MEDIA REACTION: HAITI, U.S., CHINA, TERRORISM, TURKEY-

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SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: HAITI, U.S., CHINA, TERRORISM, TURKEY-
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1. Lead Stories Summary

2. (Haiti) Relief Efforts

3. (U.S.) President Obama to Tax Banks

4. (China) Censorship of Google

5. (Terrorism) Attack on Mesud

6. (Turkey-Israel) Strained Relations



1. Lead Stories Summary

The majority of print media again led with stories about the tragedy

in Haiti; others carried reports on the move of Finance Minister
SchQuble to freeze all salaries for the employees of the public
service to counter rising debt, while Handelsblatt reported that
fear
of Chinese hackers is threatening German trade with China.
Editorials
focused on Haiti, the closed door meeting of the CDU in Berlin, and
a
police raid on Germany's biggest 15 food companies, which are
suspected of illegal price agreements. ZDF-TV's early evening
newscast heute and ARD-TV's early evening newscast Tagesschau opened

with special reports on Haiti.


2. (Haiti) Relief Efforts

All papers (1/15) carried extensive coverage of the relief efforts
that have now been initiated to help Haiti. Several papers carried
special reports on U.S. assistance for the country. Frankfurter
Allgemeine headlined: "How the United States helps," and reported
that
"Only a few hours after the devastating earthquake, President Obama

promised 'unrestricted support' He said that his government would

'quickly and resolutely' take action to help the Haitian people.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cut short her trip to Australia
and
New Zealand and returned from Hawaii to Washington. Clinton, who is

also responsible for coordinating civilian relief efforts, compared

the situation after the earthquake with the situation following the

tsunami in Asia in 2004." Berliner Zeitung carried a report on how

prominent U.S. actors are helping Haiti and mentioned that actors
Brad
Pitt and Angelina Jolie donated one million dollars for the victims
of
the earthquake. The paper also carried a report on President Obama

asking Ex-Presidents Bush and Clinton to coordinate aid efforts.
Financial Times Deutschland headlined: "United States Offers All-Out

Support for Haiti - Obama Demonstrates Resolve," while die
tageszeitung wrote a report under the headline: "U.S. Soldiers to
Save
Haiti."

In a front-page editorial, Frankfurter Allgemeine (1/15) judged:
"Even
[Haiti's] President Prval admitted that institutions in his country

are weak - if they exist at all. But what has thus far been
detrimental to the country because the plant of democracy has not

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thrived, could now be an advantage. Without any cynicism we must
state that a 'failed state' cannot create any obstacles for foreign

helpers.... It is also a clear signal that, in addition to
Secretary
Clinton, Defense Secretary Gates is also involved in relief efforts.

The chaos can be easier reined in with military means. But it would

not be detrimental either if the immediate assistance developed into

long-term support because this 'state' will be dependent on such
assistance for a long time to come."

Under the headline: "Don't Do Too Much of the Good Things,"
Financial
Times Deutschland (1/15) opined: "Haiti now needs internationally
harmonized aid which will be coordinated by organizations on site.

These organizations must cooperate with the government and have good

links to important people. But what Haiti does not need is a bunch
of
additional helpers. Everyone who has no idea of life in the country

and just goes there to help is a burden rather than a support. The

country does not need a flood of donors either. If everyone now
wants
a report on which project the money was spent, then the government
apparatus will soon be busy with accounting, reporting, and the
reception of donors. And what the country does not need either - as

cynical as this may sound - is as much money as possible. Millions

that cannot immediately be spent will create corrupt structures and

nurture power-hungry elites. It is good that there is already a
country that is predestined to bundle international assistance and
shoulder great parts of the financial burden: the United States.
The
obvious thing to do is concentrate the urgently necessary
coordination
for the reconstruction of Haiti in Washington. There is a great
chance that the attention for Haiti will remain once the
international
TV teams have returned home."

In the view of Neue Osnabrcker Zeitung (1/15),"one thing is clear

right now: the relief efforts that have now been initiated and the
announced millions of dollars of support, primarily from the United

States, are impressive signs of solidarity with the needy Haitians.

