Viewing cable 09BERLIN1626, MEDIA REACTION: TERRORISM, IRAN, CHINA, U.S.;BERLIN
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| Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09BERLIN1626 | 2009-12-29 07:07 | 2010-11-28 18:06 | UNCLASSIFIED | Embassy Berlin |
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 BERLIN 001626 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 KGHG US IR CH US SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: TERRORISM, IRAN, CHINA, U.S.;BERLIN ¶1. Lead Stories Summary ¶2. (U.S.) Failed Terrorist Attack ¶3. (Iran) New Protestsn4 ¶4. (China) Reaction to Jailing of Liu Xiabo ¶5. (U.S.) Healthcare Reform ¶1. Lead Stories Summary The majority of dailies opened with reports on the failed terror attack on a Delta Airlines jet, while Sueddeutsche headlined: "Protests Intensify - Riots in Iran" and FAZ led with the headline: "People Killed in Demonstrations in Iran." Editorials focused on the failed terror attack in the U.S., with the unrest in Iran and with the state of the coalition government in Berlin. ZDF-TV's early evening newscast heute and ARD-TV's early evening newscast Tagesschau opened with a report on violent clashes between the Iranian regime and opponents. ¶2. (U.S.) Failed Terrorist Attack All papers carry extensive reports the failed terrorist attack on a Delta Airlines airliners and reported that travelers flying to the United States must expect heightened security measures and tougher restrictions on their flights to the United States. Die Welt headlined: "Terror Attempt Stirring up fear of Terror," while Financial Times headlined: "Fear of Terror is Back." In a front-page editorial, Die Welt (12/28) judged: "The fact that the would-be attacker was able to board a plane with his dangerous material reveals gaps in the control system. With metal detectors alone chemical explosives cannot be discovered." Under the headline: "Flight 253," Frankfurter Allgemeine (12/28) opined: "If someone really had believed that we have transnational terror under control, and that we can give an all-clear signal with respect to security, then those people have now been taught better. Irrespective of whether the attacker acted on his own or on the instructions of al-Qaida, the danger is not over and that is why travelers, not only to the Untied States, must accept new inconveniences which are hopefully useful." "Following the terror attempt in Detroit, the usual security debate will now begin," Frankfurter Rundschau (12/28) noted, and added: "controls will be heightened, and agencies are trying to get us to do everything possible to prevent another attack. This failed terror attempt shows how unpredictable people can be who stop at nothing. For the time being, there is only one lesson we can learn from the events on Flight 253: It is the courageous effort of Jasper Schuringa who prevented even worse events. The unexpected resolve of individuals can be the right answer to the threat that comes out of the blue." In the view of Stuttgarter Zeitung (12/28), "Abdulmutallab was miles BERLIN 00001626 002 OF 005 away from the organizational level of the 9/11 attackers. But the Nigerian national succeeded in one thing: he totally unnerved the western world, and the terror fighting machinery of the United States in particular. Even though the U.S. government knew about the danger of the young man, he was able to fly around the world without difficulty. Almost without any problems, he was able to smuggle dangerous substances aboard an aircraft. But what if he really had the order from al-Qaida in Yemen to blow up the plane? How does this view then fit the U.S. focus on Afghanistan? Is Yemen, too, a front in the anti-terror war? Many question, but only a few answers." Regional daily Nrnberger Nachrichten (12/28) and regional daily Trierischer Volksfreund (12/28) judged: "How was it possible for a young man to get aboard with a one-way ticket and an Arabic sounding name, whose contacts with Islamic extremists were known and whose father even warned the U.S. embassy? The lists of passengers travelling to the United States are transferred in advance to the U.S. Homeland Security Department with all its data bases. But again we see a big hole in the net that is supposed to capture potential terrorists. Of course, one hundred percent security will never exist, but these gaps are dramatic and should be an alarm call which politicians should not ignore." Mannheimer Morgen (12/28) warned against hysteria and judged: "Each day terror investigators receive hundreds of tips and indications. How is it then possible to follow a vague suspicion? We should not exaggerate security measures for flights. The fact that in the United States no one is allowed to go to the bathroom one hour before landing is ridiculous. The same is true for the ban on liquids in Europe. Here there is a clear disproportion between cost and benefit." MQrkische Allgemeine of Potsdam (12/28) opined: "If airlines, as a reaction to the failed attempt, force their passengers to remain seated one hour before landing, then this is no more than a gesture of helplessness. The second much more important aspect may be dissatisfying at the moment, but there is no way around it: Muslims must preach again and again in their own ranks that terror is not the culmination of piety but a crime. Any incident like this should stress to the Muslim world how urgent this message is." Regional daily Westdeutsche Zeitung of Dsseldorf (12/28) observed: "Hectic measure such as barring passengers from getting up should not prevail in the long run. In the future, there will be no way around finding the right balance between possible improvements of our security standards compared to the trouble caused by them."SchwarzwQlder Bote (12/28) noted: "Everything we have learned about this attack does not strengthen our confidence in international BERLIN 00001626 003 OF 005 security measures. It is certainly right that there cannot be absolute security from mean terrorist attacks but this does not the least excuse the gaps in anti-terror measures. ¶3. (Iran) New Protests All papers carry extensive coverage of the new clashes between the regime and opposition forces in Iran. Sueddeutsche headlined: "Protests Intensify - Riots in Iran" and FAZ led with the headline: "People