Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

EUROPE

BRITAIN: "Decline And Fall Of The American Empire"

The conservative Sunday Times had this op-ed article (1/10) by political columnist Robert Harris: "The big truth about the farce unfolding on Capitol Hill is that there is no longer a sense of external threat sufficient to make Republican senators think twice before attempting to cripple a Democratic commander-in-chief. America's overwhelming supremacy abroad is allowing it to indulge itself at home in a way it never would have dared when it was battling to contain its ideological enemy. This is a classic symbol of imperial decadence--of potentially suicidal complacency--straight out of Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. The seeds of ruin may be starting to sprout right now, beneath the Senate's gleaming pillars.... To perform the role of superpower demands precisely the qualities now most under threat in America: a strong executive and a united people. It also demands something else--a willingness to take casualties--and the fact that America, quite understandably, is no longer prepared to pay this price, is another reason why one has to question America's long-term global role."

"World Sees America's Humiliation"

Under the above headline, the conservative Times noted (1/8): "For the first time in 131 years the trial of a sitting president opened amid rare Washington pageantry. The atmosphere was one of solemnity but also of disbelief.... The sense of disbelief that this point had been reached was almost tangible. It had seemed impossible, months ago, that this sorry saga would ever end in trial, but the scandal has had as many comebacks as Mr. Clinton himself."

"America Braced For Weeks Of Go-Slow"

The liberal Guardian stated (1/8): "Mr. Clinton himself seems increasingly willing to go the distance. There are signs he would now prefer to face a trial that may deliver lasting political damage to the Republican Party, especially if he is acquitted, than settle on a compromise in which he has to accept a censure resolution.... The United States is in for the long haul."

FRANCE: "A Dangerous Purity"

Franz-Olivier Gisbert insisted in right-of-center Le Figaro (1/8): "There is definitely something rotten in the kingdom of democracy. The American obsession with truth and purity is becoming morbid and in need of psychoanalysis. After the pornographic Starr report, the United States is inventing a new genre: the dirty trial, broadcast live, in spite of the opinion of the majority of the American public.... It is normal to ask our leaders to account for their actions. But must we always accept seeing them treated as guilty?"

GERMANY: "Political Crime"

Right-of-center Main-Echo of Aschaffenburg argued (1/11): "Of course, adultery is reprehensible, and the president has been excessively reproached for this all over the world. But the successful attempt of numerous opposition lawmakers to use his private mistakes as a political weapon to paralyze the democratic processes...is a political crime. This crime can be surpassed only if these politicians, who are selfish through and through as far as their personal and partisan ambitions are concerned, succeed in toppling Bill Clinton."

"Tragedy Should Come To An End"

Juergen Koar had this to say in an editorial in centrist Stuttgarter Zeitung (1/11): "The unspeakable spectacle of an extended impeachment trial against President Clinton still cannot be ruled out, but it is becoming more unlikely.

"All senators voted to set up several obstacles intended to prevent a show trial with Monica Lewinsky on the stand. This unanimity is a clear signal: The tragedy in which the House of Representatives made a fool of itself should not repeat itself in the Senate."

"War Of Perceptions--Life Vs. Film"

Washington correspondent Robert von Rimscha said in centrist Der Tagesspiegel of Berlin (1/11): "The Senate must pass judgment not only on Bill Clinton but must primarily reconcile two different perceptions. The first has been characterized by the deliberations in the House of Representatives over the past few months. There was endless debate about whether perjury is such a serious crime that it fits the list of impeachment crimes according to the U.S. Constitution.... From another perspective, however, Americans are discussing (the affair) from a totally different angle: Whether Kate Winslet (from the 'Titanic' movie) would be the best actress to play Monica Lewinsky once the whole story is filmed for a TV movie, and whether or not it would be too extreme if Gerard Depardieu played Linda Tripp. The American people say that the scandal is only an affair, and this affair is a joke. The world says that this strange affair is typical of America, and America is a scandal."

