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Lucia A Keegan  07/27/2006 09:41:55 AM  From  DB/Inbox:  Lucia A Keegan

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UNCLAS        PARIS 05020

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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 005020 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR INR/R/MR; IIP/RW; IIP/RNY; BBG/VOA; IIP/WEU; 
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ITA/EUR/FR AND PASS USTR/PA; USINCEUR FOR PAO; NATO/PA; MOSCOW/PA; 
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TAGS: OPRC KMDR FR
 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION REPORT - 
Israeli-Lebanese Conflict: Secretary Rice in the Region, Peace 
keeping Troops 
WTO 
PARIS - Tuesday, July 25, 2006 
 
 
(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT: 
 
Lebanese - Israeli Conflict - Secretary Rice in the Region 
Lebanese - Israeli Conflict - Peace keeping Troops 
WTO 
 
B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE: 
 
Right-of-center Le Figaro's front page announces the "surprise visit 
of Rice in Beirut." For popular right-of-center Le Parisien the 
Secretary's visit marks the "Sudden Awakening of American 
 
SIPDIS 
Diplomacy." Descriptions of a cease-fire as viable by Secretary Rice 
mean: "Washington is not discarding any options." For now, however, 
Le Parisien acknowledges that regional peace is a distant prospect. 
(See Part C) 
 
Right-of-center Le Figaro says that "Syria wants to break from its 
current isolation on the international scene... This weekend, George 
¶W. Bush asked his Saudi allies to intervene to convince Syria to 
break its alliance with Iran and come back into the fold of the 
moderate Arab countries. But for this to happen Damascus will need 
to be offered serious compensation." Left-of-center Le Monde notes 
that Secretary Rice told the press that "a solution to the crisis 
does not necessarily need to be obtained with the help of Syria. She 
highlighted that the American embassy in Damascus could serve as a 
'channel' for discussions with the Syrian authorities." Le Monde 
quotes Secretary Rice: "the problem is not that we are not talking 
to the Syrians, the problem is that the Syrians have not acted." 
 
Right-of-center Le Figaro reports on informal talks in Brussels 
concerning the possibility of a NATO peace keeping mission in 
Lebanon. (See Part C) 
 
Left-of-center Le Monde's front-page notes that: "Israel has 
accepted the idea of a powerful multi-national force in southern 
Lebanon."  Left-of-center Liberation, for its part says that: 
"Israel's principal allies have changed their tune and now the 
possibility of a real diplomatic solution to the conflict is open." 
Nabih Berri, President of the Lebanese Parliament is profiled in 
Catholic La Croix and grants an interview to left-of-center 
Liberation: "Israel is not trying to free its kidnapped soldiers, 
nor do away with Hezbollah, but wants to destroy Lebanon and its 
civilization... As for France, if it loses its hold in Lebanon it 
will no longer have anything to do in the Middle East... We need [a 
country] that can make decisions more or less independently of the 
Americans." For right-of-center Le Figaro "The time for compromise 
has come for the Israelis... But Israel is counting on European 
hesitation to get involved in order to buy more time." 
 
Right-of-center Le Figaro notes that Jacques Chirac is asserting 
himself vis-`-vis the Lebanese crisis and foreign policy becomes 
once again a critical factor in domestic politics in France." French 
Foreign Minister Douste-Blazy was interviewed on the evening 
newscast on privately-run TF1 television yesterday. He said that he 
is convinced of three things: "there cannot be a strictly military 
solution to the conflict, the only objective of the international 
community should be to guarantee Lebanon's sovereignty and France 
cannot act outside of the framework of the UN."  He added that 
possible conditions for a cease-fire are: "Hezbollah disarmament and 
the liberation of prisoners."  He insisted on "finding a political 
solution and stopping the violence."  He evoked "the historical 
relations between France and Lebanon", and declared himself 
"optimistic for diplomacy." 
 
The recent Human Rights Watch Report qualified as "damning" on the 
front page of left-of-center Le Monde. Human Rights Watch says in 
its report that no American military intelligence officer has been 
court-martialed and is asking Congress to appoint an independent 
committee to examine the real scope of the torture in Iraq as well 
as the complicity of high-level authorities... The organization is 
also calling for George W. Bush to appoint an independent prosecutor 
to bring to justice the civilian and military authorities that are 
either responsible for or closed their eyes to the treatment of the 
prisoners in Iraq." 
 
