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RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE//J5 DIRECTORATE (MC)//
RHMFISS/CDRUSAREUR HEIDELBERG GE
RUKAAKC/UDITDUSAREUR HEIDELBERG GE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 BERLIN 001225 
 
STATE FOR INR/R/MR, EUR/PAPD, EUR/PPA, EUR/CE, INR/EUC, INR/P, 
SECDEF FOR USDP/ISA/DSAA, DIA FOR DC-4A 
 
VIENNA FOR CSBM, CSCE, PAA 
 
"PERISHABLE INFORMATION -- DO NOT SERVICE" 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.0. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO IR AF XF GG EU GM
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: IRAN, AFGHANISTAN, MIDEAST, GEORGIA, EU, 
CHINA, GERMANY;BERLIN 
 
¶1.   Lead Stories Summary 
¶2.   (Iran)   P5+1 Talks 
¶3.   (Afghanistan)   Rasmussen-Obama Meeting 
¶4.   (Mideast)   Goldstone Report, Hamas-Fatah Relations 
¶5.   (Georgia)   Final Report on Georgian War 
¶6.   (EU)   Irish Referendum 
¶7.   (China)   60th Anniversary 
¶8.   (Germany)   Foreign Policy, Aftermath of Elections 
 
¶1.   Lead Stories Summary 
 
The print media gave broad coverage to the future of the SPD and the 
 
subsequent changes at the party's leadership.  This is also the 
topic 
of today's editorials in the press.  ZDF-TV's early evening newscast 
 
heute and ARD-TV's early evening newscast Tagesschau opened with 
reports on the election of SPD chancellor candidate Steinmeier as 
the 
head of the new SPD Bundestag group. 
 
¶2.   (Iran)   P5+1 Talks 
 
Frankfurter Allgemeine (9/30) editorializes: "A few days prior to 
the 
Geneva talks, the Iranian missile tests are not exactly a confidence 
 
building measure.  They are a demonstration and a provocation, which 
 
could have an effect that was not intended by the Tehran leadership 
 
because every test is one reason more to build a missile defense 
shield.  Also, Russia is now increasingly worried that the Iranian 
military capacities are increasing." 
 
¶3.   (Afghanistan)   Rasmussen-Obama Meeting 
 
Primetime ARD-TV's Tagesschau (9/29) notes in a report on President 
 
Obama meeting with NATO Secretary General Rasmussen that "NATO has 
obviously not yet agreed on a future strategy on Afghanistan. 
Rasmussen assured Obama in Washington that the alliance will do the 
 
job until it is done.  However, he recently described demands by the 
 
U.S. army to send more soldiers as premature."  The newscast quotes 
 
Obama as saying: "This is not an American battle.  This is a NATO 
mission as well.  And we are working actively and diligently to 
consult with NATO at every step of the way." 
 
Berliner Zeitung (9/30) headlines on its front page "Rasmussen 
stands 
behind Obama's Afghanistan course," highlighting that "President 
Obama 
emphasized that NATO allies share the responsibility for the 
military 
mission in Afghanistan." 
 
In a lengthy analytical article inside the paper, Berliner Zeitung 
(9/30) notes under the headline "wishful thinking determines the war 
 
in Afghanistan" that "the fact that the Taliban are successful shows 
 
that something is not right about the strategy...  The Taliban 
benefit 
 
BERLIN 00001225  002 OF 006 
 
 
from the mistakes of the international community: the bombardment of 
 
civilians, the unbalanced distribution of development aid, the 
shortcomings in the setting up of the administration, justice, the 
state apparatus, police and army.  In addition, they benefit from 
the 
false impression that is communicated about them.  They possess 
modern 
means of communication and an effective propaganda apparatus; they 
pursue a strategy and adjust to the situation; they are powerful, 
well-informed and cleverly exploit ethnic tensions....  Also, the 
idea 
to buy the loyalty of Afghan leaders is based on wishful thinking, 
not 
on facts.    This approach, which was tried out in Iraq, assumes 
that 
there are differences between Taliban commanders...,that there is a 
rift 
between the Taliban and foreign al Qaida fighters, that there are 
differences of opinion regarding schools for girl, the bombing of 
bridges, or the power in certain districts.  However, in these 
cases, 
Taliban fighters are arguing with regional warlords who are 
defending 
their own interests and might align with others for a purpose.  They 
 
are sometimes, for reasons of simplicity, also described as 
Taliban.... 
Simplicity might help to explain the conflict to citizens in western 
 
countries.  However, it does not help Afghans." 
 
