VZCZCXRO1376
RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHLZ
DE RUEHRL #1469/01 3221128
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 181128Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5825
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 1736
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0453
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0969
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 2479
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 1495
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 0668
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 05 BERLIN 001469 
 
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 US AF KGHG EU
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: U.S.-IRAN, AFGHANISTAN, CLIMATE, EU, 
CORRUPTION;BERLIN 
 
¶1.   Lead Stories Summary 
¶2.   (U.S.-China)   Obama Visit 
¶3.   (Afghanistan)   Debate Over Troop Withdrawal 
¶4.   (Environment)   Climate Change 
¶5.   (EU)   Future Top Jobs 
¶6.   (Transparency International)   New Ranking 
 
 
¶1.   Lead Stories Summary 
 
Print media opened with reports on the student protests, the 
closed- 
door meeting of the government at Meseberg Castle, and the trouble 
Chancellor Merkel is having with the Association of Expellees. 
Editorials focused on a decision by the Constitutional Court which 
banned Neo-Nazi rallies if they attempt to praise or portray the 
Nazi 
regime positively.  ZDF-TV's early evening newscast heute opened 
with 
a report on the students' protests, while ARD-TV's early evening 
newscast Tagesschau opened with a story on the Cabinet's closed-door 
 
meeting at Meseberg Castle. 
 
¶2.   (U.S.-China)   Obama Visit 
 
Frankfurter Allgemeine (11/18) editorialized: "China is strong and 
will become even stronger.  Its action is inevitable to overcome the 
 
economic crisis.  The call of the American President on Beijing's 
leaders to play a greater role in the world is therefore right.... 
 
Given the many problems, it is striking that Hu Jintao opposed 
protectionist policies.  This is [also] right and justified because 
 
the virus of protectionism is spreading in America.  However, it 
also 
reveals China's vulnerability.  The country needs open markets to 
generate high growth rates necessary to keep the social situation 
under control.  So who is dependent on whom?" 
 
Sddeutsche (11/18) opined: "In China, Barack Obama was given a 
lesson 
on the limits of power.  For the last 20 years, the U.S. enjoyed 
almost unqualified freedom of action.  This period is now coming to 
an 
end.  Open rivalry has not yet broken out between U.S. and China.... 
 
The power struggle is no longer fought by military forces, but in a 
 
more subtle way on oil fields, in climate conferences, and in an 
ideological competition.  This is the most important lesson of his 
first trip to China: he was denied access to the people.  Obama's 
message did not reach them because he could not communicate freely 
and 
because he limited himself.  Obama accepted self-censorship and thus 
 
admitted that China is already too powerful for the American 
President 
to go unpunished if he gives lectures and makes demands." 
 
Under the headline "Paralyzed giants," Berliner Zeitung (11/18) 
editorialized: "During their summit, the two world leaders 
demonstrated an image of impotence.  Obama and Hu could not reach 
any 
successful agreements, either on exchange rates, trade manipulation, 
 
climate protection, or in the nuclear conflicts with Iran and North 
 
BERLIN 00001469  002 OF 005 
 
 
 
Korea.  Although both sides agree that the big problems of the world 
 
cannot be resolved if they don't cooperate, it does not mean that 
both 
aim in the same direction.  However powerful Obama and Hu might 
appear, their leeway for action is small.  As most world leaders, 
they 
have to serve their people at home and must demonstrate that they 
can 
defy their rival and achieve their maximum demands in the supposed 
national interest." 
¶3.   (Afghanistan)   Debate Over Troop Withdrawal 
 
Die Welt (11/18) carried a lengthy report under the headline: "Gold 
 
for the Taliban - New UK Strategy for Afghanistan: Enemies to be 
Bribed - NATO Leader Demands Concrete Jobs."  It wrote: "The new 
field 
manual presented by the chief strategist of the British armed forces 
 
is London's answer to the legendary report of NATO's supreme 
commander 
in Afghanistan, General McChrystal....   In many respects, the 
British 
are following the military civilian strategy of the Americans...but 
her 
Majesty's strategists are emphasizing buying much more cooperation 
from Taliban fighters with money, i.e. to bribe them....  The field 
 
manual recommends to the British commanders to pay the men in the 
embattled areas a higher salary than the Taliban offer.  Indeed, the 
 
Americans successfully implemented this strategy in Iraq and bought 
 
allies.  It is true that the British paper only recommends to use 
such 
payments I the framework of a long-term development plan  but it is 
 
questionable which effects such payments have on the social 
reconstruction in Afghanistan." 
 
