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SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: October 22, 2007 
 
 
Fischer Visits Egypt 
 
¶1. Austrian President Heinz Fischer began a three-day official visit 
to Egypt at the weekend. He is accompanied by Foreign Minister 
Ursula Plassnik and a business and cultural delegation. Topping the 
agenda of his meetings with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and 
Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif will be bilateral issues, as well as the 
situation in the Middle East, the conflict over Iran's nuclear 
program, and developments in Iraq. 
Reporting on the visit to Egypt of Austrian President Heinz Fischer, 
Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik, and a large business delegation, 
liberal daily Der Standard writes that the signing of a letter of 
intent on the expansion of the two countries' cooperation in the 
technical sector is among the issues on the agenda. The daily also 
publishes an interview with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who 
emphasized that a failure of the planned Mideast conference in 
Annapolis later this year would have "serious consequences in the 
Middle East and beyond. The region cannot afford yet another failed 
peace initiative." On Iraq, he suggests that "no-one, neither the 
US, nor Europe, nor the Arab states know" how the situation there 
might develop. The United States, Mubarak argues, "invaded Iraq 
without having a clear vision of how to get out again." On Egypt's 
relations with Austria, he said: "The relations between Austria and 
Egypt date back to the 19th century, and they are good and profound 
political relations, both at the bilateral level as within the 
framework of Egypt's relations with the EU. Our economic ties are 
also developing very well; and there is a lot of cooperation in 
other areas, including tourism and culture." 
 
 
FBI Transformation 
 
¶2. During a security conference in Leogang, Salzburg province, 
earlier this month, Paul Caldwell, Legal Attach at the US Embassy 
in Vienna, outlined "radical changes" regarding the structure of the 
FBI, which came in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist 
attacks in the United States. From a purely "domestic criminal 
investigation department," the FBI had gradually transformed into an 
"intelligence-service type of organization" with the aim of 
preventing future attacks, Caldwell stressed. 
On October 19, mass-circulation daily Kurier, reporting on a 
security meeting in Leogang, Salzburg province, quoted the US 
Embassy Vienna's Legal Attach Paul Caldwell as explaining that in 
addition to the changes in the FBI's structure, staff assigned to 
anti-terrorist efforts has also been doubled. Also, special emphasis 
is being given to cooperation with other police and security 
departments. Particularly, cooperation with the CIA was now "working 
perfectly." Caldwell also warned that al Qaeda, though weakened, was 
getting stronger again. 
In related news, liberal daily Der Standard, also on October 19, 
quoted the Legal Attach as underscoring that the attempted attack 
by "rucksack bomber" Asim C., who had tried to enter the US mission 
earlier this month with a backpack filled with two hand grenades, 
nails and a book on Islam, was "not an act of terrorism." 
 
 
 
 
Opposition Wins Polish Vote 
 
¶3. Poland's Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski has conceded defeat in 
early general elections. His conservative Law and Justice Party won 
about 31 percent of the votes, compared to the opposition Civic 
Platform's 41 percent. As things now stand, the Civic Platform and 
its preferred coalition partner, the Polish Peasants Party, will win 
a majority in the Lower House of Parliament.  Austrian media speak 
of a record voter turnout of over 55 percent - the highest since 
¶1989. 
Like all Austrian media, centrist daily Die Presse reports on the 
early general elections in Poland, which have resulted in a defeat 
of Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski's Law and Justice Party. The 
daily terms the vote "the most important election since 1989," and 
says that the decision between Tusk and Kaczynski ended up being a 
"vital, decisive question" for the country and its political 
orientation. It was a decision not only between urban and rural 
areas, but also between tradition and modernization, the Presse 
says, adding that the Polish voters further emphasized that with a 
record turnout. 
 
 
Turkey Vows to Defeat PKK Fighters 
 
¶4. Turkey has vowed to take tough action after Kurdish rebels killed 
about 17 soldiers in fighting in northern Iraq at the weekend. 
Around 32 PKK fighters are also said to have been killed. Turkish 
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed that Turkey would pay 
any price to defeat terrorism. He added, however, that the United 
States had asked Ankara to hold back from sending troops into 
northern Iraq for a few more days. 
In its report on the clashes between Turkish soldiers and Kurdish 
PKK rebels in northern Iraq, mass-circulation provincial daily 
Kleine Zeitung suggests that the latest developments have made a 
Turkish military intervention and a war in northern Iraq 
increasingly likely. According to security experts, the PKK wants to 
provoke a Turkish invasion of northern Iraq, in order to win back 
the support from Turkish Kurds, which it had lost in recent timers. 
That way, the PKK is hoping to boost Kurdish nationalism on both 
sides of the Turkish-Iraqi border, the daily argues. Iraq, 
meanwhile, appears helpless in the face of these mounting tensions, 
according to the Kleine Zeitung. 
 
 
Larijani Resigns 
 
¶5. The Iranian government announced at the weekend that Ali 
Larijani, its top nuclear negotiator had resigned. Larijani, who in 
many cases held a hard-line view on the nuclear standoff between 
Iran the international community, was nevertheless known for his 
pragmatic stance on the issue. Austrian media view his resignation 
as a victory for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which could further 
complicate ongoing talks on Tehran's nuclear ambitions. Larijani is 
succeeded by Saeed Jalili, a Deputy Foreign Minister for European 
and American Affairs. 
The resignation of Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani has 
"added a new urgency to the nuclear dispute," suggests independent 
provincial daily Salzburger Nachrichten. Also, the choice of Saeed 
Jalili -- a hard-line supporter of President Ahmadinejad without any 
significant diplomatic experience -- as Larijani's successor, could 
lead to an escalation of Tehran's' dispute with the West, the daily 
believes. Nonetheless, Larijani's departure and Jalili's appointment 
do not mean an end of Iran's negotiations with the West, as Tehran 
has no interest in canceling the nuclear talks. However, they will 
become even tougher than before, the Salzburger Nachrichten argues. 
 
Kilner