"Plea For A Brief Trial"

D. Remme judged on national radio station Deutschlandfunk of Cologne (1/7): "What we now need is a brief impeachment trial based on previous testimony with a final vote and a sharp censure against the one who caused the scandal: President Clinton. His private life is certainly open to attack, but he has led the country as successfully as almost all of his predecessors. However, if the conservative ideologues gain the upper hand, people here would be well advised to remember the most embarrassing episode of their life and to imagine seeing details of it published in the Internet. Who would then be willing to stand for public office?"

"To The End"

Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger had this to say in right-of-center Frankfurter Allgemeine (1/8): "The reason may be trivial and the partisan cynicism of his opponents obvious, but this impeachment trial will not turn into a triumph of decency, dignity, and loyalty to the Constitution.... Even if the trial ends with Clinton's acquittal, the judgment about America's political leaders at the end of the 20th century will later be devastating."

"An Endless Show Trial"

Norbert Mayer asserted in left-of-center Berliner Zeitung (1/8): "The damage is already enormous. In an unprecedented campaign, the Republicans have misused...constitutional questions for partisan reasons and have discredited the whole political system. They used too much artillery against the president. Petting and white lies, even in the White House, are not high treason."

ITALY: "Issues Being Debated Not Trivial, Moralist, Or About Sex"

Mario Platero wrote from Washington in leading business Il Sole 24-Ore (1/10): "Notwithstanding full employment, budget surpluses, a rocketing stock market, low interest and inflation rates, the United States will now begin one of the most difficult institutional 'calvaries' in its history. And this is something...which might look strange, contradictory or even perverse.... However, if we look at it more closely...the issues being debated in the Senate next week are not trivial or moralist, and, above all, they have nothing to do with the president's private sexual choices. They deal with respect for the Constitution...and with the defense of basic freedoms, which have led the country to the top of economic excellence with no precedent in world history....

"If Clinton remains in the saddle, if he has one of the highest support rates in American history, this is because of the economic (factor).... But if the economy were in trouble, if unemployment rates were at European levels...things would have been much more difficult for Clinton. People would have taken the impeachment much more seriously.... But as things are now, the slogan 'it's the economy, stupid' continues to win over `it's perjury, stupid.'"

"Clinton Between Mars And Venus"

Enzo Bettiza wrote on the front-page of centrist, influential La Stampa (1/10): "The perception the world has today of America is that of a superpower which is so completely monopolar, so completely undisputed that it can allow itself the luxury of having a president who is a warrior outside his home, while a defendant for minor sins and children's lies at home. Never have we seen the like: two-tiers, two-faces..the American head of state: one face is rigid and martial, aimed at reiterating his warnings to Saddam from the video screen, the other face is a penitent one which, from the same video screen, asks the American people to forgive him for his meetings with Monica.... The impeachment (sic)...will probably be avoided.... But it is likely that the senators...will approve an extension of the trial.... In this case the image of America will be very damaged.... This is why 6 Americans out of 10...would like the nightmare to end as soon as possible."

"Washington Cries, Wall Street Laughs"

Vittorio Zucconi wrote on the front-page of left leaning, influential La Repubblica (1/11): "Never have we seen so much moral misery in Washington. Never have we seen so much wealth throughout the country. The government is paralyzed. The economy gallops. Clinton is in chains before Congress and employment goes up.... As politicians ignore the people, who have been inviting them to put an end to this 'Bill & Monica' soap opera for a year now, so people are learning to ignore politicians.... Thanks to this scandal...a whole country has been forced to mature and to realize that it is...the primary and only one responsible for its fortunes."

"Road Of No Return"

Ennio Caretto noted from Washington in centrist, top-circulation Corriere della Sera (1/8): "One of the darkest chapters of American history has begun.... Bill and Hillary, the House, the Senate, and America have taken the road of no-return."

