VZCZCXRO1889
RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHLZ
DE RUEHRL #1292/01 2891213
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 161213Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5502
INFO RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 1641
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0348
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0866
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 2382
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 1391
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 0574
RHMFIUU/HQ USAFE RAMSTEIN AB GE
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE//J5 DIRECTORATE (MC)//
RHMFISS/CDRUSAREUR HEIDELBERG GE
RUKAAKC/UDITDUSAREUR HEIDELBERG GE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 BERLIN 001292 
 
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 PK TK UN EV EU
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: PAKISTAN, TURKEY-ISRAEL, UNHRC, 
ENVIRONMENT, 
EU-U.S.;BERLIN 
 
¶1.   Lead Stories Summary 
¶2.   (Pakistan)   Series of Bomb Attacks 
¶3.   (Turkey-Israel)   Relations 
¶4.   (UNHRC)   Goldstone Report 
¶5.   (Environment)   Climate Change 
¶6.   (EU-U.S.)   Dollar, SWIFT 
 
 
¶1.   Lead Stories Summary 
 
Primetime newscasts opened with stories on Germany's economic 
forecast.  Newspapers led with the ongoing coalition talks and other 
 
stories.  Frankfurter Rundschau highlighted an interview with SPD 
Bundestag Caucus Chairman Steinmeier, warning his party against 
moving 
to the left.  Berliner Zeitung headlined "Clever Immigrants - Bad 
Jobs."  Editorials focused on the coalition talks and the situation 
in 
Pakistan. 
 
¶2.   (Pakistan)   Series of Bomb Attacks 
 
FT Deutschland (10/16) headlined "Taliban spread terror in 
Pakistan," 
and added in its introduction: "With an unprecedented spate of 
attacks, the Taliban are trying to destabilize the country."  Under 
 
the headline "Pakistan's nuclear weapons and terrorists," 
Frankfurter 
Allgemeine wrote: "Experts fear that the world will hear about lost 
 
nuclear material when it is too late." Sddeutsche remarked: "The 
Taliban again spread fear and terror in the nuclear Pakistan." 
 
Under the headline "Pakistan is already a failed state," Berliner 
Zeitung (10/16) editorialized: "Senior U.S. officials have stressed 
 
that Pakistan is the most dangerous place in the world, and we would 
 
add,, particularly for Pakistanis.  Some 160 people, mostly soldiers 
 
and police officers, have died in recent assassinations and 
attacks.... 
Islamic radicals have declared war on the Pakistani state and are 
now 
trying to spread conflict to the most populous province of Punjab. 
 
The state will respond with war.  The government might even win the 
 
war on the ground....  However, politically, nothing can be achieved 
 
with a war in Pakistan, least of all stability.  The country between 
 
Afghanistan and India is a failed state....  The lethal deadlock in 
 
Pakistan seems to be insurmountable.  Also the U.S. government had 
no 
idea what to do, apart from appointing an Af/Pak envoy.  This is not 
 
good enough to create peace in the most dangerous part of the 
world." 
 
Frankfurter Allgemeine (10/16) opined: "Fears that the country might 
 
plunge into the chaos of a civil war and that authority will 
breakdown 
 
BERLIN 00001292  002 OF 006 
 
 
due to pressure from the Islamic militias, might be exaggerated. 
However, recent incidents do not make us optimistic that the country 
 
will get things under control anytime soon....  For too long, parts 
of 
the security apparatus have exploited, promoted and sympathized with 
 
the militant extremists.  The recent attacks... are a challenged to 
the 
heart of the country; Pakistan must not avoid this challenge.  The 
government and the society must finally realize the seriousness of 
the 
threat.  Referring to the usual scapegoats is childish self- 
deception." 
 
Die Welt (10/16) editorialized: "The nuclear power, Pakistan has 
been 
the target of attacks for years....   It is disturbing that the 
Taliban 
and their al Qaida allies are now spreading terror throughout the 
whole country, not just the provinces close to Afghanistan.  The 
professionalism with which the terror groups operate is highly 
frightening....  The Afghan problem cannot be resolved without 
focusing 
on Pakistan....  Withdrawing from Afghanistan would also mean giving 
up 
Pakistan to an ideology that despises freedom and human rights.... 
Pakistan is not so strong to rule out the possibility that one day 
the 
Taliban might gain access to the center of the military apparatus. 
 
Nuclear weapons in the hands of the Taliban?  What a nightmare." 
 
Under the headline "Beginning of the last-ditch stand," Frankfurter 
 
Rundschau (10/16) commented: "Only a few weeks after the death of 
the 
Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, Pakistan boasted that it had broken 
 
the back of the Taliban.  However, the extremists seem to be more 
dangerous than ever.  For two weeks, almost daily attacks have 
shaken 
the country.  The Taliban seem to have quickly gotten back on their 
 
feet again under their new leader Hakimullah Mehsud....  The 
extremists 
have thrown down the gauntlet to the army, and the army is about to 
 
pick it up.  The U.S. is breathing down the army's neck, wanting to 
 
cut of the Taliban's escape routes from Afghanistan to Pakistan.  It 
 
remains to be seen whether the army can win a guerilla war." 
 