Right-of-center Le Figaro's front page announces that concerning the 
WTO: "The U.S. has "Provoked a Crisis." Right-of-center economic Les 
Echos' headline: "Failure to Liberalize World Trade" and "the U.S. 
accused of being the cause of the failure." (See Part C) 
 
(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES: 
 
Lebanese - Israeli Conflict - Secretary Rice in the Region 
 
"American Revision" 
The editorial by Francois Ernewein in Catholic La Croix (07/25): 
"Condoleezza Rice's surprise visit to Beirut and her various 
statements mark a readjustment of the U.S. position... But we should 
not be deceived, this sudden sensitivity for the dismay of the 
Lebanese people, this call for an immediate cease fire are in no way 
signs of a disagreement between the U.S. and Israel as to the 
direction of the operations in Lebanon. They do not nuance in anyway 
the objective of the two governments: to do away with the threat 
posed by Hezbollah supported by the rogue states: Iran and Syria... 
But even if the violence continues, the cards are now more or less 
back in the hands of the diplomats." 
 
"The Time for Compromise Has Come" 
Renaud Girard writes in right-of-center Le Figaro (07/25): "In terms 
of modern-day diplomacy... there is always a time for public 
gesticulation and a time for serious and secret political 
negotiations. Condoleezza Rice's visit yesterday in Israel falls 
under the first category. She has no intention whatsoever to 
pressure the Israeli government... For the U.S., Tsahal's operations 
in Lebanon to wipe out Hezbollah falls within the framework of the 
global war on terrorism... But since the Secretary does have to talk 
about something with the Israel authorities, she will discuss the 
'humanitarian' implications of the crisis. 
 
"Cease Fire" 
Gilles Dauxerre in regional daily La Provence's editorial (07/25): 
"Cease fire - the American Secretary of State has finally said the 
magic words that could contribute to resolving the war between 
Israel and Hezbollah... In spite of its fire power, Israel has not 
been able to weaken Hezbollah and now the time has come to sit 
around a table and discuss a solution, even the 'puppet masters' 
Iran and Syria will need to be present." 
 
Lebanese - Israeli Conflict - Peace keeping Troops 
 
"An International Peace keeping Force Still in Limbo" 
Marc Henry in right-of-center Le Figaro (07/25): "The idea of 
replacing UNIFIL soldiers with NATO troops was put forward for the 
first time last weekend by the U.S. and Israel... The U.S. 
delegation to the UN has been very active and has already started to 
think about the conditions for the deployment of some 10 to 20 
thousand NATO soldiers under French or Turkish command and mandated 
by the UN... Considering their poor reputation in the Middle East 
following the intervention in Iraq, the Americans have ruled out the 
possibility of taking part in an international peace keeping mission 
in Lebanon... According to experts this will prevent the NATO flag 
from being planted in the region and the mission will remain under 
UN control... With regard to the conflict in Lebanon the U.S. is 
more than willing to pass the burden of responsibility onto its 
European allies, France being on the front lines." 
 
WTO 
 
"The Doha Round Put to Sleep" 
Aude Marcovitch comments in right-of-center Le Figaro's economic 
supplement Le Figaro Economie (07/25):"Yesterday the death blow [to 
the Doha Round] was inflicted by Washington that dodged having to 
make new proposals concerning domestic agricultural subsidies... 
According to European observers the failure of the Doha Round was 
relatively foreseeable with the mid-term elections looming... The 
USTR, for her part was pointing an accusatory finger at Brussels... 
because of its refusal to lower customs tariffs... Both Susan Schwab 
and the European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson predict a future 
filled with disagreements brought before the WTO." 
"Egoism" 
Centrist business daily La Tribune's editorial by Pascal Aubert 
(7/25): "The WTO trade negotiations are agonizing under the 
indifferent gaze of the world... What is ironic is that originally 
the Doha Round was intended to stimulate development by helping poor 
countries benefit from the liberalization of trade... But in the 
end, the individual countries' national interests come before the 
rest... Who could possibly believe that President Bush would run the 
risk of angering his country's cotton or soy producers with just a 
few months left until the mid term elections? And in the same way 
the French firm line - that some may call intransigence - is not 
altogether disconnected from the presidential elections in 2007." 
 
"The WTO Fiasco" 
Right-of-center economic Les Echos' editorial by Dominique Seux 
(07/25): "The failure of the WTO negotiations is the fault of the 
U.S. (a lot) and Europe (less) both unwilling to make the necessary 
concessions... The absence of an agreement at the WTO will not put a 
stop to international trade, which has grown by 25 percent over the 
last three years... Indeed governments have found a way to sidestep 
binding multilateral accords by striking bilateral agreements... But 
this strategy is a short-term one from the point of view of poor 
countries. Bilateral agreements are merely the expression of the law 
of the mightiest." STAPLETON