"Clinton On Trial, But America Supports Him"

Under the above headline, centrist Il Messaggero front-paged this commentary by Arturo Guatelli (1/8): "Bill Clinton, apart from his questionable sexual behavior, is mainly the victim of political doggedness, a sort of vengeful fury on the part of the Republicans who, in order to weaken him, do not hesitate to jeopardize America's international leadership. And they have found a formidable ally in their scoffing crusade: the entertainment world, i.e. television, newspapers, pollsters.... But the more the Republicans speed up their accusations, the more they lose popular support. So far, the only concrete consequence of impeachment has been that support for the Democrats has grown, as the mid-term elections have abundantly shown."

RUSSIA: "Is Clinton On The Way Out?

Roman Parfyonov wrote from Washington in centrist weekly Novaya Gazeta (1/11): "Clinton is no longer destined to enter history through the main entrance. Even if the Senate hearings end in a behind-the-scenes agreement that will allow Clinton to avoid further shame, including the calling of witnesses (Monica among them), he still will remain in history as a president who was censured by Congress."

"Clinton Will Have A Fair Trial"

Dmitry Gornostayev predicted in centrist Nezavisimaya Gazeta (1/11): "Everything will proceed thus if the senators, as always, keep to the principle of party discipline and vote, not according to their conscience, but proceeding from political expedience. On the eve of the hearings there were calls in both camps to renounce a partisan approach to this historic case. And it appeared that nobody objected to this.... But it is hard to believe that the Republican Party, after having worked so hard to make the impeachment a reality and on getting what it wanted in the House of Representatives, will allow its members in the Senate to support the president. The same, but conversely, can be said about the Democratic Party, which had achieved with great difficulty such a result at the recent elections that does not allow a completion of the procedure of impeachment and Bill Clinton's expulsion from the White House. Besides, each of the two parties has its own perception of what is just in this particular case."

BELGIUM: "A Study In Contrasts"

Philippe Paquet remarked in conservative Catholic La Libre Belgique (1/9): "On the one hand, Bill Clinton when visiting the Detroit automobile exhibit is once again aware that the United States entered one of the longest phases of economic expansion in peace time in its history. On the other hand, 100 senators continue their negotiations on the procedures of a process against the president which public opinion is tired of."

"A Paralyzing Trial"

U.S. correspondent Nathalie Mattheiem remarked in independent Le Soir (1/8): "The extraordinary opening ceremony of the trial which might result in the impeachment of the American president could make the most absent-minded observers believe that the moment is historic. However, protocol cannot conceal another truth: the impeachment trial--which undoubtedly has its own dynamics--is paralyzing a country which is no longer used to handle unpredictable political events without scenarios prepared in advance."

CROATIA: "Clinton--A Comeback Kid?"

Government-controlled Vjesnik carried a commentary by Jasna Zanic Nardini (1/8): "Republicans are pursuing the policy of causing the largest possible damage to their opponent, which in the end will probably hurt them as well.... Because of the process against Bill Clinton, legislation concerning issues like education, health and social care will be blocked for the time being, since the Republican lust for revenge against the Democratic president is stronger than everything else. Ironically, it seems that the impeachment proceedings are doing less harm to the president than to his Republican persecutors.... Support for the Republicans has dropped from 43 to 31 percent, and it looks like that this party is starting to pay the toll for its malignity towards Bill Clinton, a president, who in the eyes of Americans, remains the comeback kid."

DENMARK: "Violation Of Privacy"

Center-left Politiken commented (1/10): "The only real crime in this historic case is the massive violation of privacy. The prosecution's violation of a number of legal norms and guidelines is the only thing that deserves legal action. The majority of the American people have expressed that they want the impeachment case dropped. Nonetheless, the Republicans are continuing to drive this farce still further. We can only hope that the electorate and history will punish them."

