Cablegate: Media Reaction Report - Hurricane Katrina

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 005931

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR INR/R/MR; IIP/RW; IIP/RNY; BBG/VOA; IIP/WEU; AF/PA;
EUR/WE /P/SP; D/C (MCCOO); EUR/PA; INR/P; INR/EUC; PM; OSC ISA
FOR ILN; NEA; WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC/WEUROPE; DOC FOR ITA/EUR/FR
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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR FR
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION REPORT - HURRICANE KATRINA
IRAQ
PARIS - THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 01, 2005

(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT:

1. HURRICANE KATRINA
2. IRAQ

B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE:

TWO HUMAN TRAGEDIES, CAUSED BY TWO DEVASTATING FORCES, NATURE
AND RUMOR, SHARE TOP BILLING IN TODAY'S HEADLINES: HURRICANE
KATRINA AND YESTERDAY'S DEADLY STAMPEDE DURING A PILGRIMAGE IN
BAGHDAD. CATHOLIC LA CROIX CARRIES A DOUBLE FRONT-PAGE
HEADLINE: "DEADLY PANIC ON A BAGHDAD BRIDGE" AND "KATRINA
DEVASTATES THE AMERICAN SOUTH EAST." THE EDITORIAL BY
DOMINIQUE QUINIO, TITLED "TRAGEDIES" POINTS TO THE "STRANGE
GEOGRAPHICAL TELESCOPING OF EVENTS WHICH HAS BROUGHT TOGETHER
IRAQ AND THE U.S." COMMENTARIES EMPHASIZE AMERICA'S INABILITY
TO PREDICT AND PROTECT, "IN SPITE OF ITS HIGH TECHNOLOGY." "A
COLOSSUS WITH FEET OF CLAY" SAYS LA CROIX; "THE GREATEST
NATION IN THE WORLD KNOCKED OUT BY NATURE" WRITES LIBERATION.
LE FIGARO TITLES ITS EDITORIAL "AMERICA TRAPPED." (SEE PART C)

THE SECOND MAJOR FRONT-PAGE STORY, THE DEADLY STAMPEDE IN
BAGHDAD WHICH CAUSED THE DEATH OF SOME ONE THOUSAND IRAQIS
ACCORDING TO LE FIGARO, IS ANALYZED IN THE CONTEXT OF IRAQ'S
SECURITY SITUATION. FOR GEORGE MALBRUNO, RUMOR, WHICH HAS
ALWAYS PLAYED A ROLE IN SADDAM'S DAYS, WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN THE
TRAGEDY. (SEE PART C)

LIBERATION INTERVIEWS BAKHTIAR AMINE, A FORMER MEMBER OF
IRAQ'S ALLAOUI GOVERNMENT: "SINCE SADDAMISTS AND TERRORIST
WERE KEPT FROM ENTERING THE PILGRIMS' ZONE BY THE SECURITY
POLICE, THEY USED THE RUMOR OF A SUICIDE BOMB TO CAUSE HARM.
THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR TERRORIST ATTACKS IN IRAQ, CALLED BY
SOME FOREIGN MEDIA RESISTANT FIGHTERS, ARE NOTHING MORE THAN
ENEMIES OF ALL IRAQIS, WHATEVER THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS."
FRANCE SOIR INTERVIEWS DOMINIQUE THOMAS, A MIDDLE EAST EXPERT:
"THE RECENT NEGOTIATIONS ON THE CONSTITUTION HAVE PROVEN THAT
TODAY'S IRAQ COULD BE BUILT WITHOUT THE SUNNIS. THAT WOULD BE
VERY DANGEROUS. THE SUNNIS COULD EASILY AND PERMANENTLY PLUNGE
INTO AN ARMED CONFLICT. THE AMERICANS INTERVENED IN IRAQ
WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY. THEY ARE
NOW CAUGHT IN A BIND. TODAY THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE
FUTURE OF IRAQ. THEY CANNOT LEAVE."
(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES:

