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Dayna R Robison  09/20/2006 11:05:17 AM  From  DB/Inbox:  Dayna R Robison

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SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: September 15, 2006 
 
 
Elsner Arrested 
 
¶1. The former head of Bawag bank, Helmut Elsner, has been arrested 
at his home in the south of France. Elsner is under criminal 
investigation in connection with currency speculations and losses at 
Bawag. 
The Justice Ministry in Vienna says the 71-year-old Elsner was 
arrested because there was a flight risk. Bawag lost more than one 
billion Euros in currency speculation deals and was caught up in the 
collapse of US company Refco. A formal request to extradite Elsner 
back to Austria to face charges is being prepared, Austrian media 
say. 
 
 
SPOe - Greens Debate 
 
¶2. Thursday's televised debate between SPOe chairperson Alfred 
Gusenbauer and Greens leader Alexander Van der Bellen showed the two 
parties agree on many issues, including taxation, health and women's 
policies. 
Gusenbauer and Van der Bellen disagreed on issues including 
environmental and immigration policies, ORF online news continues. 
However, they did find common ground on the Austrian Eurofighter 
deal and on scrapping university tuition fees. Van der Bellen also 
said he is doubtful about the SPOe's plans for massive tax cuts, 
although he emphasized his party would not oppose tax reform should 
such measures be "feasible by 2008 or 2009." Gusenbauer agreed, 
stressing the SPOe would cut taxes "as soon as we can afford it." 
Both party leaders declined to state their preferred partners for a 
potential coalition government. 
 
 
EU Considers Palestinian Aid 
 
¶3. European Union foreign ministers are meeting today to consider 
restoring aid to the Palestinian authorities following efforts there 
to form a national unity government to replace the Hamas-led 
government. 
Before the meeting, the EU's foreign ministers said support depends 
on the Palestinians' commitments to Middle East peace and good 
relations with Israel. Hamas had won elections in January, and the 
EU withdrew aid after the militant group refused to recognize 
Israel, notes ORF radio early morning news Morgenjournal. 
 
 
Israeli Attack on UN Post a Tragic Mistake 
 
¶4. Israel says the deaths of four United Nations soldiers in Lebanon 
were a "tragic mistake," which occurred due to errors in military 
maps. In July, an Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon killed four 
peacekeepers from Austria, Canada, China and Finland. 
Releasing the report on the tragedy, Israel's Foreign Ministry said 
the UN position was not clearly marked. A spokesperson said, if the 
military had known the target was a UN position the attack would 
never have been launched. The UN, however, says Israel was asked a 
dozen times to stop bombing near the post in the hours before the 
fatal attack. Semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung quotes a 
spokesperson for the Austrian Foreign Minstry as saying Austria 
needed to analyze the Israeli report closely before it could issue a 
statement on the matter. 
 
 
 
 
False Info on Iran from Washington 
 
¶5. The IAEA in complaining that a US report on the Iranian nuclear 
program contains "false, misleading and unverified information." 
Particularly, reports from Washington alleging existence of 
weapons-grade uranium in Iran are not true, the IAEA says. 
The International Atomic Energy Agency cannot confirm US claims that 
Tehran possesses weapons-grade uranium, mass-circulation tabloid 
Kronen Zeitung quotes. According to the IAEA, Iran only had 3.6 
percent enriched uranium. To build an atomic bomb, while an 
enrichment level of 90 percent is required. The tabloid also quotes 
an unidentified Western diplomat as calling the issue "a dj`-vu of 
the pre-Iraq war period." ORF online news meanwhile reports that 
Washington has rejected the UN nuclear watchdog's allegations. A 
spokesperson for the Joint Intelligence Committee of the US Congress 
stressed there were no "genuine mistakes in the report." 
 
 
Senate Committee Defies Bush 
 
¶6. A US Senate committee has defied President Bush by approving 
legislation to set up trials for foreign terrorism suspects. The 
Senators, including prominent Republicans, argued that proposals by 
President Bush would redefine the Geneva Conventions and allow harsh 
treatment of detainees at Guantanamo. 
The Senate committee's bill is backed by former Secretary of State 
Colin Powell, who publicly distanced himself from the Bush 
administration in a letter warning that redefining the Conventions 
would put US troops at risk, and Senator John McCain. ORF online 
news quotes from Powell's letter: "The world is beginning to doubt 
the moral basis of our fight against terrorism." Redefining Article 
3 of the Geneva Conventions would merely increase these doubts, the 
former Secretary of State argued. ORF radio early morning news 
Morgenjournal meanwhile quotes Senator McCain as emphasizing he has 
"no doubt" regarding the accuracy of Secretary Powell's written 
warning: "As former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint 
Chiefs of Staff I think he deserves some consideration," McCain 
said. 
 
 
 
 
Bleak Outlook for Iraq 
 
¶7. An Austrian daily analyzes the situation in Iraq, and concludes 
that with all the factions fighting each other, the country is in 
danger of breaking apart. Iraq thus appears to be facing yet another 
crucial test. 
The daily's Middle East correspondent Karim El-Gawhari explains that 
the Islamic Revolutionary Council, one of the most prominent Shiite 
parties in the multi-party government, has proposed legislation 
which could lead to country's breakup: They have suggested setting 
up a semi-autonomous Shiite super-province including nine of the 18 
Iraqi provinces in the southern part of Iraq, modeled after the 
Kurdish north. The plan however, was met with massive opposition, 
not only from the Sunni MPs, but also from the majority of religious 
Shiite parties in Parliament. Thus, the debate on Iraqi federalism 
has seriously clouded relations between the country's Sunni and 
Shiite groups, and has also made apparent the massive differences 
among the various Shiite factions themselves. 
 
 
The Solution Cannot Be a Military One 
 
¶8. ... says NATO General James Jones on the situation in 
Afghanistan. Instead, the fight against drug-related crime in the 
country has to be considered the number one priority. 
NATO's Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, Gen. James Jones 
emphasized that the situation in Afghanistan should not be reduced 
to the international forces' role in the fight against the Taleban 
alone. "Let's not make the Taleban appear more powerful than they 
are," he urged, speaking before the OSCE's Permanent Council in 
Vienna on Thursday. He explained that al Qaeda cells and the 
"massive presence of the drug cartels" was also responsible for the 
explosive situation in southern Afghanistan. Although NATO had 
"expected resistance and violence," its "intensity" as well as their 
"opponents' tactics" in the southern part of the country had come as 
a surprise. "Normally, they are not interested in keeping up the 
fight over a longer period of time," Gen. Jones said.  At the same 
time, however, the General warned against focusing too much on the 
Afghanistan mission's military aspects, stressing he is convinced 
the solution could not be a military one. The international 
community's efforts in Afghanistan should turn towards fighting the 
drug trade in the country, which was "not under control and growing 
exponentially," partly because of the Taleban's close ties with 
"other criminal elements." Among other things, the General called 
for international support for the creation of a "corruption-free 
police" and a functioning judiciary for Afghanistan. 
McCaw