MEDIA REACTION: U.S.-EU, U.S.-CHINA, AFGHANISTAN, IRAN,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 BERLIN 000160 STATE FOR INR/R/MR, EUR/PAPD, EUR/PPA, EUR/CE, INR/EUC, INR/P, SECDEF FOR USDP/ISA/DSAA, DIA FOR DC-4A VIENNA FOR CSBM, CSCE, PAA "PERISHABLE INFORMATION -- DO NOT SERVICE" SIPDIS E.0. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR US CH AF IR EMS HA KGHG FR SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: U.S.-EU, U.S.-CHINA, AFGHANISTAN, IRAN, EU-EURO, HAITI, CLIMATE, FRANCE-GERMANY;BERLIN ¶1. Lead Stories Summary ¶2. (U.S.-EU) Relations ¶3. (U.S.-China) Impact of Arms Exports to Taiwan ¶4. (Afghanistan) Holbrooke Interview ¶5. (Iran) Nuclear Program ¶6. (EU-Euro) Financial Woes ¶7. (Haiti) Reconstruction Efforts ¶8. (Environment) Climate ¶9. (France-Germany) Cooperation ¶1. Lead Stories Summary Print media led again with a variety of lead stories this morning. While the Berlin dailies and Sueddeutsche Zeitung focused on a CD that contains details of investors suspected of evading taxes via accounts in Switzerland, Frankfurter Allgemeine carried an interview with CSU Secretary General Alexander Dobrindt and Die Welt the results of an opinion poll centering on the government's first 100 days in office. Editorials focused on the quarterly results of Deutsche Bank and on the purchase of the CD with the names of alleged tax evaders. ZDF-TV's early evening newscast heute opened with a balance sheet of the government's first 100 days in office, and ARD-TV's early evening newscast Tagesschau opened with a story on the purchase of the tax CD. ¶2. (U.S.-EU) Relations In an editorial under the headline: "U.S. Foreign Policy Getting More Self-Confident Again," Die Welt (2/5) judged: "When U.S. Vice President Joe Biden addressed the Munich Security Conference last year, this was the beginning of an unprecedented foreign policy charm offensive. The stars of the government with President Obama at the helm, Secretary Clinton, but Biden himself, too, hardly left any opportunity out over the past few months to initiate America's repentant return to multilateralism. One year later, America has landed on the hard ground of realpolitik. The fact that at today's security conference in Munich NSA head Jim Jones is the highest-ranking U.S. official should not be understood as an affront. But many indications are that the time of niceties is over. Impatience in Washington is clearly rising...because President Obama is disappointed at their lack of movement by many partners. That is why the U.S. government is now moving up a gear. Obama's declining the invitation to the EU-U.S. summit was such a signal.... The Obama fans on the continent would be well advised to understand that this president - unlike his predecessors - has no sentimental links to Europe. Those who are unable to deliver will now be ignored once in a while. This is another interpretation of the decision not to come to Madrid.... Relations with China also developed worse than the Obama team had hoped for.... The team that started with great hopes had painful contact with reality last year. But one should not underestimate the U.S. government's ability to learn. As a matter of fact, we are now witnessing the next transformation of U.S. foreign policy, a kind of Obama 2.0. The new Obama will not apologize as often as before for past U.S. mistakes and he will demand more from others; more assistance from the allies and greater concessions from rivals. In the first year, the Obama team was more interested in getting applause from the stands, but now it wants results. The Americans will not again create such a comfortable situation that existed in the first year in office." Berliner Zeitung (2/5) editorialized: "Barack Obama has better things to do. The U.S. President refuses to come to Europe in May to participate in a boring and unproductive summit with the EU Commission president and other important Europeans. He tolerated this event twice last year and now lost interest in it. Who could blame him? However, Obama's people are still travelling. Secretary Clinton was in Paris last week where she delivered a speech to the BERLIN 00000160 002 OF 005 Military Academy. NSA Jones will come to Security Conference in Munich. Several important U.S. Senators will also be there. For defense experts, the Munich conference is the first highlight of the year. However, boredom is also spreading there because, despite all the lip service of senior U.S. officials, Europe is no longer so important for the U.S. and its government.... President Obama politely asked European partners last year whether they would deploy more soldiers in