At the same time, they offer the great chance to stabilize and
reconstruct the politically and economically downtrodden country
from
scratch, provided the donations do not disappear in corruption holes

and superfluous projects."

Berliner Zeitung (1/15) editorialized: "The next natural disaster
will
certainly come, and it will hit Haiti harder, as poor as the country

is. Help will reach the people more quickly if there are roads. It


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will be more efficient if local administrative structures function.

Hospitals will be more stable if building requirements are respected

when they are built. Each disaster creates more poverty and each
further impoverishment multiplies the impact of disasters. Economic

development and the establishment of a functioning state will help
escape from this vicious circle. Both require money and strong
international engagement. There is no alternative for this heavily

destroyed country nor tor the world that is now coming to the
rescue."

Regional daily Stuttgarter Zeitung (1/15) judged: "Immediate relief

efforts, if continued correctly, help a country get out of a
structural crisis. Such assistance helped the Indonesian Banda Aceh

province overcome a civil war. Sri Lanka in turn did not succeed
with
such tour de force, even though the struggle against the LTTE was
ended with much bloodshed. The lesson from both examples is that,
without the good will of the local authorities, international
support
will decrease some day in the future. Haiti, too, could now get the

chance to improve its situation, but a precondition is that the
attention of the international community lasts long enough and that

political leaders of the country finally serve their people and not

themselves."

According to Frankfurter Rundschau (1/15),"there are no Islamic
extremists in Haiti, Haiti is not threatening the interests of the
wealthy world. Haiti's failure would first of all hit the Haitians.

But exactly this is turning Haiti into a test case for the
prosperous
part of the world. What we are loudly proclaiming in Afghanistan
and
elsewhere could be easily realized here: to help a country to
develop
in freedom."

Regional daily Nrnberger Zeitung (1/15) criticized: "Relief workers

from all over the world are now flying to the site of the disaster
in
order to correct the mistakes of the past. For decades, the country

has turned into the house of poverty of America. As always, when
there is a lack of food, medicine, and education, no one attached
any
attention to enabling the Haitians to come to terms with natural
disasters on their own."


3. (U.S.) President Obama to Tax Banks

Several papers (1/15) reported that President Obama wants to impose
a
levy on banks to counter the financial crisis. Frankfurter
Allgemeine
headlined; "Obama wants to Get Back Every cent," and added that
"about
50 big U.S. banks should pay the planned levy." Sueddeutsche
Zeitung

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headlined; "Obama Presents the Banks with the Bill" and sub-titled:

"U.S. government wants to impose tax on finance companies. This
would
also hit Deutsche Bank." The paper wrote: "President Obama
presented
his plans on how to get back the costs for the rescue of the
financial
system. He used this opportunity for a day of reckoning with Wall
Street. The government must now try to get support from Congress,
and
the banks will put up bitter resistance."

In an editorial Sueddeutsche (1/15) argued under the headline: "Tax

For One's Good Feeling," that "the real objection to Obama's tax is

that it contributes nothing to the solution of the follow-on
problems
of the financial crisis. On the contrary, it distracts attention
from
its solution. As a matter of fact, post-crisis policy has got
bogged
down. The leaders wanted to coordinate their policies and how the
banks could be made liable for paying parts of the crises costs.
But
in view of Obama's tax, this will not happen. As a matter of fact,

the very wise decisions from the Global Economic Summit from
Pittsburgh were supposed to be implemented as quickly as possible
and
should enter into force in 2011. But thus far, nothing has entered

into force. One essential reason is that Obama is increasingly
losing
support for his economic policy. The Republicans have begun a
fundamental opposition, and the Democrats in Congress are getting
increasingly unpredictable.... Parts of U.S. Congress are waging a

grim battle to deprive the Federal Reserve of its power. The
political process in Washington is increasingly getting irrational
traits and no one is able to predict what will be the result in the

end. In this situation, President Obama has opened a new front with

his tax on banks. We can only hope that this will clarify the
situation and not increase the chaos even more."

