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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 002406 
 
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. 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR FR
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Iraq - Oil For Food Iran 
Italian Elections 
PARIS - Wednesday, April 12, 2006 
 
(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT: 
 
Iraq - Oil For Food 
Iran 
Italian Elections 
 
B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE: 
 
Headlines agree that Prodi's victory is "precarious" 
(Liberation) and "too slim" (Le Figaro) but that he will 
nevertheless "try to reunify Italy" (La Croix) even if the 
"task appears to be a difficult one." (La Tribune) A majority 
of today's editorials are devoted to Italy's elections. (See 
Part C) Le Monde is one exception, with an editorial devoted 
to the "Oil for Food" scandal (See Part C) Two full-pages in 
Le Monde are devoted to "Oil for Food: The Disgrace of the 
French Network." 
 
Le Figaro carries an op-ed on the U.S. intervention in Iraq in 
which Renaud Girard itemizes five paradoxes. (See Part C) 
 
Iran's "challenge to the international community" with the 
announcement it can produce enriched uranium is a front-page 
story in Le Figaro leading Alain Barluet to report that 
"Western diplomacy is under pressure." Le Parisien's article 
is entitled "Iran Takes One More Step Towards the Bomb." (See 
Part C) 
 
Economic Les Echos carries an analysis of the American paradox 
regarding greenhouse effects in which the author shows that 
despite the federal opposition to the Kyoto Protocol state 
authorities are increasingly implementing "green" measures, 
"which are pressuring Congress and the White House to commit 
America to this fight." 
 
(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES: 
 
Iran 
 
"Teheran Puts Western Diplomacy Under Pressure." 
Alain Barluet in right-of-center Le Figaro (04/12): 
"Ahmadinejad's announcement that Iran is joining the `nuclear 
countries' is not really a surprise for western diplomats. it 
is the logical next step in the unperturbed action undertaken 
by Teheran since it announced that it had started anew the 
enrichment of uranium in Natanz last January. It does, 
nevertheless, present a new challenge for the UN. The timing 
of Ahmadinejad's announcement is not haphazard as it coincides 
with the visit of IAEA's el Baradei. As the good chess player 
that he is, Ahmadinejad knows that his announcement will dent 
the international front. This is all the more true because the 
U.S. obviously no longer wants to remain in the background. 
The U.S. has clearly demonstrated that it seeks to obtain 
sanctions against Iran and that it has never totally ruled out 
the military option." 
 
"Iran Takes a First Step Towards the Bomb" 
Bruno Fanucchi in right-of-center Le Parisien (04/12): "After 
three months of dilly dallying and of mediation attempts by 
the Europeans which have been for naught, including FM Douste- 
Balazy's accusations that Iran was pursuing a `clandestine 
military nuclear program,' Iran has clearly stated `urbi et 
orbi' that has achieved its first uranium enrichment 
operation. The timing of the announcement is not innocuous, on 
the eve of el Baradei's visit to Tehran." 
 
"Little `Hiroshimas' to Keep Iran in Check?" 
Claude Angeli in the Satirical Le Canard Enchaine (04/12): 
"Iran's nuclear ambitions are not the only concerns shared by 
the U.S. and British military. Tehran is also accused of 
infiltrating `secret agents' in Iraq. Some in the Pentagon 
feel that America's failure in Iraq is giving Iran reason to 
dream away. Others, like Nicholas Burns feel that it is still 
possible to contain Iran's nuclear ambitions. and delay its 
possession of nuclear weapons to a future when a less 
fanatical regime will be in place. But says a French diplomat, 
`while the U.S. failure in Iraq has made the Iranians go nuts 
over their geo-strategic ambitions, it has also made some U.S. 
hawks go simply nuts.'" 
 
Iraq - Oil for Food 
 
"The Five Paradoxes of the U.S. Intervention in Iraq" 
Renaud Girard in right-of-center Le Figaro (04/12): "After the 
fall of Baghdad, President Bush promised the world that the 
invasion of Iraq would serve to make the Middle East a more 
secure region. Paradoxically, compared to the Saddam era, 
occupied Iraq has become one of the world's most dangerous 
places. Then, women could walk out without wearing a veil and 
Christians could openly practice their religion. Today, 
paradoxically, after one of the most openly Christian leaders 
of the western world decided to invade Iraq, there is an 
exodus of the Iraqi Christian community. In their haste to 
topple Saddam, the Pentagon ideologues went in without proper 
preparation, ignoring the fact that worse than dictatorship is 
anarchy, and worse even than anarchy, civil war. While Iraq 
has become a much more dangerous country than before the 
invasion, what of the region? Terrorism and Islamism in 
general have, paradoxically, progressed exponentially in the 
entire region. Finally the fifth paradox is that by getting 
mired in Iraq, the Pentagon has lost all of its power of 
deterrence to deal with Iran. Iran today possesses a 
tremendous weapon of deterrence against an America trapped in 
the Iraqi quagmire. American neo-cons truly believed that from 
the ballots a new model Iraq would rise. But they forgot that 
in the history of social building, the State always preceded 
democracy, not the other way around. Yet leaving Iraq today 
would be an even graver mistake than having occupied it." 
 
"Influence Trafficking" 
Left-of-center Le Monde (04/12): "The 623-page Volcker Report. 
is sad reading for those who had faith in the transparency and 
effectiveness of the UN. and even sadder reading for those who 
saw France as a model for diplomacy based on a certain moral 
perception in its insistence to adjust the sanctions and 
oppose the war in Iraq. The Volcker Report demonstrates how 
Saddam Hussein diverted money from the oil for food program 
with the complicity of foreign entities, particularly in 
France. France's responsibility in this case is noteworthy. 
After Russia is was the second country to benefit from the Oil 
for Food program and it is the only western, democratic 
country to be implicated to this extent. Can we really content 
ourselves with the official line which is to say that the 
entire scandal was manipulated to tarnish the image of French 
diplomacy?" 
 
Italian Elections 
 
"Desperately Seeking Italy" 
Francoise Crouigneau in right-of-center Les Echos (04/12): 
"The Italians themselves are torn. Where does reality lie? 
With Prodi who is celebrating his victory and promising 
Italy's pullout from Iraq.? Or with Berlusconi and his old 
anti-communist reflexes? The figures do not augur well for the 
future. Yet we should not give up too easily, for Italy has 
previously proven its resilience to bounce back." 
 
"Ciao, Silvio!" 
Patrick Sabatier in left-of-center Liberation (04/12): "Good 
news from Italy. One of which is that Prodi's victory will 
have the immediate effect of bringing Italy back into the 
bosom of the European family, a place that it enjoyed before 
Berlusconi left it for Bush's America." 
 
"The Italian Example and Beyond" 
Yves Threard in right-of-center Le Figaro (04/12): "Italy, 
Germany, France: three countries of Old Europe suffering from 
the economic doldrums and high unemployment. Three countries 
living beyond their means. Three countries undermined by 
doubt. The ballots are proof that voters refuse to make a 
clear choice between the right and the left. A sign that the 
voters have lost confidence in their politicians. Unless 
confidence returns it will be difficult to make plans and to 
build, whether in individual countries or in Europe." 
STAPLETON