HURRICANE KATRINA

"AMERICA TRAPPED"
PIERRE ROUSSELIN IN RIGHT-OF-CENTER LE FIGARO (09/1): "THE
DAMAGE LEFT BY HURRICANE KATRINA IS UNPRECEDENTED. SURPRISE
AND CONSTERNATION HAVE TAKEN OVER. FIRST AND FOREMOST KATRINA
IS A HUMAN TRAGEDY, WHICH ILLUSTRATES ONCE AGAIN OUR INABILITY
TO FIGHT AGAINST NATURE'S UNLEASHED RAVAGES. USED TO
HURRICANES, THE MOST POWERFUL NATION IN THE WORLD IS SUDDENLY
AS POWERLESS AS WAS SOUTHEAST ASIA IN THE FACE OF THE TSUNAMI.
WHILE THE TSUNAMI WAS EXCEPTIONAL, IT MAY BE THAT IN THIS
INSTANCE THE ROUTINE OF THE HURRICANE SEASON LED OFFICIALS TO
UNDERESTIMATE KATRINA'S STRENGTH. THE AREA HIT BY THE
HURRICANE IS A NERVE CENTER FOR AMERICA. THE TRAGEDY HAS HIT
AT THE WORST POSSIBLE MOMENT, WHEN THE BARREL OF OIL HAS
ALREADY HIT THE 70-DOLLAR MARK. THE U.S. COULD BE FACING A GAS
SHORTAGE. THE AUTHORITIES, WHO WANT TO BE REASSURING, QUICKLY
ANNOUNCED AN EMERGENCY PLAN AND THE AVAILABILITY OF STRATEGIC
OIL RESERVES, IN THE HOPES OF MAKING A PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT
AND KEEPING MARKETS FROM OVERREACTING. THE PRESENT CATASTROPHE
COULD HAVE LONG-LASTING CONSEQUENCES ON THE AMERICAN ECONOMY.
WHAT IS MOST SURPRISING IS THAT IN A COUNTRY AS MODERN AS THE
U.S., THE MAGNITUDE OF THE DEVASTATION IS STILL LARGELY
UNKNOWN TWO DAYS AFTER THE TRAGEDY."

"TRAGEDIES"
DOMINIQUE QUINION IN CATHOLIC LA CROIX (09/01): "IN SPITE OF
ITS HIGHLY EFFECTIVE ORGANIZATION, ITS TECHNOLOGICAL AND
FINANCIAL MEANS, IN SPITE OF ITS POWER, THE COLOSSUS REVEALED
IT HAS FEET OF CLAY WHEN IT COMES TO FIGHTING AGAINST NATURE."

"THE LAWS OF THE SKIES AND OF THE JUNGLE"
PATRICK SABATIER IN LEFT-OF-CENTER LIBERATION (09/01): "THIS
MAJOR CRISIS . HAS LED PRESIDENT BUSH TO SHORTEN HIS SUMMER
VACATION AND TO RETURN TO WASHINGTON. NEW ORLEANS WILL REMAIN
A GHOST TOWN FOR MONTHS. WHAT IS MOST STRIKING AND MOST
REVEALING IS THE BRUTAL COLLAPSE OF A HIGHLY SOPHISTICATED AND
DEVELOPED SOCIETY. THE MOST POWERFUL NATION IN THE WORLD
KNOCKED OUT BY A BLOW THAT CAME FROM THE SKIES AND THE OCEAN.
THE AUTHORITIES, BOTH LOCAL AND FEDERAL, AT A LOSS, WADE
THROUGH THE RISING WATERS. AND VIOLENCE, WHICH IS NEVER VERY
FAR IN A REGION WHERE POVERTY IS OFTEN ENDEMIC, IS TAKING
OVER, PUNCTUATED BY LOOTING. AFTER THE LAWS OF THE SKIES, THE
LAWS OF THE JUNGLE ARE TAKING OVER."

IRAQ

"THE DEVASTATING FORCE OF RUMOR"
GEORGE MALBRUNO IN RIGHT-OF-CENTER LE FIGARO (09/01): "AT THE
ROOT OF YESTERDAY'S TRAGEDY, RUMOR. RUMOR IS AN IMPORTANT
COMPONENT OF AN IRAQI SOCIETY EXTENUATED BY VIOLENCE AFTER
HAVING BEEN DOMINATED BY THE CONSTRAINTS OF A DICTATORSHIP.
UNDER SADDAM RUMOR WAS A STRATEGIC WEAPON USED FOR
DISSIMULATION. TODAY, IN A COUNTRY SHAKEN BY THE SETTLING OF
SCORES AND REPEATED TERRORIST ATTACKS, UNVERIFIED INFORMATION,
PLOTTING AND A DOSE OF IRRATIONALITY HAVE HELPED TO WIDEN THE
GAP THAT SEPARATES THE SUNNI AND SHIITE COMMUNITIES. THE SUNNI
INSURGENTS TELL WHOEVER WILL LISTEN THAT THE SHIITES ARE ALL
IN CAHOOTS WITH IRAN'S SHIITE COMMUNITY. AND THE SHIITES
ACCUSE ALL SUNNIS OF HAVING BAATHIST CONNECTIONS."

"TRAGEDIES"
DOMINIQUE QUINIO IN CATHOLIC LA CROIX (09/01): "ALL OF IRAQ'S
ILLS CAME TOGETHER DURING A PARTICULARLY MURDEROUS DAY. RUMOR
CAUSED A MOVEMENT OF PANIC THAT LEFT OVER 800 DEAD. A STRANGE
GEOGRAPHICAL TELESCOPING OF EVENTS BROUGHT TOGETHER POOR
EXTENUATED IRAQ AND THE U.S." STAPLETON

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