VZCZCXYZ0003
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHVI #1790/01 1861304
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 051304Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7839
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/WHITEHOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS VIENNA 001790 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/AGS, INR/EU, AND EUR/PPD FOR YVETTE SAINT-ANDRE 
 
OSD FOR COMMANDER CHAFFEE 
 
WHITEHOUSE FOR NSC/WEUROPE 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KPAO AU
 
SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: July 05, 2007 
 
 
Eurofighter: More Expert Opinions 
 
¶1. Three legal experts appointed by the parliamentary investigative 
committee looking into the purchase of Eurofighter jets have 
concluded that Austria did have adequate legal grounds to cancel the 
original two-billion-Euro contract. The three, Josef Aicher, Andreas 
Kletecka and Heinz Mayer, said the critical question was whether 
EADS lobbyist Erhard Steininger had received payments that could 
constitute a bribe. According to the experts, evidence of payments 
from EADS, the company which manufactures the Eurofighter jets, of 
over a million Euros found in the lobbyist's tax records, were proof 
enough. In contrast, a legal expert for the Defense Ministry 
concluded earlier this month that any attempt by Austria to cancel 
the contract would involve lengthy and risky legal proceedings. 
ORF radio early morning new Morgenjournal meanwhile reports that 
Austrian Defense minister Norbert Darabos may be facing a vote of no 
confidence in Parliament today. The opposition parties have accused 
him of failing to take advice from the parliamentary investigative 
committee into the Eurofighter deal, which said the purchase 
contract could be cancelled. However, the vote of no confidence has 
virtually no chance of success, as the two major parties, the SPOe 
and the OeVP, will certainly not back the move, Austrian media say. 
Independent provincial daily Salzburger Nachrichten also reports on 
the committee's conclusion that a cancellation of the Eurofighter 
deal would have been possible and justified. The legal expert's 
findings have come too late, though, as the Defense Minister already 
concluded an agreement with Eurofighter manufacturer EADS to reduce 
from 18 to 15 the number of jets to be delivered, the daily adds. 
 
 
Heater Not the Cause of Kaprun Tragedy 
 
¶2. A court in Stuttgart, Germany, has ruled that there was no design 
fault in a heater, which Austrian officials said had caused the 
Kaprun ski train disaster that left 155 people dead in 2000. The 
Stuttgart court said the German company Fakir, which manufactured 
the heater, was not responsible for the fire, Austria's worst 
post-war tragedy. Most of the passengers died when they became 
trapped in the ski train's smoke-filled tunnel. The court said, 
however, that the heater was not designed to be installed in the 
conductor's cabin, according to ORF radio early morning news 
Morgenjournal on July 4. 
 
 
Ambassador McCaw to End Her Assignment 
 
¶3. The US Ambassador to Austria Susan McCaw will end her assignment 
toward the end of this year, although the exact date of her 
departure has not yet been determined, Austria's Press Agency 
reported on July 3. Ambassador McCaw has already informed US 
President George Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the 
Austrian government that she is leaving for personal reasons, the 
press agency quotes from a US Embassy Vienna press release. The 
Ambassador described her time in Austria, a "wonderful and dynamic 
country," as one of the "most remarkable and rewarding experiences" 
of her life. 
All Austrian media report on the US Embassy Vienna press release 
announcing that US Ambassador to Austria Susan McCaw will end her 
assignment toward the end of the year. Mass-circulation daily Kurier 
wrote on July 4 that the ambassador's announcement came as a 
"complete surprise." The daily also quoted Ambassador McCaw as 
praising her time in Austria as "one of the most remarkable and 
rewarding experiences" of her life, and emphasized that the 
"investment banker and Harvard graduate has been an extremely active 
Ambassador and has acquired an excellent reputation in Austria 
within a very short time." It is one of Ambassador McCaw's "goals to 
boost the US image by maintaining a dialogue," the Kurier added. 
Independent provincial daily Salzburger Nachrichten, semi-official 
daily Wiener Zeitung, liberal daily Der Standard, mass-circulation 
tabloids Kronen Zeitung and Oesterreich, centrist daily Die Presse, 
and mass-circulation provincial daily Kleine Zeitung also reported 
on the issue. 
On Thursday, Austrian Press Agency APA reports on this year's July 
4th Party at the Ambassador's residence in Vienna. The party truly 
lived up to its "country and western" theme, with hats and bandanas 
being distributed among the guests. But despite the cheerful and 
festive atmosphere many of the guests must have felt a touch of 
sadness, as the party turned out to be the last July 4 event hosted 
by Mrs. McCaw as US Ambassador to Austria, APA notes. 
Mass-circulation daily Kurier writes that the well attended event 
was a huge success. 
 
 
Plassnik: Hamas Has No Place in Mideast Talks 
 
¶4. Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik has said Palestinian 
militant group Hamas should be excluded from any peace negotiations 
between Israel and the Palestinians. Speaking in Vienna after talks 
with Palestinian MP Hanan Ashrawi earlier this month, Plassnik said 
Hamas had maneuvered itself into exclusion. The Austrian Foreign 
Minister also appealed to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair 
in his new function as envoy for the Middle East Quartet to pressure 
Israel to take up substantive negotiations with Palestinian 
President Mahmoud Abbas' government regarding a two state solution 
to the Israeli Palestinian conflict. Plassnik stressed the time had 
come to move from direct crisis management to sustainable conflict 
resolution, says semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung. 
 
 
 
Britain Lowers Threat Level 
 
¶5. Britain lowered its threat level from its highest level 
"critical" to "severe" Wednesday, saying the threat of a terrorist 
attack was no longer imminent. British authorities have detained 
eight people in connection with the terror probe and believe they 
have all of those responsible for the attacks in custody. British 
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has vowed to take measures to increase 
security in the wake of the attempted bombings. In addition to 
expanding the watch list of potential terrorists, Brown said 
background checks will be stepped up and British authorities will 
keep a closer eye on how it recruits doctors from other countries. 
In an analysis, semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung meanwhile argues 
that Europe will have to change its views, given the fact that the 
failed attacks in Britain have revealed that terrorism has acquired 
a new dimension and quality. In addressing this threat, "simple luck 
alone will not suffice," the daily argues. Today, the terrorists are 
relying on their own networks and are acting systematically, 
according to the Wiener Zeitung. Another remarkable aspect is the 
fact that the perpetrators are no longer from "traditional Islamist 
circles," but increasingly includes young followers from bourgeois 
and middle-class neighborhoods who have been radicalized by 
so-called "hate preachers," and who are getting their information on 
how to build bombs from the internet. The daily also quotes from a 
statement published by the Muslim community in Austria urging 
moderation: "What is required now is more than a mere condemnation 
of the terrorist activities uncovered in Britain. Reflection on the 
part of the Muslim citizens is just as necessary as determining 
practical consequences." The fact that medical doctors had been 
involved in the attempted attacks "should motivate the Muslim basis 
more than before to clearly state -- not only in discussions with 
non-Muslims -- their position that terrorism directly and massively 
contradicts the teachings of Islam," the Muslim Community 
underscored. 
 
 
Pakistan: Explosion Near Red Mosque 
 
¶6. Security forces in Pakistan have set off a series of explosions 
outside the Red Mosque in Islamabad, which is the scene of a 
standoff between police and radical Islamist students, who are 
demanding a form of Sharia law in Pakistan. According to police the 
explosions were to serve as a warning aimed at convincing those 
inside the mosque to surrender. At least 16 people have died in 
recent clashes at the complex, says mass-circulation tabloid 
Oesterreich. 
McCaw