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Lucia A Keegan  08/29/2006 03:26:37 PM  From  DB/Inbox:  Lucia A Keegan

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SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Iran Lebanon - UNIFIL - Israel's 
War Against Hezbollah Katrina - One Year Later 
PARIS - Monday, August 28, 2006 
 
 
(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT: 
 
Iran 
Lebanon - UNIFIL - Israel's War Against Hezbollah 
Katrina - One Year Later 
 
B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE: 
 
Former Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin is prominently 
featured on today's front pages, in reports on the Socialists' 
summer university in La Rochelle over the weekend, where according 
to Le Figaro, "The Anti-Royal Front is Gaining Momentum." For 
Liberation, Jospin is playing up to the "anti-Royals" as he tries a 
"comeback." For La Croix, "The Socialist Party Offers a Plethora of 
Choices." Le Journal du Dimanche depicts Jospin as "close to tears" 
as he explained his withdrawal from politics after his defeat on 
April 21, 2002. Commentaries are also overwhelmingly devoted to the 
Socialists' potential choices, including a "duel" between Segolene 
Royal and Jospin. In Le Figaro, the editorial is entitled "Anybody, 
But Not Segolene." Also in domestic news, Le Journal du Dimanche 
publishes the result of its latest poll which shows that President 
Chirac is down two points to 36% of satisfied respondents, while PM 
Villepin gains four points up to 32%. 
 
Iran dominates international stories. Le Figaro says it is caught 
between "provocation and negotiations." (See Part C) In an interview 
in Le Figaro, President Ahmadinejad's senior advisor Mojtab 
Rahmandoust says: "Tehran has no plans to attack Israel. But if 
Israel attacks us, we will respond... Israel is America's bombardier 
scout... and encouraging the Palestinians to resist means reducing 
the chances for a regional invasion by the U.S." 
 
Weekend La Croix dedicates three highly critical pages to "'The 
Greater Middle East': The American Debacle." Bylines proclaim: 
"Three years after President Bush' engagement to promote democracy 
in this region of the world, extremists have imposed themselves;" 
"Many Christians have preferred to close shop and move;" and "The 
emergence of a Shi'a alliance threatens the stability of numerous 
countries." The main article qualifies the U.S. push for a Greater 
Middle East as another "leitmotif of American strategic thought 
after or with the 'war on terrorism' or 'regime change.'" After 
enumerating the free elections in Middle Eastern countries, La Croix 
says, "Each time, George W. Bush congratulated himself, affirming 
loud and strong that democracy is progressing. In English, one calls 
that 'wishful thinking.'" 
 
Le Figaro also analyzes the outcome of Israel's war with Lebanon. 
For senior analyst Renaud Girard "Israel has wasted a historic 
opportunity to win the war against Hezbollah." A separate article 
analyzes France's "lead role" in Lebanon. In Le Journal du Dimanche 
Gilles Delafon itemizes the three challenges facing the UNIFIL: 
protecting the integrity of Lebanon's borders; Lebanon's 
reconstruction and disarming Hezbollah, "which is in the hands of 
the Lebanese army." For Le Figaro, "the mission remains explosive 
because there is no political resolution to the crisis." (See Part 
C) 
 
Weekend Le Parisien interviews FM Douste-Blazy for whom the meeting 
of the EU-25 FMs with UNSG Kofi Annan was a "double success for 
Europe and for France; the EU is going to form the backbone of the 
reinforced UNIFIL." 
 
In Le Journal du Dimanche Guillemette Faure reports on President 
Bush's last press conference in an article entitled: "Iraq Doesn't 
Pay Anymore." Faure explains that "President Bush has turned 
pessimistic on Iraq. Defending the war is no longer a plus... With 
two months to go before the mid-term elections, support for the war 
is dwindling. Unconditional support for the war could cost the 
Republican party its Congressional majority." 
 
Le Figaro reports on the "talibanization" of Pashtoun tribal regions 
in Pakistan. Patrick Saint Paul retraces the history of the "Taliban 
offensive, with the help of the U.S., to stabilize Afghanistan. But 
the attempt failed: the Taliban sided with Bin Laden... until the 
break on 9/11... Tribal Pakistani territories have since then become 
the new epicenter of confrontation." 
 
Les Echos carries a syndicated column by Harvard University 
professor and former lead economist at the IMF Kenneth Rogoff who 
contends that "America should not be held responsible for the 
failure of the Doha Round... The U.S. is one of the world's most 
open importers from all countries... The day America decides to 
limit its importations, the world's hypocrisy about the failure of 
the negotiations will come to light." 
 
