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

031114Z Apr 06

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 002152 
 
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 - Secretary Rice to Europe - 
Baghdad U.S. Foreign Policy Israel 
PARIS - Monday, April 03, 2006 
 
 
(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT: 
 
Secretary Rice to Europe - Baghdad 
 
SIPDIS 
U.S. Foreign Policy 
Israel 
 
B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE: 
 
While the general press focuses once again on the new labor 
legislation, the CPE, and President Chirac's decision to 
promulgate it, albeit with amendments, despite popular 
opposition and the threat tomorrow of a new day of strikes and 
protest, the economic press leads with the Alcatel-Lucent 
merger. In Liberation, the group's new executive officer, 
Patricia Russo, is profiled in an article entitled "A Daunting 
American in Paris - Rousso is well known for her brutal 
restructuring measures." 
 
Most editorials comment on President Chirac's lackluster 
`hedging' (Le Monde), or on the contrary on the need for the 
unions and "trouble makers" to back off "because President 
Chirac has given in on their two major demands" (Le Figaro). 
Liberation points to the absurdity of the situation, which it 
calls an "imbroglio:"  "the official text promulgating the CPE 
was published yesterday, immediately after the President 
announced that a major part of that law was to be discarded. 
The imbroglio remains and as the situation worsens the 
political crisis could well turn into a major crisis for the 
regime." For its Sunday front page, Aujourd'hui en France led 
with a poll showing that French viewers of the Chirac speech 
were harsh in their judgment: 62% were unconvinced by him, and 
56% deemed his proposed amendments unsatisfactory. Some 54% 
want the unions to continue their push for repeal of the CPE, 
compared to 39% who want the unions to end their movement. 
 
In Les Echos, senior political analyst Jacques Hubert-Rodier 
pens an op-ed entitled "A Shift in the Bush `Revolution'" 
based on the latest National Security Strategy report. In Le 
Journal du Dimanche Gilles Delafon entitles his column "Condi 
Rice's Avowed Mistake" in reference to her speech in Blackburn 
while France Soir and Le Figaro note her "surprise trip to 
Baghdad."  (See Part C) 
 
In Liberation Israeli writer and essayist Amos Oz pens an op- 
ed entitled "The Sad Choice of Unilateral Pullout." (See Part 
C) 
 
In popular right-of-center Le Parisien, Christophe Dubois 
reports on former Guantanamo detainee Nizar Sassi's book, 
"Prisoner 325, Camp Delta" and Sassi's "intention" to 
"question the U.S. Army." "The initiative could trigger 
diplomatic turbulence between France and the U.S. Sassi's 
lawyers, along with those of Mourad Benchallali, also a former 
detainee, have asked the investigating justice to travel to 
Guantanamo. They claim this is `indispensable' in order to 
`conduct the necessary hearings and to observe the facts.' The 
lawyers also want to interview Red Cross officials. and expect 
the French magistrates to look into France's attitude on 
Guantanamo through depositions of high French officials who 
negotiated the liberation of the French detainees with the 
U.S." The article also details some of the `humiliations' 
inflicted on the detainees as portrayed in Sassi's book. 
 
This morning France 2 television announced that French 
travelers to the U.S. will begin to get French biometric 
passports as of this week, thus allowing them to travel visa- 
free. The report also emphasized that not all French citizens 
needed the new document, and that machine-readable passports 
delivered before October 26, 2005 were valid for visa-free 
travel until they expired. 
 
(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES: 
 
Secretary Rice to Europe - Baghdad 
 
SIPDIS 
"Rice and Straw Parachute Into Iraq" 
Right-of-center France Soir (04/03): "Is it a sign that it was 
pouring rain when Condoleezza Rice and Jack Straw arrived in 
Baghdad yesterday?. Was it a coincidence that just as 
Condoleezza Rice was arriving in Baghdad, since the visit was 
a surprise and the guerillas could not have had word of it, 
that an American helicopter was shot down?" 
 
