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CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN SECRET SECRET//NOFORN UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

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### Viewing cable 09BERLIN1626, MEDIA REACTION: TERRORISM, IRAN, CHINA, U.S.;BERLIN

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Reference ID | Date | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | ---
09BERLIN1626 | 2009-12-29 07:07 | UNCLASSIFIED | Embassy Berlin

`

    VZCZCXRO6873
    RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHLZ
    DE RUEHRL #1626/01 3630713
    ZNR UUUUU ZZH
    R 290713Z DEC 09
    FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6139
    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 1857
    RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0579
    RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1095
    RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 2600
    RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 1622
    RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 0785
    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 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

`