"Beneath The Pomp And Ceremony, A Witch Hunt"

According to center-right Berlingske Tidende (1/8): "The impeachment proceedings started yesterday with all the pomp and ceremony that usually accompanies historic events on Capitol Hill. But this could not hide the fact that the case lacks any factual basis. This is still a witch hunt against the president organized by his political opponents. The impeachment should never have happened and therefore, the first day of its proceedings represents a black day in the history of America. The United States has already paid a high price for the Republicans' misuse of power. However, it is never too late to learn from past mistakes. Therefore the case should be dropped at the first opportunity"

HUNGARY: "Pornalism"

Under the above title, influential Magyar Hirlap ran this op-ed piece (1/8) by foreign affairs writer Gyorgy Fodor: "The final outcome of the whole issue is now entirely rests with the Senate. What is at stake is whether the dignity of a man, actually of the president of the United States, is going to be dragged through the mud in public. Clinton is guilty, a liar and unfaithful in his private life, but, still, a very good president of his country and most importantly he is not a criminal. If the Senate starts checking some sperm spots or hearing witnesses, than a new generation of politicians appeared on the scene: the pornoticians."

THE NETHERLANDS: "Hope For Compromise"

Influential, liberal De Volkskrant opined (1/11): "The Lewinsky affair has caused enough damage.... There is now a surrealistic situation in the United States where the president is travelling through the country delivering optimistic speeches while Washington is discussing removing him from office. Continuing on this path would further damage those involved and it would damage the American democracy. The best thing would have been if the Senate had opted for censure rather than the impeachment trial.... However...the fundamentalists among the Republicans are determined to continue their crusade until the bitter end. The relatively moderate tone in the Senate and its willingness to find a compromise, offer some kind of hope that common sense will prevail in the end."

NORWAY: "A Salem Impeachment"

Independent tabloid Dagbladet commented (1/7): "The next few days will show whether Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist will become the John Hale, the 1692 inquisitor in Salem, of our time. The people who hate Bill Clinton with fanatic intensity have, against the will of the people, pushed sexual McCarthyism forth with a strength nobody anticipated at the beginning of the Whitewater investigations six years ago. But the Whitewater accusations disappeared, along with the allegations of abuse of FBI records and the rumors concerning Vince Fosters' suicide, when Linda Tripp took her tapes of Monica Lewinsky to Kenneth Starr. 'No, this is not about the sex. This is about lying under oath,' said the Ayatollahs in cowboy hats. Still, their newly elected leader Bob Livingston, who did not lie under oath about extramarital sex, couldn't remain their leader. So this is about sex after all! This is all about whether America should be governed by liberal 60's attitudes or Puritanism and the Bible."

SLOVENIA: "An Extraordinary And Important Event"

Left-of-center Delo front-paged this editorial (1/8): "The [Senate] trial will be an extraordinary and important event. The consequences and the message it carries reach beyond U.S. politics. Politicians, who have been selected by the people, in order to maintain the rule of law 'cannot be above the rule of law,' even when...entirely personal acts are the case."

SPAIN: "Low U. S. Unemployment Buoys Clinton"

Independent El Mundo noted (1/10): "While Republicans and Democrats were hammering out the framework for his impeachment trial in the Senate, Bill Clinton was announcing with certain fanfare at the Detroit Economic Club that the American unemployment rate of 4.5 percent is the lowest it has been since 1969. This is undoubtedly an enviable figure and a success for the president in the midst of his impeachment woes. All the indicators reflect the continuing expansion of the American economy--a prolonged boom that, according to all the pundits, is helping to maintain a level of public support for Clinton and allow him to continue in office."

"Let's Close This Case Rapidly"

An editorial in liberal El Pais stressed (1/8): "Neither the United States nor the rest of the world can permit a long trial in the Senate.... The reasonable thing, and that which is proposed by moderate Republicans, sensible Democrats and various ex-presidents, is that the case be closed rapidly and without [Clinton's] removal from office, perhaps with a moral or political condemnation. Then Clinton and only Clinton will have to deal with the political consequences."

SWEDEN: "Costly To President Clinton"

Conservative Svenska Dagbladet maintained (1/9): "It seems that one can now entertain hopes that the impeachment process will not become a drawn-out issue which would paralyze the U.S. political system. However, should the Senate, contrary to all expectation, fail to conclude the matter quickly, President Clinton ought to--for once--give up. It would be more dignified for a president to, in the interest of his country, step aside, rather than to drag out legal proceedings in his own interest."