¶4.   (Mideast)   Goldstone Report, Hamas-Fatah Relations 
 
Berliner Zeitung (9/30) opined under the headline: "Israel Must Face 
 
up to the Criticism of the Gaza War" and judged: "To attack someone 
is 
the best defense.  According to this slogan, Israel's government 
tried 
to discredit the Goldstone report on the Gaza War...but Israel is 
ignoring the fact that an internationally renowned judge chaired the 
 
investigation: Richard Goldstone, who as prosecutor, brought the 
perpetrators of genocide in Rwanda and Bosnia to trial.  He is not a 
 
'self-hating Jew' but a self-confessed Zionist. During the hearing 
in 
Geneva, even the U.S. representative appealed to the Israeli and 
Palestinian sides to discuss the report self-critically. 
Jerusalem's 
calculation that those who fight in Afghanistan and in Iraq will not 
 
play the role of moralizer, could, nevertheless, come true.  But in 
 
the end, Israel and the West would be faced with the damage." 
 
Sueddeutsche Zeitung (9/30) deals with the announcement of Hamas 
leader Meschal that reconciliation document will be signed in 
October 
and judged: "Obviously the radical Islamists [of Hamas] have 
realized 
that they maneuvered themselves into a dead end street with their 
coup 
two years ago.  The break with their compatriots of Fatah has 
resulted 
in a division of the Palestinian society and to a severing of ties 
to 
 
BERLIN 00001225  003 OF 006 
 
 
the rest of the world.  These surprisingly soft tones from Hamas 
promise an exciting fall.  In October, Israel and the Palestinians 
will officially resume their peace talks.  Hamas cannot make a 
better 
present than peace between brothers to U.S. President Obama after 
his 
failed New York Middle East summit." 
 
¶5.   (Georgia)   Final Report on Georgian War 
 
Frankfurter Allgemeine (9/30) opines in a front-page editorial on 
the 
publication of the EU report on the war in Georgia: "The report 
commissioned by the EU on the five-day war in the Caucasus now made 
 
official what has hardly been doubted recently, that it was 
Saakashvili who crossed the line in 2008....   With that, he caused 
much 
misery for Georgians and Ossetians and probably lost the two 
renegade 
provinces forever....  However, Saakashvili's guilt does not mean 
that 
Moscow has not made mistakes or that Russian policy was any better. 
 
The Kremlin had been torpedoing all efforts of the international 
community for years to resolve the tensions in the southern 
Caucasus. 
Instead of using its influence to resolve the conflict between 
Georgia 
and the renegade provinces, it strengthened separatists, who were 
directly led by Moscow.  The escalation in 2008 began with the 
Russian 
provocation in Abkhazia in spring 2008." 
 
¶6.   (EU)   Irish Referendum 
 
"New Complaint Against EU Treaty" is the headline in Die Welt and 
Tagesspiegel (9/30).  The papers reported that "a few days before 
the 
Irish referendum on the EU's Lisbon Treaty, the Czech Republic is 
threatening to further delay the ratification process.  The member 
of 
the Czech Senate, Jiri Oberfalzer, who is well known as a critic of 
 
the EU, filed a constitutional complaint together with 16 other 
senators against the Lisbon Treaty." 
 
In a lengthy report, Berliner Zeitung (9/30) noted: "It is a myth 
that 
the Irish, with their 'no' in 2008, wanted to show Europe a cold 
shoulder, that they wanted to snub a partner who financed their good 
 
life.  On the streets in Dublin you will hardly find an Irishman who 
 
has the kind of ambivalent relationship with Europe and the EU that, 
 
for instance, a considerable number of the British have.  On the 
contrary, the Irish have acknowledged in general to what extent 
their 
island profited from their link to the continent.  The fact that 
they 
rejected the Lisbon Treaty has little to do with content and much 
more 
with a deeply rooted dissatisfaction with the changes that can be 
observed everywhere in the era of globalization." 
 
Under the headline: "Ireland Again The Country That Can Tip The 
scales," Die Welt (9/30) editorialized: "The weeping and gnashing of 
 
BERLIN 00001225  004 OF 006 
 
 
 
teeth is again widespread in Ireland.  The government in Dublin has 
 
also had to prevent the total collapse of its economy with an 
economic 
stimulus program.  But this does not mean that Ireland is a basket 
case, because the regenerative powers of this old European society 
have by no means been exhausted. What will guide the Irish soul on 
October 2?  It won't be the Polish or British or German concerns and 
 
considerations, nor will it be Europhilia or Euro-skepticism, but 
only 
the unfathomable reasons of each Irish individual who freely uses 
his 
or her right to self-determination.  The result has to be accepted, 
 
for better or worse." 
 
¶7.   (China)   60th Anniversary 
 
"Beijing Cordoned Off on 60th Anniversary," headlined Tagesspiegel 
(9/30) and reported: "Shortly before the beginning of festivities 
for 
the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, authorities 
 
preliminarily arrested 6,500 people...including regime critics and 
human 
rights activists.  Many of them received warnings by state security 
 
agencies to keep quiet during the festivities.  In addition, the 
authorities released a ban on petitions, for it is a tradition in 
China that ordinary people from the whole country come to Beijing to 
 
hand in complaints about corrupt officials, illegal land 
expropriations, and other injustices.  The Party views as a special 
 
risk those people it regards to be Tibetan and Uighur separatists." 
 