Regional daily Badische Zeitung of Freiburg (1/15) editorialized:
"Obama's approach is better than the one from Chancellor Merkel and

the SPD who demand a global stock market sales tax. This fee would

primarily hit small investors. It was not the activities of these
investors which caused the greatest financial crisis in the 20th
century. Obama's approach is also better than the bonus tax that
was
approved in Britain and France. The U.S. levy will be a burden for

the bank as a whole and not only for the income of a few staff
members. But there is also a hitch to Obama's plan. This
industrial
sector will now try to make the customers pay for the additional
cost.
But even if it succeeded, the U.S. president sent a signal."


4. (China) Censorship of Google


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Several papers (1/15) carried factual news reports on China's
efforts
to ban Google. Frankfurter Allgemeine reported under the headline:

"China Defends Internet Censorship - 'Measures Correspond to
International Practice," and wrote that "a Foreign Ministry
spokeswoman said that international Internet companies must stick to

Chinese laws." Sueddeutsche headlined: "Second Class Internet and
said; "Many Chinese users are worried about a possible withdrawal of

Google. The censorship can have negative implications for the
economy."

In another report under the headline: "pact with the Devil,"
Sueddeutsche (1/15) noted: "Such an Orwellian-like distortion of the

truth could not have been better formulated by the Chinese Ministry

for Public Relations or Propaganda Ministry). When Google was asked

over the past years about business in China, the company always said

that it wants to make an 'important and positive contribution' to
the
development of the country. But it is obvious that the company has

never been interested in the well-being of Chinese society. Google

primarily followed profit interests - and subjected itself to the
censorship of the regime. But for its pact with the Chinese rulers,

Google paid a high price. The company had opened a market, but
inflicted great damage on its image. Google betrayed its own
ideals."

According to regional daily Allgemeine Zeitung of Mainz (1/15),
"China
is a dictatorship that brutally persecutes its critics. All
diplomatic efforts, threats and sanctions of democratic states have

not been able to bring about decisive change. Maybe the Internet
will
manage to achieve this. Chinese dissidents describe it as a gift
from
God. For the powers that be in Beijing, it is devilish stuff and
they
react with attacks as Google has learned right now. But it is
simply
too bad for the Chinese rulers that the other side is so highly
armed
in this cyber war. That is why the controversy between democratic
and
dictatorial ways of thinking, between China and the West, will
possibly be decided in the Internet. And in this respect, the West

has probably the better chances than it would eve have in a 'normal'

war."


5. (Terrorism) Attack on Mesud

Frankfurter Allgemeine (1/15) dealt with the drone attack on
Hakimullah Mesud in Pakistan and opined: "Even though Mesud managed
to
escape, some of his followers died in the drone attack. The clearly

targeted killing of radical Islamic Jihadists, who have found a

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hideout in the Pakistani tribal areas and who must be considered
supporters of Osama bin Laden or cooperate with him, has become a
practice of the CIA in the fight against international terrorism.
President Bush began it and under President Obama these secret,
legally controversial, activities have even been extended. The
destruction of leadership structures has certainly only a limited
effect since new heads will grow out of a hydra if one head is cut
off. But at least it will disrupt the activities of the radical
Islamists and forces them to go on the defensive."


6. (Turkey-Israel) Strained Relations

Sueddeutsche opined under the headline: "Lesson in Ridiculousness,
"that this episode [in Israel-Turkish relations] is not only
evidence
of the alarmingly bad relations between the two countries but it
also
casts a bad light on Israel's foreign policy as a whole, which can

hardly be measured by the usual diplomatic standards. Lieberman is

presenting himself as 'Mister Njet' of Israel's policy. He
described
peace talks with the Palestinians as 'a waste of time'...and now he

wanted to teach the Turks a lesson, a move that backfired. While
governments around the globe are working on peace plans, Israel
affords itself the luxury of a foreign minister who disregards all
efforts. His nationalistic clientele may cheer him, but Lieberman
is
broadly damaging his country with his moves."

MURPHY