EAST ASIA

CHINA: "New Round Of Torment Begins Now"

Official Beijing Youth Daily (Beijing Qingnianbao) told its readers (1/10): "The White House reacted prudently and optimistically to the agreement reached by the Senate on January 9. Media predictions are mostly favorable for the president. Still questionable however, is whether or not President Clinton's dignity can survive this new round of torment."

"What A Hard Life For President Clinton!"

Xu Bingchuan said in the official Beijing Youth Daily (Beijing Qingnianbao, 1/8): "The story alleging a love child fathered by the president brought about another disaster to the first family. The news, released by American and British tabloids, might affect the president's public image. If Bill Clinton loses public support, his major weapon, the situation will turn unfavorably."

HONG KONG: "Trial And Tribulations Of The Presidential Saga"

The independent Hong Kong Standard's editorial emphasized (1/8): "The leader of the world's most powerful country, rightly or wrongly, being dragged before the country's two legislative assemblies for all the world to see, is surely not the most pleasant sight.... Fortunately, this epic tussle has not cramped President Clinton's ability or motivation to conduct foreign policy. A United States [that is] hesitant or withdrawn from the world scene would be unfortunate. That is why we hope that this issue is settled, and settled quickly without recriminations."

INDONESIA: "Clinton Impeachment Process: Elite Partisan Politics"

Leading independent Kompas noted (1/9): "The Clinton impeachment process will become a sort of cheap soap opera to be ridiculed. In the coming weeks, we will be sickened and fed up with witnesses' testimonies.... We will never know the psychological and political impact of such sexual testimony on the honored institution of the Senate.... Given the mood of most of the American public [who oppose impeachment], we view the impeachment process as merely an elite kind of partisan politics demonstrating the tyrannical nature of the Republicans who dominate the Congress. This impeachment process shows a trivial Congress that is more interested in the president's sexual life than about Clinton's achievements on behalf of his people. However, the impeachment process has already begun. We hope Republicans will consider this affair a face-saving formula and cancel the impeachment when it comes to a vote."

PHILIPPINES: "Hoping For A Fair Trial"

The independent Manila Times asserted (1/10): "There is much at stake in the Clinton trial, notwithstanding the president's attempt to keep a business-as-usual visage at the White House--the presidency's image or the superpower's response to an international crisis.... Our hopes are that sobriety will prevail amid the clash of views [and] that Clinton will be judged not by Republicans or Democrats, but by a jury of legislators acting with fairness."

MIDDLE EAST

ISRAEL: "March Of Folly"

Washington correspondent Orly Azolay-Katz observed in mass-appeal, pluralist Yediot (1/8): "It was the sight of Republican Congressman Henry Hyde leading the procession yesterday which added to the event the touch of hypocrisy and mendacity is so rightly deserved, the potentially ruinous blend of false pretenses, senseless envy and political hatred.... Impeachment procedures were written into the Constitution for one purpose only: to protect America from the oppressive rule of a dictator. Bill Clinton is no dictator. He is the exact opposite. Never has the office of the president functioned so successfully as during Clinton's days in power. And that's precisely why the American people keep standing by him."

"Political Lynching Disguised As A Trial"

Washington correspondent Nitzan Horowitz commented in independent Haaretz (1/8): "There is solid basis for concern that the Republicans will lift the trial to new heights of absurdity.... This is a travesty of the judicial process. It is a legal fiction meant to cover political lynching.... But the American people saw through the stratagem of their Republican legislators.... For over a year now, the Americans have been rating their president on the merits of his performance and not by Kenneth Starr's morass of sewage.... Even at the president's most difficult moments, the Americans preferred to draw a clear line between his private life and his statesmanship."

WESTERN HEMISPHERE

ARGENTINA: "Dialogue Of The Deaf"

Jorge Elias, daily-of-record La Nacion's Washington-based correspondent, wrote (1/8): "Little by little, amidst the legal entanglement of Clinton's trial... those lukewarm positions, which had sheepishly appeared after the impeachment ruled by the House of Representatives on December 19 and pushed forward by the Republicans, have become as inflexible as before.

