclear test is also the
headline in the majority of papers. One national daily opens with a
report on governmental support for German farmers. ZDF-TV's early
evening newscast Heute and ARD-TV's early evening newscast
Tagesschau opened with reports on North Korea's nuclear test.


2. North Korean Nuclear Test

ARD-TV's Tagesthemen commentator judged: "The despot in Pyongyang
has been provoking the world for much too long. What we erroneously
assumed for too long about Iraq's dictator Saddam Hussein is certain
in the case of Kim Jong-il: He has a nuclear threatening potential.
The global outrage at North Korea's nuclear test is primarily
evidence of our helplessness. Only Kim's allies, i.e. China's
leaders, are able to topple him. Out of political calculations and
out of fear of a mass exodus from the poor house of Asia, they are
keeping the buffer state in North Korea stable. The world should no
longer tolerate this. Beijing must banish the tyrant in Pyongyang
to the history books."

Deutschlandfunk aired the following commentary: "The activities of a
gambler like Kim Jong-il can hardly be stopped with condemnations
and sanctions. He wants international recognition and a dialogue at
eye level with the UN secretary general or even more, with a
high-ranking U.S. government representative. That is why the West
is in a fix. It either condescends to talks with the dictator or
Kim continues to provoke - sometimes with missiles and sometimes
with bombs."

"North Korea's Provocation" is the headline of a front-page
editorial in Frankfurter Allgemeine. The daily opined: "With its
second nuclear test within three years, the communist regime in
North Korea brazenly challenged the international community again.
This is not good news. Not only President Obama, who recently
pronounced the vision of a nuclear weapons free world in Prague, but
the international community as a whole are faced with the question
of whether and how the development of nuclear weapons state can be
prevented. Little can be achieved with offers for talks. After the
first nuclear test two years ago, tough financial sanctions aimed at
the country's leadership elite had an effect. Russia and China
should now also be willing to impose such sanctions if talks are not
to become a farce right from the start."

Sueddeutsche opined under the headline: "Misery with North Korea,"
and noted: "As of yesterday, the ninth nuclear power in the world is
North Korea. This is unpleasant but it is a fact. The earlier the
international community becomes aware of this, the better.
Negotiations and diplomatic pressure are the only remaining options.
If not, the dictator and his nuclear physicists will continue
unimpeded to fine-tune their disastrous weapons. But Pyongyang wants
direct bilateral talks with the U.S. It does not want to be solely
dependent on China.... This is a chance that Barack Obama should
use. The Six-Party talks were an honorable attempt but, for the
time being, they have failed. In the talks that were organized by
China, Pyongyang claimed to give up its nuclear weapons. That is
why this second nuclear test is an enormous embarrassment for
Beijing. Statements that are negated by nuclear tests are useless.

President Obama and his security team should now raise the question
whether they can be more successful without China. A containment
policy coordinated with Japan and South Korea, linked with direct
talks with Pyongyang, would be an alternative to the current course.
China has always obstructed direct sanctions towards North Korea.
That is another reason for the ninth nuclear weapons state."

Die Welt judged: "Kim Jong-il is provoking the international
community and is about to overcall his cards. The message on
Memorial Day is: If Barack Obama does not expand his policy of an
extended hand to North Korea, he will not be able to achieve a
diplomatic success in this part of the world. But Obama cannot sit
back and take it. And that is why despite all conciliatory
gestures, a preventive military strike is now on the political radar
screen should Kim Jong-il continue his confrontational policy."

In the view of Handelsblatt, "Barack Obama is in a dilemma. He is
not any closer to his vision of a nuclear-free world, even though
the talks on nuclear arsenals have resumed in Geneva. The United
States must realize that it has to deal with more trouble spots
apart from Afghanistan and Pakistan. To wait and see is no longer
an option. Washington must react and it must do this in an
unmistakable way. The United States has two possibilities: It
either gives up the Six-Party talks and sits at the same table with
North Korea and upgrades the regime or it influences China and
Russia to talk plainly with Kim. Even Beijing should feel
apprehensive in view of the unpredictable North Koreans. If the
United States continues to show reservations, it could possibly be
giving up its last trump card in the nuclear poker game, because a
conciliatory attitude towards Pyongyang would hardly prompt Iran to
voluntarily give up the development of nuclear weapons. The old
carrot-and-stick policy on the 'axis of evil' no longer proves
successful. Obama has no choice: He must demonstrate toughness
irrespective of whether it fits his strategy or not."

According to Financial Times Deutschland, "North Korea continues to
stick to its successful business model: nuclear blackmail. But with
yesterday's test, North Korea's dictator is provoking not only his
ideological arch enemy in the United States and its President Barack
Obama, but also China, Pyongyang's last ally, must feel snubbed.
For China this test is a slap in the face. In the end, this is the
only aspect which could create a ray of hope: Even the Chinese must
increasingly wonder whether they can allow Pyongyang to do as
before. One can safely describe the U.S. policy towards North Korea
as a failure. As far as military matters are concerned, the regime
has made itself unassailable with the nuclear bomb. But if Beijing
now realizes that Pyongyang has not an open ear for Chinese requests
and desires, then this is worth more than the resumption of the
Six-Party talks. Even China can have no interest in an
unpredictable small neighbor. Beijing has little interest in
profound political changes in North Korea but a nuclear-free Korean
peninsula would certainly make life safer for all neighbors."


