US embassy cable - 05PARIS7387

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 007387 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
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E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC, KMDR, FR 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Iran Oil For Food Bush 
Presidency - Plame and Miers 
PARIS - Friday, October 28, 2005 
 
(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT: 
 
Iran 
Oil For Food 
Bush Presidency - Plame and Miers 
 
B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE: 
 
Prime Minister Villepin's plans to "clean up" the public 
sector and implement reforms to make the public sector more in 
tune with the private sector is one of today's lead stories. 
For Liberation, which headlines: "Villepin Tightens the 
Screws," the problem stems from Villepin's own Presidential 
aspirations: "The tragedy with Villepin is not that he lacks 
grand projects, it is that his grandest one, running for the 
presidency, is obscuring all the rest. He may one day `Be' the 
State, but in the meantime the State can wait." Financial La 
Tribune devotes its lead to Villepin's other project, 
continuing state ownership of certain companies, which he 
considers "strategic," such as Areva, because of its nuclear 
activities. In his editorial Pascal Aubert reminds us that 
"France's nuclear heritage has granted it its status and a 
seat at the UNSC. In French public opinion, the nuclear sector 
carries an element of national sovereignty." 
 
Le Figaro devotes its lead to the "The Islamic Threat" in 
France and the fact that two ground to air missiles brought 
into Europe in 2002 from Chechnya are still missing. The 
article contends that these missiles might be in France in the 
hands of terrorists planning to use them against commercial 
aircraft. 
 
The Volker report on the Oil for Food scandal published 
yesterday makes Le Figaro's front page: "The Report That 
Accuses France." Inside, Isabelle Lasserre explains the 
relationship which linked France to Iraq immediately before 
and after the first Gulf war. (See Part C) 
 
Several editorials and op-eds are devoted to Iranian President 
Ahmadinejad's "Hatred" and his "irresponsible" calls against 
Israel. (See Part C) 
 
The decision by Harriet Miers to withdraw her candidacy for 
Supreme Court Justice is widely reported. The articles point 
to the "difficulties which are accumulating" for President 
Bush: the Miers withdrawal, but also the alleged involvement 
of Karl Rove in the Plame affair. (See Part C) 
 
(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES: 
 
Iran 
 
"Hatred" 
Left-of-center Le Monde in its editorial (10/28): "The 
parenthesis of the Khatami era is over. The hate speech by 
Iran's Ahmadinejad took place with the nuclear crisis as 
background. The brutality of the Iranian turnaround is more 
than just a bad sign. It is a warning. No one believes any 
longer the make believe story that Iran is just trying to 
develop its commercial nuclear capabilities. The international 
community has every right to be very concerned about the 
possible use that Iran might make of a nuclear bomb." 
 
"Iranian Threats" 
Dominique Quinio in Catholic La Croix (10/28): "Words can be 
deadly. The hatred expressed by the Iranian President is 
insufferable for the Israelis. It leads them to see in each of 
their Muslim neighbors a potential threat. Especially if that 
neighbor has the atomic bomb! It makes the position of the 
peace proponents in Israel even more delicate. Ahmadinejad's 
remarks are irresponsible because they feed the hatred of all 
extremists in the Middle East who believe they are invested 
with a mission. This verbal violence also makes Mahmoud 
Abbas's job even more difficult. And last but not least his 
stance is not good news for the Iranians themselves who are 
the first victims of such radicalization. International 
diplomacy has raised its voice against the Iranian President's 
remarks: they are a direct threat to Israel and its American 
protector; but beyond that they are a threat to the region and 
a provocation for the UN." 
"When Iran's President Harms Iran" 
Pascal Boniface in right-of-center Le Figaro (10/28): "With 
his remarks, Ahmadinejad has gone beyond what is acceptable. 
He has done a disservice to the Palestinian cause which he 
claims to be defending, compromised his own country's 
interests and thrown more oil on the raging fires of a 
strategic region. His remarks of hatred and radicalism go 
against the spirit of the UN Charter. In taking this line he 
is doing a favor to Israel's hawks. Ahmadinejad is probably 
looking to strengthen his position within his own country and 
hopes to please the Muslim masses of the Middle East who are 
exasperated with America's policies, the war in Iraq and the 
non-resolution of the Palestinian issue. But while his 
domestic position may be strengthened, he will be weakened on 
the international scene. His remarks are the worst possible 
confirmation of the international community's fears regarding 
Iran's nuclear intentions: the expression `wiping off the map' 
is very close to `a nuclear attack.' It is clear that 
Ahmadinejad and his views fit into the perspective of a shock 
between civilizations and break away from his predecessor's 
rhetoric of dialogue." 
 
Oil For Food 
 
"France's Dangerous Liaisons With Saddam's Iraq" 
Isabelle Laserre in right-of-center Le Figaro (10/28): "If 
France retained such a choice position in Iraq, it was because 
it kept alive the relationship it had developed before the 
Gulf war, at a time when French companies were doing good 
business with Baghdad. It was also because at the time 
American and British companies were not welcome in Iraq and 
the Iraqis did not trust the Russians. It was also because 
France, which has a prominent role at the UNSC, had campaigned 
actively in favor of the `Oil for Food' program for 
humanitarian reasons." 
 
Bush Presidency - Plame and Miers 
 
"Bush's Candidate Ousted" 
Pascal Riche in left-of-center Liberation (10/28): "For 
President Bush, this new incident is a new sign of weakness. 
Stuck in the sands of Iraq, mired in budgetary difficulties, 
the White House is also threatened with an explosive scandal 
in the Plame affair. With Miers's withdrawal, President Bush 
may be tempted to choose a more consensual candidate who would 
have the support of part of the Democrats. But he would be 
triggering the ire of the extreme right whose support at this 
particular time is crucial. He would also be setting off a 
`civil war' within his own party. The prospect of a filibuster 
is profiled on the horizon." 
 
"Bush Could Loose His Head Honcho" 
Rebecca Martin in right-of-center France Soir (10/28): "The 
Karl Rove affair is weakening a President who is already 
submerged by problems. A political earthquake could hit the 
White House today as everyone awaits the results of the 
investigation on the Plame affair. Whether or not official 
indictments are made, such a scandal must necessarily lead the 
President to clean house. The list of possible indictments for 
lying, abuse of power, and obstruction of justice is going to 
stick the American President into even deeper trouble, after 
yesterday's other bad news about the Miers's withdrawal." 
HOFMANN