This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 008608 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR INR/R/MR; IIP/RW; IIP/RNY; BBG/VOA; IIP/WEU; AF/PA; 
EUR/WE /P/SP; D/C (MCCOO); EUR/PA; INR/P; INR/EUC; PM; OSC ISA 
FOR ILN; NEA; WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC/WEUROPE; DOC FOR ITA/EUR/FR 
AND PASS USTR/PA; USINCEUR FOR PAO; NATO/PA; MOSCOW/PA; 
ROME/PA; USVIENNA FOR USDEL OSCE. 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR FR
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Iraq Iran International 
Terrorism - Hammadi Release 
PARIS -   Thursday, December 22, 2005 
 
 
(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT: 
 
Iraq 
Iran 
International Terrorism - Hammadi Release 
 
B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE: 
 
A majority of today's front pages are devoted to the stalled 
negotiations to redefine France's unemployment insurance 
benefits. But Le Figaro headlines: "With the U.S. Marines In 
the Sunni Triangle." Embedded Adrien Jaulmes writes about the 
U.S. Army's "relentless search for an elusive enemy." (See 
Part C) Embedded photographer Laurent Van der Stock's photo- 
reportage of his stay with the Golf Company near Karmah 
appears in this week's Paris Match. Reports note the 
resumption of Saddam's trial as well as his accusations of 
torture against the U.S. Le Monde devotes a full page to the 
French kidnap victim Bernard Planche missing in Iraq and whose 
abduction has yet to be claimed. 
 
Iran's intransigence elicits several commentaries and 
editorials, including a scenario of "a Nuclear Iran" in 
Liberation. (See Part C) 
 
Angela Merkel is profiled by columnist Alexandre Adler in Le 
Figaro. Adler contends that that there is "a Merkel effect. 
First in domestic German affairs, and more recently in 
European affairs." Adler believes she will have a positive 
impact on other women political leaders, or aspiring leaders. 
Angela Merkel is also central in reports about the release of 
former highjacker Hammadi. Left-of-center Liberation reports 
that "a chill" has developed between Berlin and Washington 
over the release. (See Part C) 
 
Le Figaro reports that two French associations defending human 
rights have filed a complaint in connection with alleged CIA 
rendition flights having transited through France. The article 
reports "it is up to the prosecutor of Bobigny to decide 
whether to open an investigation further to the complaint." 
 
The resignation of Federal Judge James Robertson to protest 
against the government's eavesdropping scheme is reported in 
La Croix by Francois D'Alancon. 
 
(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES: 
 
Iraq 
 
"OP3, an American Fort, Somewhere in Iraq" 
Adrien Jaulmes in right-of-center Le Figaro (12/22): "On the 
front linnes facing insurgents who are blended into the 
population, the Marines stationed near Faluja live in fear of 
improvised explosives. Every morning the Marines patrol the 
sector of Karmah. Their Lieutenant recently graduated from the 
Naval Academy is taking this war against an elusive enemy as a 
personal challenge. Most of the soldiers are white and come 
from the Southern United States. They are professionals who 
remain on their guard: attacks against the Marines are a daily 
occurrence and the danger can come from just about anywhere. 
The Marines are mostly afraid of suicide car bombings." 
 
Iran 
 
"Iran - A Real Problem" 
Jean Levallois in regional La Presse de La Manche (12/22): 
"Iran has indeed become a real problem for the international 
community. Ahmadinejad is an elected president, but he 
embodies an Iran that is regressing and adopting everyday a 
more fanatic stance. At this point, controlling the 
dissemination of nuclear weapons is being overtaken by a more 
urgent need: neutralizing the ambitions of Iran's leaders. Can 
the international community allow a nation, which talks of the 
annihilation of an entire people, to retain the ability to 
pursue this goal?  More than ever, the international community 
must keep Iran from developing a bomb which harsh regimes will 
not hesitate to use. Peace for the world will necessarily 
require putting Iran back in line, but at what cost?" 
"Scenario of a Nuclear Iran" 
Jacques Amalric in left-of-center Liberation (12/22): "No one 
expects any positive outcome from the talks between the EU-3 
and Iran, considering the stance adopted by Iran's president. 
Tehran's recent back-tracking on the nuclear issue is all the 
more critical since Ahmadinejad's provocative remarks about 
Israel. His verbal assaults are in violation of the UN 
Charter. But he has yet to be truly condemned. Such caution by 
all, Moscow, the Europeans and Arab nations who have 
recognized the existence of Israel, help only to confirm 
Ahmadinejad's extreme positions. Added to this, the Iranian 
President is well-served by the international context: i.e. 
the U.S. is mired in Iraq and knows that Tehran can complicate 
things even further with Iraq's Shiites. The U.S. is also 
aware that Iran carries weight in Lebanon with Hezbollah. Last 
but not least, the oil needs of India and China ensures their 
opposition to economic sanctions by the UN." 
 
International Terrorism - Hammadi Release 
 
"Hammadi Case Casts a Chill Between Berlin and Washington" 
Jean Ryga in left-of-center Liberation (12/22): "Why did 
Germany release a convicted highjacker who was a member of 
Hezbollah and who killed a U.S. Marine? Is there a link 
between the release of Hammadi and the recent release in Iraq 
of a German hostage? The story is proving to be embarrassing 
for Berlin and Germany's relationship with the U.S. His 
release has elicited an angry reaction from Washington. The 
State Department has declared it is `very disappointed' with 
the German decision. The controversy comes at a particularly 
bad time for Merkel who has been trying to revive the 
transatlantic ties since she took over from Chancellor 
Schroeder." STAPLETON