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DE RUEHRL #1580/01 3481422
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
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FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6051
INFO RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
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RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
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RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE//J5 DIRECTORATE (MC)//
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 BERLIN 001580 
 
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 
 
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TAGS: OPRC KMDR KGHG IR XF US US AF
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: COP15, IRAN, MEPP, U.S., FINANCE, GERMANY- 
AFGHANISTAN;BERLIN 
 
¶1.   Lead Stories Summary 
¶2.   (Environment)   Copenhagen Climate Conference 
¶3.   (Iran)   Nuclear Conflict 
¶4.   (Middle East)   Settlement Conflict 
¶5.   (U.S.)   Blackwater 
¶6.   (U.S.)   Finance Markets 
¶7.   (Germany - Afghanistan)   Defense Minister Under Fire 
 
¶1.   Lead Stories Summary 
 
ZDF-TV's main newscast heute opened with a report on the meeting 
between Chancellor Merkel and Schleswig-Holstein's leadership on the 
 
economic stimulus package, while ARD-TV's primetime newscast 
Tagesschau opened with a report on the most recent developments in 
the 
Kunduz airstrike affair.  Most newspapers also led with those 
stories, 
while Frankfurter Allgemeine focused on riots in Turkey after the 
Turkish government banned the Kurdish DTP party.   Editorials 
focused 
on the ongoing political fallout from the Kunduz air strike and on 
the 
Copenhagen climate conference. 
 
¶2.   (Environment)   Copenhagen Climate Conference 
 
Frankfurter Rundschau editorialized: "If it goes on at this slow 
speed, then it will be hopeless.  This climate summit is similar to 
 
the previous ones....  Particularly the chief emitters, the U.S. and 
 
China, must make a move." 
 
Tagesspiegel commented: "Regardless of whether climate protection is 
 
seen as an opportunity or a threat, the fact is that if Copenhagen 
fails to change course, industrialized and developing countries 
alike 
have the best chances to drown.  It is the task of state and 
government leaders to come up with a climate formula that stops 
global 
warming and does not humiliate anybody.  This requires Europe's 
leadership.  But we have not seen any of that thus far in 
Copenhagen." 
 
Role of the EU 
 
Die Welt (12/12) headlined its cover story: "EU gives 7.2 billion 
euros for climate protection," and added in a front-page editorial: 
 
"The first week of the Copenhagen climate conference appeared likely 
 
to end in irritation and frustration.  Delegates have not been able 
to 
achieve anything on the working level.   With the 7.2 billion euros, 
 
the EU at least managed to send a ray of hope to the UN conference." 
 
Tagesspiegel (12/12) fronted:  EU energetically moves forward in 
climate protection." 
 
Deutschlandfunk opined: "The financial agreement to help threshold 
and 
developing countries to begin with common climate protection is 
remarkable.  Other countries must now live up this agreement.... 
The EU 
is also the only negotiator that can offer its partners not just 
 
BERLIN 00001580  002 OF 006 
 
 
money, but also a concrete strategy how to prevent the rise of 
temperature by more than two degrees." 
 
Norddeutscher Rundfunk radio opined: "Missed opportunity: at the end 
 
of the first week of the climate summit in Copenhagen a signal could 
 
have been sent by the European state and government leaders that 
Europe is stepping up its leadership role in climate protection... 
 
However, the final communiqu of the 27 countries repeated the same 
 
old positions....  This does not demonstrate Europe's determination 
to 
bring the climate conference to a successful end.  Instead, the 
leaders are debating stingily over immediate assistance for 
developing 
countries....  While the self-declared climate chancellor did not 
give a 
fresh impetus, her colleagues Brown and Sarkozy used the EU summit 
as 
an embarrassing promotion tour, staging themselves up as a Franco- 
British rescue duet.  The money Europe has put on the table is 
nothing 
compared to that pumped into banks.  This is approach to meeting the 
 
future challenges of climate change is not encouraging. 
 
Sddeutsche (12/12) editorialized: "European government heads are 
not 
just travelling with a few billion euros in their pockets to the 
climate negotiations in Copenhagen, but also with a sound plan. 
They 
have finally collected the money to help the poorest countries 
protect 
themselves better against rising tides and droughts.... However, the 
 
truly remarkable achievement of the European heads of state is the 
plan they developed to collect money for climate protection till 
2020 
and beyond...  Given the strained budgets, it looked impossible for 
the 
EU so far to make serious promises....  The EU has asked the IMF to 
make 
proposals by spring 2010 for a global tax on financial transactions. 
 
Banks might soon pay a special levy on bonuses and speculative 
gains. 
This may sound like a fairy tale now, but it could be standard 
practice in three years time." 
 