 
¶8.   (Germany)   Foreign Policy, Aftermath of Elections 
 
Under the headline "Limits of harmony," Handelsblatt (9/30) 
editorializes:  "It is likely that the government will face 
controversy in the upcoming legislative period over foreign policy, 
 
which has been undisputed for most of Germany's post-war history.... 
 In 
the last huge demonstrations over foreign policy issues, the 
protesters represented exactly the position of the German 
government: 
resistance to the war in Iraq.  In general, there had been an 
agreement on Germany's interests as a medium-sized power and the 
motor 
of the European integration.  This consensus will now be tested. 
The 
reason is not that the FDP pursues a completely different foreign 
policy.  On the contrary!  All experts only foresee slight changes. 
 
The FDP will indeed have difficulties to make its mark obvious. 
Current Foreign Minister Steinmeier often quoted his pre-pre- 
predecessor Hans-Dietrich Genscher for good reasons.  Their views 
are 
very close.  The FDP wants to put more emphasis on human rights and 
 
disarmament, and accused the SPD of not having pursued them 
vigorously 
enough.  The most important reason for harsher controversies will be 
 
 
BERLIN 00001225  005 OF 006 
 
 
the topic of Afghanistan.  All parties are aware of the fact that a 
 
majority of the people is skeptical about the Bundeswehr mission in 
 
Afghanistan.  While in government, the SPD could subdue this part of 
 
the debate by its realpolitik.  The Greens were restrained over last 
 
four years because they had given the starting signal for the 
mission 
during their coalition with the SPD.  However, a new era is 
beginning. 
The harmony of the grand coalition is over.  Although the SPD will 
not 
join the Left Party's course in opposition and call for the 
immediate 
withdrawal of the troops.  It will sharpen its profile by increasing 
 
its call for a gradual withdrawal of the Bundeswehr.  This 
development 
will accelerate if [Foreign Minister] Steinmeier cannot maintain his 
 
position as the leader of the SPD Bundestag caucus....  In addition, 
the 
FDP has been taking a more critical approach on foreign missions 
than 
the CDU and SPD.  Unlike the German government, the FDP voted 
against 
the UNIFIL mandate after the war in Lebanon and against the mission 
in 
Congo...  This makes clear that their will be tensions:  If the 
CDU/CSU- 
FDP government takes a more reserved position on military missions 
under the pressure of the opposition and the more skeptical FDP, the 
 
honeymoon with Washington will be over soon....  However, if the 
government stands united by military missions, it will face 
opposition 
by three parties that suddenly discover their peace-loving heart." 
 
Sueddeutsche Zeitung (9/30) judged: "As in 2005, when after her near 
 
defeat, Markel made the CDU/CSU Bundestag group confirm her as CDU 
chairwoman and thus took critics by surprise, she was again the 
first 
one who reacted: On  election eve she said that she did not want to 
be 
a lobbyist but 'the chancellor of all Germans.'   This was a clear 
message to economic liberals in the FDP ranks, i.e. there will be no 
 
infringement? of workers rights and there will be no savings orgy 
either.  Since then, she has set up new pillars on an hourly basis, 
 
and that is why Westerwelle's hormone level is likely to have taken 
a 
different direction.  Existing minimum wage levels will not be 
changed.  The same is true for healthcare reform; tax cuts will be 
possible only to a minor degree, and the phasing out of nuclear 
energy 
will not be changed either.  The latitude for Westerwelle to score 
points in the coalition talks has now been considerably reduced. 
The 
political changes of which FDP spokespersons permanently speak will 
 
not happen with this chancellor.  And on Tuesday, Westerwelle no 
longer spoke of them either." 
 
Regional daily Rheinische Post of Dsseldorf (9/30) argued; "This 
 
BERLIN 00001225  006 OF 006 
 
 
pussyfooting election campaign is now over and it is necessary to 
get 
to work.  Angela Merkel only has a small window of opportunity to 
set 
the course for a successful government.  At the latest in the winter 
 
of 2010/2011, the unemployment figures will explode and the 
government 
must be ready to cope with them.  This means that the Federal Labor 
 
Office must be restructured, a better placement service is needed, 
and 
there will be cuts in benefits.  And she must also get the pension, 
 
nursing care, and healthcare systems out of their demographic traps. 
 
A content-free coalition treaty will not help.  The fact that Merkel 
 
tabooed a number of issues right from the start does not speak for a 
 
vigorous new beginning." 
 
Stuttgarter Zeitung (9/30) had this to say: "In spite of all the 
nice 
words we hear about a future coalition, we should not ignore that 
both 
alliance parties are separated by many things: the question to what 
 
extent we need our current social welfare state, what will be the 
balance between civil rights and security claims, do we need the 
draft...etc.   With respect to lowering taxes and reforming the 
social 
security system, the CDU/CSU and the FDP have also different 
positions.  The chancellor clearly knows that her popularity is not 
 
based on her faded reputation as a reform politician but on her 
talent 
to achieve an accommodation.  That is why she has already put the 
brakes on Westerwelle's lan." 
 
  MURPHY