¶3.   (Turkey-Israel)   Relations 
 
Under the headline: "Erdogan; The Will of the People Guides [Our 
Policy] towards Israel," Die Welt (10/16) wrote: "Turkish Prime 
Minister Erdogan has a simple explanation for the fact that his 
country has embarked upon a confrontational course with Israel: 
"The 
will of the people,' is determining his policy.  This has been the 
thus far most obvious statement on the change of paradigms in 
Turkey's 
policy towards Israel....  In the meantime, it is becoming 
increasingly 
clear that Syria will take over part of Israel's role in this 
 
BERLIN 00001292  003 OF 006 
 
 
strategic alliance.  The Turkish people have hardly had any hint of 
 
the joint maneuver with with the Israeli air force...but Erdogan's 
statement raises the question whether Turkey will be considered 
Israel's only Islamic ally in the foreseeable future....  Erdogan's 
 
emphasis of the people's will make it conceivable that Turkey's 
attitude towards Israel could gradually change and come more into 
line 
with the view of the other Islamic countries." 
 
"Turkey does Not Want To be Only A European Partner," is the 
headline 
in Berliner Zeitung (10/16), which argued: "Turkey's Foreign 
Minister 
Davutoglu said that the strategic partnership with Syria would also 
be 
open for other countries, such as Iraq, Lebanon, the Gulf states, 
and 
Egypt, and Turkey would by no means do any harm to Iran.  This 
sounds 
like a profound re-orientation of [Turkey's foreign policy].  It 
seems 
to confirm warnings that Turkey no longer primarily feels like a 
partner of Europe but like the leading power of the Middle East. 
And 
can it be a coincidence that the countries to which Ankara has now 
offered a partnership are all Muslim countries?  We should be 
careful 
and not jump to conclusions. The basic question is whether the 
policy 
of the West is the same as western policies?  The current 
disgruntlement has tactical and principle causes which are both 
temporary...but Turkey's criticism of Israel's operations during the 
 
Gaza War is more serious...and to take this report seriously is not 
a 
sign of anti-western policies.  As far as domestic policy is 
concerned 
the incident shows that the government has disassociated a great 
deal 
from the tutelage of the generals and now also has a military say. 
 
And this is a genuinely western tradition." 
 
die tageszeitung (10/16) judged: "The turnaround happened after the 
 
Gaza War. The Turkish government felt duped in its [Mideast] 
mediation 
efforts, fiercely criticized Israel and fully backed anti-Israeli 
resentments in the municipal elections at the beginning of this 
year. 
Obviously, the Turkish government no longer wants to act as a bridge 
 
builder between Israel and its Arab neighbors.  Instead it is now 
striving for a leading role in the Muslim camp.  Otherwise, it would 
 
not have thrown out the Israeli air force and shown anti-Semitic 
movies on state controlled Turkish TV.  Prime Minister Erdogan and 
his 
Foreign Minister Davutoglu consider themselves to be so successful 
in 
their new roles as 'new Ottomans' that they think it no longer 
necessary to show consideration for the West.  The demonstrative 
disinterest in the EU's Progress Report is making this clear 
again." 
 
 
BERLIN 00001292  004 OF 006 
 
 
¶4.   (UNHRC)   Goldstone Report 
 
"Again UNHRC Condemns Israel," headlined Die Welt (10/16), and 
wrote: 
"Moderate Israeli observers do not deny that Goldstone has tried to 
 
uncover the truth.  But this cannot be said of the draft resolution 
of 
the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).   Goldstone - to a modest 
extent 
- pointed to the war crimes of Hamas, but this view is not reflected 
 
in the draft resolution.  Neither is the firing of Hamas missiles at 
 
Israeli cities, a measure that has also been classified as a war 
crime.  The UNHRC is well known for its one-sided condemnation of 
Israel and that is why it is no longer being taken seriously by 
western states." 
 
According to Sueddeutsche Zeitung (10/16), "Israel strongly 
criticized 
the deliberations in the UNHRC about the Goldstone Report on war 
crimes during the Gaza War."  Under the headline: "Tough Wrestling 
Over the Truth," the daily reported: "The Report accuses Israel and 
 
armed Palestinian groups of having committed war crimes....  In 
addition 
to the Palestinian government and several Arab states, some western 
 
governments are also pressuring Israel to examine the accusation of 
 
war crimes during the Gaza War.  The Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the 
UN, 
Alejandro Wolff, expressed his deep concern about the results of the 
 
Report and said that Israel must seriously examine the accusations. 
 
Israel has always criticized the report of human rights activist 
Richard Goldstone as being unimportant." 
 