Frankfurter Allgemeine (12/12): "EU climate aid for poor countries- 
more than seven billion euros," adding in an editorial: "The 
European 
fund-raising campaign for the post-Kyoto process collected 7.2 
billon 
euros....  As you can see from the contributions, not every European 
 
country is committed to climate protection." 
 
Handelsblatt opined: "In five days, the basics of the new global 
climate agreement must be clear.  So far, not much progress has been 
 
made.  Although the EU has promised to contribute a fair part, a 
concrete offer is only expected on Wednesday or Thursday...  The EU 
 
obviously has not developed a plan how to lure the U.S. and China to 
 
 
BERLIN 00001580  003 OF 006 
 
 
its side.   Persuading the developing countries will not be enough. 
 
In the end, it will matter to overcome Washington's and Beijing's 
opposition. There is not much ground to believe that this will 
happen." 
 
Protests 
 
Sddeutsche carried a front-page photo of protesters in Copenhagen 
with a headline saying "Time is up."  The paper editorialized on the 
 
mass protests in Copenhagen: "They had expected 20,000 or 50,000 
protesters, but 100,000 came.   So many people have never before 
taken 
to the streets in Copenhagen....  This demonstration was not just a 
 
protest against the inactivity [of the conference].  It was the 
clearest evidence of a new global movement, which is gaining more 
influence on climate negotiations than some governments' would like 
it 
to have." 
 
¶3.   (Iran)   Nuclear Conflict 
 
Several Saturday papers carried factual news reports on possible EU 
 
sanctions on Iran.  Frankfurter Allgemeine (12/12) headlined: "EU 
threatening new sanctions against Iran," and reported: "The EU 
member 
states are threatening to impose new sanctions on Iran in the 
nuclear 
conflict.  The EU leaders adopted a resolution in Brussels on Friday 
 
in which they said that the EU would be willing to take 'the 
necessary 
steps' and that they would is 'very concerned' that Iran has not 
done 
anything until today  to convince the international community  that 
 
Iran's nuclear program only serves peaceful purposes.  The EU 
foreign 
ministers were instructed to discuss options for new sanctions at 
their next meeting at the end of January....  Brussels already 
drafted a 
paper that lists the possibilities for sanctions.  According to 
sources in Brussels, the paper concentrates on sanctions in the 
finance and energy sectors." 
 
Sueddeutsche Zeitung (12/12) reported under the headline: "EU 
Threatening Tehran - But Shies Away from Imposing Its Own 
Sanctions." 
The daily wrote: "Gradually, the EU is losing patience with Iran. 
After five years of fruitless efforts to prompt Iran to give up its 
 
military nuclear program by offering economic cooperation, the 
Europeans are now clearly intensifying the tone in the controversy. 
 
But the EU is unwilling to impose unilateral sanctions as some 
members 
have demanded.  In a declaration that was adopted by the EU 
summiteers 
last Friday, it is said that 'Iran's continuous violations of its 
international commitments' called for a 'clear answer' by taking 
corresponding measures.'  But the site to decide about new sanctions 
 
would be the UN Security Council.  With this declaration, the EU is 
 
pinning its hopes on combined international pressure....  Brussels 
 
BERLIN 00001580  004 OF 006 
 
 
is 
afraid that unilateral EU sanctions would result in a breaking apart 
 
of the international front [against Iran], and this is what Tehran 
is 
hoping for." 
 
¶4.   (Middle East)   Settlement Conflict 
 
According to Sueddeutsche Zeitung (12/14), "nothing is more 
dangerous 
in this region of the world than the desecration of religious 
symbols. 
Despite the minor damage, the symbolism of this crime should not be 
 
underestimated.  On the one hand, it is provoking the Palestinians 
to 
take revenge, thus torpedoing the efforts for new peace talks.  On 
the 
other hand, the extremists are showing the Israeli government that 
they will use all means if their freedoms are restricted only a 
little 
bit.  Now everyone can imagine what would happen if a construction 
stop was implemented or if settlements were cleared.  The leadership 
 
in Jerusalem is rightfully alarmed and is trying to clarify the 
matter.  If it does not stop these violent settlers, it will quickly 
 
be taken hostage by these extremists.  The fact that they can now 
act 
as a militant veto power in questions of peace is also the result of 
a 
misguided settlement policy.  But it is no option for the future." 
 