"And now, in spite of opinion polls indicating that Clinton should finish his presidency, and that the trial should not lead to further instances, everything seems to indicate that grey hues have turned into black and white again. ... Clinton, as if nothing happened, continues in office, says that the process is unfair, is grateful for opinion polls which indicate a level of popularity of 63 percent...and, according to spokesman Lockhart, he will not postpone the State of the Union message, scheduled for January 19.... It is a dialogue of the deaf, with no points of contact. They only agree on one thing since Clinton admitted his relationship with Lewinsky: he lied under oath and must be punished for it, but punishment for Democrats and moderate Republicans can be nothing more than a motion of censure."

"When Ultra-Rightwing Smells Blood"

Monica Flores Correa, leftist Pagina 12's New York based correspondent, opined (1/8): "The right-wing Republicans's determination (to impeach Clinton) is clear and has already gone far enough to allow them to be quite confident that they will achieve their final goal: take Clinton to the ultimate shame of being forced to leave his presidency for having committed 'high crimes and misdemeanors.' When reading the two key charges in this trial, according to which Clinton allegedly...'obstructed and impeded the administration of justice' in the investigation of the Lewinsky case, Republican Henry Hyde, main prosecutor in this trial, clearly said that Clinton's alleged crimes deserve his removal. Hyde's unusual suggestion, completely unheard of for a prosecutor in an impeachment trial, regarding what the conviction should be, left many people awestruck, but, in the eyes of many, it was but a confirmation of the ultra-conservative legislators's final purpose.... Among the multiple and unpredictable consequences of this trial--and of Clinton's eventual removal--will be grudges and resentment within the political class."

CANADA: "Idiot Of The Century"

The mid-market Ottawa Citizen editorialized (1/8): "The statement by...Senator Arlen Specter...that Bill Clinton's impeachment is 'not just the trial of the century but the most important trail in the history of Anglo-Saxon jurisprudence' proves largely that if there is a contest for most foolish politician of the millennium, Mr. Specter will be a strong contender. It is a classic case of the one-storey intellect that cannot imagine that the world has ever been different than it is now or that it ever will be, and is dazzled by today's minutiae and fleeting trends as it is ignorant of the human story's most important currents.... This may, indeed, prove to be the tawdriest trial in the history of Anglo-Saxon jurisprudence. It just won't be the greatest."

"Why Is Clinton So Popular?"

The mid-market Ottawa Citizen ran this piece by Peter Simpson (1/8): "The more President Bill Clinton is exposed as a philanderer, a liar and a vicious and unscrupulous opponent, the higher he rises in the public's esteem. Those who wonder at this incongruity may find a clue to the puzzle in the very last scene of 'The Truman Show'. ... The scene cooly drove home the movie's premise that our 'fin-de-siecle' television culture has lost its ability to distinguish between entertainment and reality. And it's not just television, says Amerian cultural critic Neal Gabler in his book 'Live, The Movie: How Entertainment Conquered Reality.' People, Mr. Gabler says, have come to perceive news as entertainment.... Following Mr. Gabler's theory, the public sees the whole mess as transitory entertainment, and issues of government are incidental. Mr. Clinton remains wildly popular because of the perception that he's a flawed but basically good man persecuted by malignant opponents."

"Mucking About In Washington"

Halifax's Chronicle Herald opined (1/8): "Many Washington politicans would like to believe they are preserving democracy by launching an open-ended impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton this week. Yet by resorting to this constitutional scorched-earth policy to try to smoke a small-time liar out of the White House, there is no question in our minds that they will be doing far more harm than good. American democracy will suffer serious, lasting damage from this pathetic exercise.... And so we ask just how this spectacle in Washington, which Republican hardliners are forcing upon the nation, is supposed to restore faith in a political process already tainted by too much money and too little civility.... It may already be too late to stop this madness. Politics is quickly turning into the Jerry Springer show and decent folks are tuning out. Again, we ask: how is this good for demoracy?"

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1/12/99

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