Afghanistan... The U.S. will increase its troops by 30,000, while most Europeans have difficulties to send in only a few hundred additional soldiers. Neither are they contributing much to the civilian reconstruction; the German contribution to the training of police forces is disgraceful. It is not a great surprise that the U.S. President has little interest in coordinating his strategies with the Europeans. In addition, U.S. foreign policy is dominated by something else: the approach to China... The time when America's foreign policy was determined by European immigrants, such as Henry Kissinger and Madeline Albright, is over. A new generation, for whom the Second World War is ancient history, is ruling in Washington. Its interest and passion is Asia; the view on Europe is cool and rational." Under the headline "Creeping estrangement," a front-page editorial in Tagesspiegel (2/5) remarked: "This would not have happened under George W. Bush. If he had stayed away from an EU-U.S. summit, people would have shrugged their shoulders or responded with mockery. It's different with Barack Obama. He has been in office for a year and the novelty appeal has long gone. However, many Europeans would still like to keep up the feeling of reconciliation after the dispute with Bush for some time. This is true especially for Germany, where Obama is particularly popular. Instead of this, are we seeing a withdrawal of U.S. love? The answer is more ordinary: relations reach the point of business as usual.... Cooperation under Bush worked better than the public image suggested. Under Obama, it is the other way around.... Obama lacks the empathy for Europe which his predecessors had. He was born on Hawaii in the Pacific and knows Africa and Indonesia. He has no formative experience with Europe. For his generation, the World War, reconstruction aid and the Cold War, which forged Europe and America together, are history. It is a business relationship, not a love story. The EU is important to the U.S. to resolve problems. So far, it is not meeting Obama's expectations. There have been enough summits in the past. One less is not a loss." Most papers reported that the civil liberties committee of the European parliament voted against the transfer of data compiled by Swift to the United States. Headlines include: "European Representatives Reject Data Transfer to the U.S." (Berliner Zeitung),"EU Committee blocks Data Agreement with the U.S." (Frankfurter Rundschau),"Majority against SWIFT Agreement" (Frankfurter Allgemeine). FT Deutschland (2/5) headlined that "the U.S. threatens to isolate the EU parliament - Bilateral Agreements Supposed to Replace SWIFT Treaty." The intro read: "In the dispute over the bank data exchange agreement SWIFT, the U.S. government threatens the European parliament with the cancellation of all negotiations." The paper cited a letter written by the U.S. Ambassador to the EU, William Kennard, to the chairpersons of all caucuses: "If the European Parliament throws out the agreement, I'm not sure whether Washington authorities would again decide to address this matter at the level of the EU." ¶3. (U.S.-China) Impact of Arms Exports to Taiwan Frankfurter Rundschau (2/5) analyzes: "Hardly a day goes by without a clash between the U.S. and China... The strained tone is in clear contrast to the hopes Washington had when Barack Obama came to power. The President wooed particularly Beijing as a partner BERLIN 00000160 003 OF 005 because hardly anything goes without China in international politics... The new U.S. government clearly welcomed China's rise as long as it would not be at the expense of others and Beijing constructively bears responsibility.... The euphoria has now gone. Instead of the expected partnership, America's experts see an ambitious young bull that is attacking the leader America whenever it gets an opportunity in the international arena - still cautiously, but with the expected goal of replacing the leader of the herd one day... Washington increasingly sees China as a rival.... The strategic goal of a constructive partnership is without any alternative. However, America has changed its tone. The old bull is lowering its horns.... Washington is going on the offensive in the long currency dispute... It will not be the last dispute. As long as yielding is seen as a weakness, there is no way to Chimerica." ¶4. (Afghanistan) Holbrooke Interview Sddeutsche (2/5) carried a supplement in the Munich Security Conference with an interview with Af/Pak envoy Holbrooke. The paper highlights: "The U.S. Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, warned in an interview with Sddeutsche Zeitung against speculating too much about talks with the Taliban, set new conditions for negotiations and encouraged India and Pakistan to improve its relations." The paper highlighted the quote: "We cannot accept that the Taliban force their attitude on women again," and "we do everything so that India and Pakistan improve their relationship - but we will not be mediators." ¶5. (Iran) Nuclear Program Sddeutsche (2/5) carried a length feature on Iran, noting: "Will Iran soon possess nuclear weapons? The U.S. urge at the United Nations to impose new sanctions against the regime in Tehran and no longer rule out a military strike. Supported by China and Russia, President Ahmadinejad's government claims that Iran uses the nuclear technology only for civilian purposes. This seems to be a lie. IAEA documents suggest that Iran can threaten the world with nuclear missiles." ¶6. (EU-Euro) Financial Woes The Greek financial crisis still gets wide coverage in the German press. Frankfurter Allgemeine (2/5) carried a report under the headline: "No Assistance for Greece from Euro Zone," and wrote: "The European Central Bank (ECB) is quenching Greek hopes for assistance from the euro zone. ECB President Trichet said the IMF would offer loans and Greece could ask the IMF for assistance in an emergency. He added that the IMF would offer loans and control whether a country stuck to its savings course. Concerning speculation about an escalation of the debt crisis, Trichet said the average budget deficit in the euro states was six percent. Other monetary zones such as Japan and the United States would soon have deficits of deficits beyond the ten percent level. 'In this difficult situation, a budget deficit of six percent is acceptable,' he said." Tagesspiegel (2/5) headlined: "Greek Civil Servants Are Blocking EU Savings plans," and noted that "civil servants have occupied the Finance Ministry and that the trade union federation announced a general strike." Financial Times Deutschland (2/5) reported under the headline: "Greece's Civil Servants on Strike Because Of Austerity Plan," and noted that "Greece must subject itself to strict EU budget control in the fight against its record debt. These measures include cuts of the salaries in the public service." Sueddeutsche Zeitung (2/5) deals with the IMF's offer to help the EU cope with Greece's problems and opined: "The IMF has now offered its BERLIN 00000160 004 OF 005 assistance, since it is the task of the IMF to help its members in case of an emergency. But the head of the ECB, Jean-Claude Trichet, does not think much of the offer, and he is right. The club of euro countries should not rely on international assistance but must help itself - not because of pride but because of the insight that the Monetary Union is a self-help group. Greece voluntarily joined the Monetary Union and signed and committed itself to stick to certain rules. That is why it is only logical that the European Commission is keeping a tighter rein on Greece now.... The Greeks who are now protesting the Brussels course should not moan. They would not be better off if the IMF had interfered. While the IMF always interfered when it was too late, the Europeans should think ahead and take action. Germany did it, Ireland, too." die tageszeitung (2/5) editorialized: "When the EU moved ahead with its European integration policy it initiated a monetary union first because it was unable to agree on a political union. What was foreseeable at the time is now coming to pass: If push comes to shove, only domestic policy exists within the euro zone." Volksstimme of Magdeburg (2/5) had this to say: "The EU has prescribed the Greeks a self-healing treatment under EU control to help the ailing Greek budget to recover. It is doubtful whether this will work. Within a few weeks, Greece is to nurse itself back to health.... But the Greeks, who like to take to the streets, will not accept this without complaining. [Unions] already announced nationwide strikes. If they expand, they will counteract all efforts to make savings. Then another bout of therapy could be necessary: fresh financial injections by the European partners to save the euro's stability. The Greek ailments can hardly be cured by patting the Greeks on the back and with vigilance alone." According to regional daily Landeszeitung of Lneburg (2/5),"Greek anger at the EU is probably only a weak harbinger of things to come. The Spaniards and Italians are also threatened with drastic cures. It is true that the southern European countries have pushed the euro into a dramatic downward spiral but their living- beyond-their-means policy has revealed a fundamental