 
¶5.   (U.S.)   Blackwater 
 
All major dailies carried wire service reports and wrote that the 
CIA 
has cancelled its contract with Blackwater.  Sueddeutsche Zeitung 
and 
Frankfurter Allgemeine headlined: "CIA Cancels Contract with 
'Blackwater'"  FAZ reported: "Staff members of the XE Services 
security company, which formerly carried the name 'Blackwater,' will 
 
no longer be responsible for equipping drones with bombs for CIA 
operations in Pakistan and Afghanistan, but staff of the company 
will 
continue to protect U.S. facilities."  Sueddeutsche said in its 
report 
that "staff members of the controversial Blackwater mercenary 
company 
are no longer allowed to cooperate with the CIA in covert CIA 
actions 
in Pakistan and Afghanistan....  In addition, CIA Director Leon 
Panetta 
also announced that all other contracts with Blackwater would be 
reviewed." 
 
In an editorial, Frankfurter Allgemeine noted: "The archetype of 
America is called Blackwater - at least for those Iraqis, Afghans 
and 
Pakistani who hate the West even more than they hate domestic 
extremists.  The security company from North Carolina was 
'extradited' 
from Iraq after the bloodbath in 2007, but in Afghanistan, America 
did 
not want to separate from its most loyal ally....  But now an 
 
BERLIN 00001580  005 OF 006 
 
 
increasing 
number of Americans are raising questions about the authorities in 
the 
war.  It may be possible that the most recent answers from the CIA 
would satisfy the America public, but the new crack in the war- 
decisive partnership with the Pakistani leadership cannot be 
repaired 
that easily.  Pakistan will continue to disassociate itself from 
Washington - in order to avoid being considered an accomplice of 
Blackwater." 
 
¶6.   (U.S.)   Finance Markets 
 
"Firewall After the Great Fire," is the headline in Sueddeutsche 
Zeitung (12/14), which editorialized: "Has the world learned 
anything 
from the financial crisis?  Yes, it did, at least U.S. Congress 
demonstrated that it is able to learn.  The new law on the reform of 
 
the financial markets is of historic significance.  Such 
comprehensive 
reforms have not been implemented since President Roosevelt 
restructured America with the New Deal in the 1930s.  A repetition 
of 
the financial crisis has now become more unlikely.  It is true that 
 
the Senate must agree on a common text, but the fact that the House 
of 
Representatives has adopted the draft is an important victory for 
President Obama, whose economic policy has become rather unpopular 
at 
home....   The governments have extinguished the fire of the 
financial 
crisis, and now the dangerous illusion of normalcy dominates.  The 
majority of Democrats in the House has now rejected the illusion of 
 
normalcy with their decision and set up a firewall.  If the bill had 
 
failed, the international community would be in a place in the fight 
 
against the financial crisis comparable to where it was in 2001 with 
 
regard to climate protection when the United States under George W. 
 
Bush bid farewell to the Kyoto Protocol.  Now America is leading the 
 
way with respect to financial market regulation -- as problematic as 
 
some parts of the bill may ever be." 
 
¶7.   (Germany - Afghanistan)   Defense Minister Under Fire 
 
Sueddeutsche Zeitung (12/14) argued: "Currently the building of 
lies, 
which was set up since the Afghanistan engagement in 2001, is 
collapsing.  The mission that was characterized by the government as 
a 
stabilization and reconstruction mission is taking place in a war 
theater. The Bundeswehr is involved in a war, and not just since the 
 
beginning of this year.  A succession of German governments have not 
 
had the courage to tell the truth in the Bundestag.  It is insincere 
 
to burden a Bundeswehr colonel with the political burden, in 
addition 
to the military and moral burden.  And not even Defense Minister zu 
 
 
BERLIN 00001580  006 OF 006 
 
 
Guttenberg is in the focus of attention.  In Kunduz, the issue is 
not 
whether the right procedure was followed; the bombing was not a 
bureaucratic act.  The former CDU/SPD government is responsible for 
 
the bombing and for hushing up events.  The chancellor, the former 
defense minister, and even the foreign minister are responsible 
because even he is likely to have known the real target of the 
bombing.  All of them remained silent by referring to a NATO report, 
 
even though it would have been their duty to tell us about the real 
 
background of the attack.  They are now paying the price, but they 
are 
also paying the price for nine years of self deception.  In the end, 
 
this price could be very high. 
 
In the view of Frankfurter Rundschau (12/14), "... an incident of 
this 
magnitude cannot be kept under control with nice pictures and nice 
rhetorical rearguard actions.  This is especially true in a 
democracy. 
... This forces Defense Minister zu Guttenberg to take serious 
political 
action and if he does not do better than before, he will soon have 
to 
quit his job.  But this development is now encouraging public debate 
 
on the real character of what we are doing in Afghanistan." 
 
 
MURPHY