Tagesspiegel (11/18) headlined: "Speedy Withdrawal," and wrote: 
"With 
a clear shift in foreign policy, Prime Minister Gordon Brown not 
only 
called for a timetable in his annual foreign policy basic speech in 
 
Mansion House, but he also called for the beginning of a handover 
[of 
responsibility to the Afghan forces] next year.  Thus far, this has 
 
been demanded at the earliest in 2011.  Brown also offered London as 
 
the site for an Afghanistan conference.  He wants to put on the 
agenda 
of such a meeting the debate over a political strategy which is to 
redefine the military goals.  In the beginning of an election year, 
 
Brown is under pressure to name a date for the start of a British 
troop withdrawal." 
 
Under the headline:  "Verbal Rearguard Action," Financial Times 
Deutschland (11/18) wrote: "Only a while ago, the whole world talked 
 
about NATO troop enforcements for Afghanistan, but now we are 
reading 
in newswire reports more about a partial withdrawal.  But this is 
 
BERLIN 00001469  003 OF 005 
 
 
wishful thinking.  Has the most powerful military alliance in the 
world carried out a sudden change of strategies?  Does this mean 
that 
General Stanley McChrystal's demand for an additional 40,000 
soldiers 
has been swept aside?  None of those interpretations is right. 
Indeed, NATO Secretary Fogh Rasmussen and the new German Defense 
Minister zu Guttenberg only said that, in a few districts, the 
responsibility for security should, if possible, be handed over to 
the 
Afghan army and the police force.  Indeed, there are districts that 
 
are rather peaceful, and these are areas which hardly have any 
Pashtun 
population.  But the Taliban movement stems from Pashtun tribes in 
Afghanistan and Pakistan.  That is why diplomats and military 
officials consider the conclusion that one can withdraw from 
Afghanistan as a whole to be fallacious.   The commotion about the 
new 
debate is rather derived from unease about the Afghanistan war in 
many 
NATO nations and from the fact that many politicians want to give 
assurances to their voters that the mission will not last forever. 
 
NATO will speak of a withdrawal only if they can sell Afghanistan as 
a 
kind of success, but this is something no one dares to do in the 
foreseeable future." 
 
Regional daily Mnchener Merkur (11/18) judged: "It is high time to 
 
break the taboo over terms such as pullout and withdrawal and to 
call 
things by their names.  NATO Secretary General Rasmussen, who, a few 
 
weeks ago, defiantly said NATO troops would stay as long as 
necessary, 
has now begun to seek an emergency exit.  And British Foreign 
Secretary David Miliband followed the well-tested proverb that it is 
 
necessary to ally with those who cannot be defeated.  He wants to 
integrate the Taliban into the Afghan government.  Still, victories 
 
look different.  The allies will not run away, and one reason is 
that 
handing over security responsibilities presupposes having police and 
 
armed forces that can guarantee security.  But thus far, there is no 
 
sign of that happening." 
 
¶4.   (Environment)   Climate Change 
 
Spiegel Online (11/17) carried a lengthy negative editorial on 
President Obama's climate policy.  Under the headline "Obama Has 
Failed the World on Climate Change, Spiegel's Christian SchwQgerl 
editorialized: "President Barack Obama came to office promising hope 
 
and change. But on climate change, he has followed in the footsteps 
of 
his predecessor, George W. Bush. Now, should the climate summit in 
Copenhagen fail, the blame will lie squarely with Obama....  Over 
the 
weekend, Obama announced that there would be no agreement on binding 
 
rules in Copenhagen. It was the admission of a massive failure -- 
and 
the prelude to a truly dramatic phase of international climate 
 