flaw of the EU, which can be corrected. The excessively lax acceptance criteria deluded the newcomers with the false hope that the Monetary Union would resolve their problems. But as a matter of fact, each euroland must shape its social, fiscal and economic policy to such an extent that it is able to keep pace with the other countries. But such a tour de force can no longer be achieved unilaterally. That is why Europe must bid farewell to the grand delusion that a monetary union could succeed without economic control." ¶7. (Haiti) Reconstruction Efforts "Haiti for the Haitians," headlined Financial Times Deutschland (2/5),and reported: "Haiti's government has given up governing and left the country to the UN. Haitians must now re-discover their republic. In Port-au-Prince, government leader Bellerive and President Prval have given up governing the country. A senator criticized the premier saying 'The government is obviously unable even to prove symbolically that it exists.' It is currently not possible to realize how Haiti can get back to a government that governs the country in an orderly fashion. But despite the chaotic situation, experts are warning against taking political responsibility away from the Haitians.... The Latin America chief of the international political advisory group 'Crisis Group,' Markus Schultze-Kraft, recommended 'that the Haitians enter into the political process again' and that the UN should only accompany this process as it did before the quake. He added that the Haitians should regain confidence in the political system of their country and then identify with it, since, otherwise, stability would be in danger again.... The UN said the responsibility for the reconstruction of buildings but also of the political institutions BERLIN 00000160 005 OF 005 must be shouldered by the Haitians. But Haiti must also rely on international assistance. This assistance, however, was 'very unreliable in the past,' the UN said." Regional daily Neue Osnabrcker Zeitung (2/5) judged: "Coordination is the magic word in Haiti. Unfortunately, no one seems to know the formula for this. Relief goods are reaching the country in ample quantities; money and donations wait to be spent. Nevertheless, the aid does not reach every Haitian. Why? The government did not invest in a weak infrastructure or assert its governmental authority even before the earthquake. That is why the misery multiplied after the disaster. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton is now to coordinate all aid efforts on behalf of the UN. This can be useful, but it will be decisive that donations are used more effectively and will not be left to an incapable government. To waive Haiti's debt would be a usefl move to make it easier to reconstruct Haiti." ¶8. (Environment) Climate Tagesspiegel (2/4) reported under the headline: "It is Going to be Hot," and wrote: "The world is heading for a warming up of three to four degrees [Celsius] compared to the beginning of industrialization. This is the result after 64 of the 192 UN member states' reports have reached the UN Climate Secretariat in Bonn by Wednesday. During the Copenhagen summit, the United States, China, and a few threshold countries agreed to report their climate [protection] goals by January 31, 2010 to Bonn. These self-formulated goals, however, were to have a 'binding character.' The threshold countries, however, which have thus far communicated their climate goals, all indicated that they were made on a 'voluntary basis and were 'non-committal.' Compared to the announcements made at the Copenhagen summit, these goals have now been watered down even more. Almost all industrialized countries want to stick to their goals only if other countries have 'comparable' goals.... After President Obama's Democrats lost the majority in the Senate in a by-election, it has now become even more difficult to get a climate bill through Congress which is not very ambitious anyway. If the United States does not move, the threshold countries, with China at the helm, will continue to hide behind the United States. That is why negotiations lack any kind of dynamism." ¶9. (France-Germany) Cooperation Sddeutsche (2/5) commented: "The German Chancellor wants to avoid the impression that Berlin and Paris are excluding other countries. However, the fact that there is no other equal partner for Germany cannot be ignored. Britain is too Euroskeptic, Russia too nationalistic and undemocratic, and America and China are busy with themselves. France will therefore permanently remain Germany's partner number one. The common agenda does not yet fully reflect this acknowledgement." MURPHY