"Jaafari Under Pressure" 
Right-of-center Le Figaro (04/03): "Secretary Rice and Jack 
Straw, in Baghdad on a surprise visit, have increased pressure 
to help Iraq out of the political impasse it is in. They are 
discussing with the top Iraqi leaders. Secretary Rice is 
trying not to give the impression that the U.S. wants to 
impose one candidate over another at the head of the Iraqi 
government." 
 
"Condi Rice's Avowed Mistake" 
Gilles Delafon in right-of-center Le Journal du Dimanche 
(04/02): "Condi Rice, who weighs every word, could not have 
slipped up, when she acknowledge that the U.S. made `thousands 
of tactical mistakes.' even if protesters outside were 
clamoring for her to `go home' and even if Douglas Hurd had 
just said without mincing his words that `the world could turn 
only if the only super-power followed the rules like everyone 
else.' Secretary Rice's sudden clarity, all in her honor, 
triggered so much reaction that she had to bring some 
clarification: `yes, we made mistakes, but toppling Saddam or 
triggering the forces of democracy in the Middle East was not 
one of them.' No strategic errors, then, just tactical ones. 
While democratizing the Middle East may be an honorable 
intention, the use of military superiority to end up in chaos 
can legitimately be questioned. Let us forget about President 
Bush's lies and prevarication, but what of the tactical 
errors? Who in the Pentagon is bearing responsibility for 
them? Rumsfeld is still there and Wolfowitz has simply been 
promoted. It is clear that at this stage President Bush cannot 
afford to acknowledge that mistakes were made. Rice cannot be 
bothered with details: `you cannot waste time analyzing each 
tactical decision, because you lose the overall vision.' Self- 
examination will come later. Colin Powell showed the way." 
 
U.S. Foreign Policy 
 
"A Shift in the Bush `Revolution'" 
Jacques Hubert-Rodier in right-of-center Le Echos (04/03): 
"For Washington, terrorism remains the number one threat. At 
first glance the NSS does not introduce any significant 
changes. The notion of `preemptive' action remains, despite 
the questions it raised in France when applied to Iraq. For 
President Bush, Iran has replaced Iraq in 2006 as the most 
threatening country for the U.S. Washington's accusations 
against Iran are to a large extent equally recognized by the 
Europeans. But the question of how to deal with the Iranian 
crisis is central. Diplomacy is clearly favored, and the U.S. 
is adding a dose of multilateralism, thus bringing its support 
to the as yet unproductive efforts made by the EU and Russia. 
While nothing changes in America's strategy, everything is 
changing. Washington is discreetly shifting its national 
security strategy. While Bush does not give up on the use of 
force, he recognizes the importance of ideological combat. In 
Iraq and the region, Washington's margin of maneuver is 
limited. The report itself notes how difficult it is to 
promote democracy in the Middle East. While all eyes were on 
Iraq, Iran took advantage of the situation and pursued its 
clandestine nuclear program. By putting Iran in the line of 
fire, there is again the risk of ignoring other real long term 
threats." 
 
Israel 
 
"The Sad Choice of Unilateral Pullout" 
Amos Oz in left-of-center Liberation (04/03): "For the first 
time since the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, a 
majority of Israelis have shown they are ready to abandon the 
occupied territories. They are ready but without enthusiasm, 
moved more by reality than conviction. Their priorities have 
changed, materialism having replaced their hunger for more 
land. Israel's growing inequalities has shifted the nation's 
priority. For those of us who still believe in peace, Olmert's 
unilateral separation from the Palestinians is a sad choice. 
But there is another way: if Israel cannot negotiate with 
Hamas, it can turn to the Arab League. Its members are just as 
eager to find a long lasting solution as Israel. Instead of a 
unilateral pullout Israel can collaborate with Egypt and Saudi 
Arabia in favor of a global and durable peace." STAPLETON