Killed in Demonstrations in Iran." Frankfurter Rundschau reported on its front page: "The protests are directed against Iranian President Ahmadinejad." The paper also reported that "according to reports from Tehran, police officers partly disobeyed orders to use their guns against the protesters. The Internet page "Jaras," which is critical of the government, reported that 'some [police officers] tried to fire their guns in the air when their superiors put pressure on them.'" Sueddeutsche Zeitung (12/28) said in an editorial under the headline: "There is Growing Unrest among the People" that "if the information fragments from Tehran on the demonstrations during the Ashura holidays allow one conclusion, then this one: the rank and file of the protests are now overtaking their leaders. Posters of religious leader Ali Khamenei and the chorus of demonstrators who want to see the dictator dead do not correspond with the slogans of the two opposition leaders Moussawi and Charrubi. They are now faced with a dilemma: If they stick to their view that they, in principle, recognize the institutions of the Islamic republic and want to use the courts to make their political opposition heard, then it could be that their followers will leave them because many want something else: regime change." Regional daily Suedwest Presse of Ulm (12/28) editorialized: "The regime is using all its might to extinguish the massive protests. The few Internet reports in any case show the brutality of the leading clique around President Ahmadinejad. In the meantime, the regime has its back to the wall. The protests are no longer confined to Tehran but are spreading to other cities.... The government can no longer afford the good deeds with which it bought the loyalty of Iranians. All this is really worrying for the international community of nations." Ostsee Zeitung of Rostock (12/28) argued: "Despite jammed cellular phone networks and despite blocked access to the Internet, the unrest in Iran hardly seems to be stoppable. The resistance is still limited to a well-educated cosmopolitan, young, urban middle class. Large sectors of the population, however, seem to keep quiet or seem to BERLIN 00001626 004 OF 005 support the regime. But the cyber revolt in Tehran has demonstrated that the mullahs no longer enjoy a monolithic power." Regional daily Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten (12/28) opined: "Since the allegedly manipulated re-election of President Ahmadinejad, a state of emergency has dominated in Iran. But this is not only the struggle of a limited political protest movement against the president and the ayatollahs behind him. The country is now facing an endurance test. At issue is whether the country wants to become a fundamental religious state or an Islamic republic. The pictures from Iran are shocking. It is the violence on both sides that makes us fear the worst." ¶4. (China) Reaction to Jailing of Liu Xiabo Frankfurter Allgemeine (12/28) editorialized under the headline: "Co- Responsibility," that foreign countries must also be blamed that a man like Liu Xiabo is jailed with such an absurdly high prison term. The foreign countries have treated China for economic considerations with political kid gloves for years. We can't blame China under these circumstances because we think that it is unassailable? A positive reaction to any criticism of the verdict cannot be expected." Sueddeutsche Zeitung (12/28) said in an editorial: "A subtle but clearly visible trend is getting hold in China. Civil disobedience among the rank and file is spreading. It is an irony that this tend has become visible in the tough verdict against Liu Xiabo. In front of the court in which China's leadership organized the show trial, we could not only see international reporters and diplomats, but Chinese supporters of Liu shouted slogans and unrolled posters thus deliberately risking their arrest. Only a few courageous people went to the court, but they showed that intimidation no longer works as successfully as in the past. This new trend is not only confined to the traditional political protest. Courageous lawyers of the Weiquan civil rights movement are defending victims of the arbitrariness of state agencies and they defend each other, too. And the number of peaceful and violent civil protests is on the rise. But the Chinese Communist Party fails miserably when it comes to channeling communication with its critics into a constructive direction. The verdict against Liu Xiabo is one more example. It will only partially obtain the desired effect but not intimidate the people. At the same time, new embitterment, new disobedience is growing. With each show trial, the party is now doing of what it is accusing Liu: it undermines the state's authority." BERLIN 00001626 005 OF 005 ¶5. (U.S.) Healthcare Reform Under the headline: "Reform Blues," Sueddeutsche Zeitung (12/28) had this to say: "There is no doubt that the healthcare reform bill that has now been adopted in the Senate is a great work...and trailblazing. But enthusiasm about the success is limited. One reason is that the legislative process is so tiresome; but there is an even more important reason: disappointment and doubts are spreading. The advocates of the reform have been brought down to earth again because they were able to implement only a few of their demands. Thus far, the Democrats have lost the fight for public opinion. They will have to do quite a lot in the election campaign in 2010 to avoid being punished for a reasonable reform." Die Welt (12/28) argued: "The Democrats will now have difficulty explaining to their irritated voters why it is historic progress that 31 million compatriots who have no coverage today will get health insurance, and that health insurance companies can no longer reject sick Americans or demand astronomically high premiums. This reform is supposed to carry itself and not burden the budget. But the opponents to the bill do not believe a word, arguing that the nation will go bankrupt. This is a highly imperfect, weakened bill and, at the same time, a giant step forward into an American future in which job loss no longer means the end of insurance protection for a former employee and their whole family." DELAWIE
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