BERLIN 00001469  004 OF 005 
 
 
policy.... Obama has neglected the single most important issue for 
an 
American president who likes to imagine himself as a world citizen, 
 
namely, his country's addiction to fossil fuels and the risks of 
unchecked climate change. Health-care reform and other domestic 
issues 
were more important to him than global environmental threats.... 
The 
U.S. is quite happy to see itself as the leader of the Western 
world. 
But when it comes to climate change, America has once again failed 
miserably -- for the umpteenth time.  If the rest of the world were 
to 
follow the US example in their approach to fossil fuels, the oceans 
 
would not only heat up, but would probably soon begin to boil. 
American per capita CO2 emissions are about twice as high as those 
in 
comparable industrialized nations and many times greater than those 
of 
the developing world....  Obama's priorities are wrong. Copenhagen 
is 
not just any old summit -- it is the long-awaited climax of many 
years 
of negotiations whose failure was only averted at the last minute at 
 
the Bali summit two years ago....  Obama was quite happy to make the 
 
trip to Copenhagen in October to support his hometown Chicago's bid 
to 
host the Olympic Games. But he is currently leaving open the 
question 
of whether he will come to the Danish capital in December for the UN 
 
Climate Change Conference. In doing so, he has given other world 
leaders the signal that they do not need to attend. If the 
Copenhagen 
summit, which energy strategists and environmentalists have been 
preparing for two years, is a failure, then it will mainly be 
Obama's 
fault....  Obama has proven himself to be unable to put an end to 
the 
lies that modern American society is based on. He is unable to 
overcome the entrenched lobbyists of the oil and coal industries and 
 
make the reality clear to his compatriots: They are the worst energy 
 
wasters on the planet -- and are thus, indirectly, a major threat to 
 
world peace in the 21st century....  The Nobel Committee should 
postpone 
the award ceremony for the Nobel Peace Prize from December 10 to 
December 20. Only if Obama has achieved a convincing deal at the 
Copenhagen conference will there be a real reason to honor him." 
 
Tageszeitung (11/18) commented: "In China, President Obama has 
reached 
the limits of his superpower.  He is returning without the hoped for 
 
promise on climate protection.  The many words cannot obscure the 
fact 
that Hu and Obama remained vague on Copenhagen and did not promise 
any 
specific reduction limits of greenhouse gases." 
 
¶5.   (EU)   Future Top Jobs 
 
 
BERLIN 00001469  005 OF 005 
 
 
"European Parliament Involved in Poker Game About Future Jobs," 
headlined Financial Times Deutschland (11/18) and reported: "The 
President of the European Parliament, Jerzey Busek is pressing the 
27 
EU member states not to postpone a decision on vacant top EU 
positions.  He told FTD shortly before Thursday's special EU summit: 
 
'We have been discussing for more than nine years draft agreements. 
 
Now the time has come to decide and to begin with our work.  Europe 
is 
faced with enormous challenges - climate change, the economic 
crisis, 
and energy security.'  With this appeal the EP president is 
criticizing the tough talk regarding who would become European 
Council 
president and European foreign minister.  But thus far, a solution 
has 
not been in the offing in the talks between the Swedish EU 
presidency 
and the various capitals.  EU Minister President Cecilia MalmstrQm 
said on Tuesday: 'There is total confusion, and there has been no 
agreement.' She did not rule out an extension of the summit or even 
a 
postponement." 
 
¶6.   (Transparency International)   New Ranking 
 
In a story under the headline: "Europe has Become More Corrupt," Die 
 
Welt (11/18) wrote: "When it comes to fighting corruption and 
bribery, 
Germany is still a modestly average European country.  On the 
corruption index of Transparency International, Germany is 14th, the 
 
same position it had last year.  Corruption rarely happens in 
Denmark, 
New Zealand, Singapore and Sweden.  However, the situation is 
devastating in Somalia, Afghanistan, Burma, Sudan, and Iraq.  The 
index is based on interviews with managers and experts who were 
asked 
of how corrupt the public service in their countries is.  Since the 
 
interviews last year, the susceptibility of many European countries 
 
for corruption has considerably increased.  Especially Greece, 
Spain, 
and Latvia have lost. i.e. those countries which have been hard hit 
by 
the financial crisis.  But it is not clear whether the financial 
crisis promotes corruption or whether the financial crisis has imply 
 
resulted in brining to the fore such corruption cases." 
 
MURPHY