3. Guantnamo Detainees

Frankfurter Allgemeine commented on President Obama's and former
Vice President Cheney's recent statements: "Although Obama is far
more popular than Cheney, the situation is dangerous for Obama. If
there is a new attack, America's right will say that it was the
result of Obama's easygoing approach. In general, the President
seems to be struggling to sell his nuanced policy as being one that
is consistent to a broad political spectrum."

Spiegel magazine described the Bush presidency as a "long shadow"
for Obama, noting that "America's President, who started so full of
drive, is in difficulties. A coalition of intelligence officers and
Bush supporters has changed the sentiment in the country and
Congress.... Fear is getting the upper hand again in the great
battle over fear and civil courage."

Focus magazine highlighted that "problems with Guantanamo and
economic policies have put the brakes on Barack Obama's vigor" and
added: "In the election campaign, Obama presented himself as Mr.
Change, who advocated a new political beginning and a better
America, which needs neither wars not torture prisons. He must now
realize that things are not that easy."


4. Pakistan, Afghanistan

Frankfurter Allgemeine commented: "After three weeks, the operation
of the Pakistani forces is now in a critical phase... and must now
fight the Taliban house to house.... Even if they succeed in
driving out the Taliban, the victory will not be worth much if the
number of civilian victims is too high."

FT Deutschland's editorial under the headline "Last Chance for
Afghanistan" remarked that "The U.S. change in strategy is also a
challenge for Germany" and added: "The German government must
provide more men and means to take what could be the last
opportunity in Afghanistan. Despite the concerns of budget watch
dogs, more money must be provided directly to the Afghans to build
up a solid foundation. It might be unpleasant for politicians to
debate Afghanistan prior to the German elections, but Berlin must
respond to the U.S. U-turn and take more action so that the mission
was not in vain."

Under the headline "Helpless in Afghanistan," Die Welt remarked: "A
strategic gap between the U.S. and its European allies is becoming
obvious in Afghanistan. One side is considering handing
responsibility over to the local authorities, and the other side is
thinking of the Pakistani trouble spot."


5. Iran and the Middle East

Under the headline "The Iranian Challenge," Frankfurter Allgemeine
commented in a front-page editorial: "Iran is dreaming of dominating
the Middle East. This dream, which is also the goal of the nuclear
program, is a nightmare for the Arab countries.... The leaderships
in Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Bahrain and Yemen fear
that Iran is infiltrating their societies. Iran underestimates the
will and capacity of the Arab states to defend their sovereignty....
Maybe the Iranian challenge is the impetus the Arab world needs
today."


6. EU-Russia Meeting

Sueddeutsche Zeitung (5/23) opined: "The mood between the EU and
Russia has improved and the time of confrontation is over, but a
deep distrust and positions have remained that are almost as rigid
as the frost during Russia's winter. The turn of Georgia and
Ukraine to the West is a wound that still hurts the Russian
president and his nation; and President Medvedev hardly leaves an
opportunity unused to show this. The motto of the summit at this
distant place was called 'dialogue of interests,' but the interests
are as far apart as Brussels from Chabarovsk. Russia wants to keep
its energy policy dominance, while the West wants to break it. But
both sides have acknowledged that they need each other, even though
they threaten each other with alternatives, again and again. Moscow
and Brussels want to set up a strategic partnership but jealousy is
too great to do this."

Regional daily Bayerische Rundschau of Kulmbach (5/23) argued: "This
summit clearly showed who has more pull: Russia. The country that
is rich in natural resources does not want to rule out that there
will be supply bottlenecks in the future. At the latest, alarm
bells should now be ringing in Brussels. Business relations are
built on trust and cannot function on such a basis. It is
intolerable that contracts are simply ignored."

Regional daily Mittelbayerische Zeitung of Regensburg opined: "The
EU's dependency on Russian gas has grown over the years. It is
worrying that, by 2020, almost 70 percent of gas supplies for Europe
come from this vast empire. That is why the EU has only one choice:
to concentrate energy policies and to consistently push for the
construction of the alternative Nabucco pipeline. Strict energy
savings and the use of renewable energy resources must become even
more important. This is the only chance for the EU to counter
Moscow's [policy]."


7. New French Base in UAE

Frankfurter Allgemeine reported under the headline: "From Black
Africa to the Gulf," that "President Sarkozy will open a military
base in the United Arab Emirates. His advisor considers this a
minor geo-political revolution. With the opening of a military base
in the United Arab Emirates this Tuesday, French President Sarkozy
strengthens the French claim to intensify its influence as a force
of stability in the Persian Gulf. About 500 French soldiers from
the air force, the navy, and the armed forces will be permanently
deployed in the Emirates. The French base...represents the
beginning of an important new direction in [France's] security
policy. France is increasingly turning away from its former African
'backyard' and sees its security interests to be better represented
in the Gulf region. It is the first time since its colonial era
that France is opening a military base outside of Europe. Sarkozy's
personal military chief of staff, Edouard Guillaud, is speaking of a
'minor geo-political revolution.' For large parts of black Africa,
a withdrawal of the former colonial power is now in the offing.
France wants to get rid of its duty to intervene in internal
conflicts. At the same time, it is accepting new intervention
duties in the Persian Gulf. Sarkozy said: 'It is a signal that is
directed to everyone that France will contribute to stability in
this part of the world,' but, at the same time, he did not mention
the threat emanating from Iran's nuclear potential. With the new
military base at the Straits of Hormuz, where 40 percent of the
globally transported crude oil passes, France is now moving to the
front in case the conflict with Iran escalates."

KOENIG