As hurricane Ernesto nears the coast of Florida, all media outlets 
recall that this is the one year anniversary of Katrina. TF1 focused 
on the 20,000 people who were sheltered in the Super Dome for five 
days. FR2 noted that the situation remains tragic today in New 
Orleans and concluded that a year after Katrina, the American 
population still accuses Bush for being careless. An editorial in 
regional Les Dernieres Nouvelles d'Alsace proclaims that there is a 
"before and after Katrina" like there is a "before and after 9/11." 
(See Part C) 
 
In Le Monde's Sunday-Monday edition, Jean-Michel Normand analyses 
the peculiarities of the blog phenomenon in France, where 12% or 
about 3.2 million Internet users have created their own blogs. Even 
Internauts without their own blogsites like to visit them: 36% of 
French visit blogs compared to 24% of British, 18% of Italians, and 
9% of Germans. Normand compares blogs to on-line "cafes" for a 
people "inclined to put their souls on display," especially true of 
12-24 year olds, who make up half of the bloggers.  These sites 
allow people to bypass certain blockages in the society, for 
example, political blogs allowing young people to enter into contact 
with politicians who rarely have contact with those under 35. In a 
country where individuals are not represented by influential 
consumer organizations, bloggers democratize marketing, sharing 
their experiences about athletic shoes, digital cameras or mobile 
phone networks. Blogs are also a new form of sociability, in a 
country where there are increasing numbers of apartment-wide parties 
and neighborhood dinners. 
 
Le Figaro Economie devotes one-page to the French Press and its 
doldrums and reports on a study by the think tank, Institut 
Montaigne, which proposes a "Marshall plan," which would include 
government subsidies during a set time period to induce the written 
press to implement structural changes. A separate article reports on 
Liberation's downward spiral. 
 
(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES: 
 
Iran 
 
"The President's Double Game" 
Delphine Minoui in right-of-center Le Figaro (08/28): "Ahmadinejad's 
remarks about his country's right to produce nuclear energy are a 
clear provocation against the West... But at the same time he has 
adopted a more moderate tone vis-`-vis Israel. This is not the first 
time Iran's President blows hot and cold. An attitude which makes it 
even more difficult for diplomats and experts to decipher his 
contradictory signals... And because Iran flirts openly with 
terrorist groups, Iran continues to be a source of concern... One 
thing is certain, Iran will milk the present international situation 
for all it is worth in order to play a major role on the 
international scene... And Iran knows that America's mired situation 
in Iraq and Afghanistan make it difficult to launch a military 
operation on Iran..." 
 
Lebanon - UNIFIL - Israel's War Against Hezbollah 
 
"UNIFIL's Traps" 
Thierry Oberle in right-of-center Le Figaro (08/28): "Clarifying the 
rules of engagement has not eliminated the risks for the soldiers of 
the UNIFIL. Despite the guarantees France was able to get, the 
mission can still turn into a nightmare... The main danger resides 
in the presence of Hezbollah fighters in the UNIFIL zone of 
deployment. This is all the more critical because Iran and Syria, 
whose regimes do not appreciate the presence of the international 
force, are also those who are arming Hezbollah... If the force hopes 
to be successful, it needs, at least tacitly, the green light from 
Damascus and Tehran... Complicating the already volatile climate, is 
the complicated and hostile past between Syria and France." 
"A Historic Opportunity to Win the War Against Hezbollah Wasted by 
Israel" 
Renaud Girard in right-of-center Le Figaro (08/28): "Why did Israel 
rush into the war against Hezbollah? Politically, Israel should have 
made use of the time it had to 'sell its cause' to opinions around 
the world. It would not have been difficult for the Israelis to 
explain the 'intolerable' situation of the military attacks by 
Hezbollah from a neighboring nation... The choice Israel made of 
favoring air strikes turned out to be a disaster... Contrary to a 
largely held belief, Israel cannot satisfy itself with its de facto 
military alliance with America. Israel needs good relations with 
Europe, its primary trade partner... From beginning to end, the way 
Israel led its war was dictated by media imperatives, obfuscating 
the need for a cold-headed analysis of the enemy's strong points... 
All in all it was an ill-prepared war. But because Israel is a 
democracy, voices are speaking up, namely those of the reservists." 
 
 
"Israeli Doubt" 
Favilla in right-of-center Les Echos (08/28): "How is one to explain 
Israel's military failure when Israel's army was considered the 
nation's strongest asset? Besides the political reasons raised by 
some, we must also consider two other causes. First: the safety wall 
being built by Israel has induced a false feeling of safety... But 
most of all, a grave error may have been made by not clearly 
distinguishing between Hezbollah and other threats. There is a 
difference between the Palestinians' multi-form movement, which is 
open to democracy, and the more monolithic Hezbollah, of Iranian 
obedience, which is more difficult to infiltrate and to fight... 
Former Minister Shlomo Ben Ami has suggested that Israel negotiate 
peace with Hamas, and prepare for a vital confrontation with 
Hezbollah. Such a strategic inflexion could possibly erase the 
serious doubts weighing in on Israel." 
 
Katrina - One Year Later 
 
"Of Climate and Consciences" 
Olivier Picard in regional Les Dernieres Nouvelles d'Alsace (08/27): 
"There is a before and after Katrina, like there is a before and 
after 9/11. The disorganization than ensued in New Orleans after 
Katrina has remained imprinted on people's minds. The tragedy is 
still inexplicable for a great developed nation and stands as a 
major sign of failure and of humiliation in the eyes of the world. 
President Bush's fall in the polls dates back to those crucial days. 
In the end, Katrina weakened the U.S. President more than the fallen 
GIs in Iraq because the hurricane emphasized the President's 
inability to comprehend the challenges of our times... He has never 
shown concern for the changes in climate or the needs to avert them: 
he has not signed the Kyoto protocol... One year later, New Orleans 
is still showing the stigmata which are like so many warnings from 
above, inviting the great nations of the world to meditate on their 
weakness in the face of climatic dangers." HOFMANN