In a profile of Goldstone, Sueddeutsche Zeitung (10/16) cited 
Goldstone as having said: "I feel disappointed that some Jews think 
 
that I as a Jew should not examine Israel's attitude during the Gaza 
 
War.  But Israel did not help him," the paper wrote, and added: "The 
 
Netanyahu government refused to cooperate with Goldstone and refused 
 
him entry into the country but it speaks for Goldstone's 
independence 
that he conducted 180 interviews with Palestinian victims for more 
than three weeks, that he looked through 10,000 pages of documents 
and 
then published a 600-page report, in which not only Israel is being 
 
pilloried but also the radical-Islamic Hamas.  In Goldstone's view, 
 
the missile war of Hamas was a war crime but so was the Israeli 
operation, in which hospitals, schools, and water supplies were 
destroyed." 
 
Handelsblatt (10/16) reported under the headline: "UN Pillories 
Israel," and wrote: "Israel is increasingly coming under pressure in 
 
the UN because of its policy towards the Palestinians.  Four country 
 
 
BERLIN 00001292  005 OF 006 
 
 
groups and the Palestinians filed a motion calling upon the UNHRC to 
 
condemn Israel.  It is likely that the motion will get the necessary 
 
support and this is then likely to intensify the conflict between 
Israel and the Palestinians." 
 
Regional daily Neue Osnabrcker Zeitung (10/16) editorialized: "The 
 
psychological warfare between Israel and the radical Islamic Hamas 
continues; this time before the UNHRC.  The name of this body itself 
 
is grotesque, because many member states are governed by regimes 
which 
do not show any respect for freedom.  After innumerous anti-Israel 
resolutions, Israel will now again be presented as the bogeyman. 
The 
reason is the Goldstone Report which accuses Israel but also Hamas 
of 
having seriously violated human rights during the most recent Gaza 
War.  But the debate hardly addresses the fact that the accusations 
 
are based on hearsay and less on evidence.  As in the past, the 
Islamic states are blaming Israel as usual.  This is disgraceful and 
 
not helpful for peace." 
 
¶5.   (Environment)   Climate Change 
 
In an editorial under the headline: "Tough Poker Game in the Glass 
House - Without Greater U.S. movement, There Will Be No Agreement in 
 
Copenhagen," Handelsblatt (10/16) opined: "The negotiations about 
global moves for a more effective protection of the climate have 
gotten bogged down.  The greatest emitters of carbon dioxides, the 
United States and China, have only submitted non-committal 
declarations of intent regarding ecologically sustainable economic 
growth.  The United States is playing a key role.  Washington did 
not 
join the Kyoto Protocol and only accepts relatively small 
commitments 
to reduce its emissions.  According to current calculations, America 
 
would not make any savings before 2020, based on 1990 levels.  This 
 
example of the calculations of wealthy North Americans makes clear 
that a tough poker game will take place in Copenhagen.  The coming 
weeks will reveal dramatic distribution fights.  All industrialized 
 
nations must reduce their carbon dioxide emissions and, at the same 
 
time, make financial transfers to the Third World...." 
 
¶6.   (EU-U.S.)   Dollar, SWIFT 
 
Sueddeutsche Zeitung carried an editorial under the headline; "Weak 
 
Dollar, Good Dollar," and wondered: "Does the world need a strong 
dollar?  The answer is: Only as long as China is distorting markets. 
 
Under fair conditions, a weak dollar would even be good for the 
markets.  It would help bring back a balance to the markets.  With a 
 
credit-based consumption craze, America brought on the global 
crisis. 
Now the Americans must tighten their belts and first earn the money 
 
 
BERLIN 00001292  006 OF 006 
 
 
they like to spend.  This only works, when they sell more goods 
abroad 
than they buy abroad.  A weak dollar makes this easier because it 
gives U.S. companies a stimulus to export.  But instead of calling 
for 
a strong dollar, the head of the European Central Bank, Trichet 
should 
convince China to give up the bad habit of currency manipulation. 
By 
pegging their currency to the dollar, the Chinese can enjoy a 
booming 
export industry. But this poison of cheap money is accumulating in 
the 
economic system.  The result is a speculation bubble and bad loans. 
 
How dangerous this is, Chinese can now observe in America.  May the 
 
pictures of deserted suburbs prompt them to give up such 
manipulation." 
 
"Opportunity makes the thief," judged Handelsblatt (10/16) and 
editorialized: "Europeans and Americans seem to have forgotten this 
 
when discussing the agreement on access to data of the SWIFT banking 
 
network.  Instead of restricting the collection of data, Brussels is 
 
now giving the Americans a blank check.  As a matter of fact, the 
agreement was supposed to create legal security.  For more than 
seven 
years, the United States has tapped SWIFT data...without an 
established 
legal basis.  And those who erroneously get into the crosshairs of 
U.S. terror investigators can hardly defend themselves.  And there 
has 
been no cure yet for the illegal transfer of data and its misuse. 
The 
Europeans have become an object of the U.S. war on terror, whether 
they like it or not.  But with the new agreement this was supposed 
to 
change.  But what the Swedish EU presidency has now secretly 
negotiated under the exclusion of the public and the European 
Parliament is a bitter disappointment. The draft confirms the worst 
 
fears of data protection commissioners.  But there is also some good 
 
news:  the new CDU/CSU/FDP coalition wants to interfere in the SWIFT 
 
talks. The FDP must now prove that it is serious about protecting 
civil rights." 
 MURPHY