Cablegate: Media Reaction Report - Un Summit Iraq Afghanistan

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 006277

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
AND PASS USTR/PA; USINCEUR FOR PAO; NATO/PA; MOSCOW/PA;
ROME/PA; USVIENNA FOR USDEL OSCE.

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR FR
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION REPORT - UN Summit Iraq Afghanistan
PARIS - Thursday, September 15, 2005

(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT:

1. UN Summit
2. Iraq
3. Afghanistan

B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE:

A wide variety of domestic stories dominate today's front
pages, but the UN Summit is prominently covered, with a
majority of reports emphasizing that the "reform plan remains
limited" (Le Monde) that "the Summit was saved at the last
minute from a debacle" (Les Echos) and that President Bush,
"under pressure from Katrina, could modify his policy."
(Liberation) France Soir is very critical of the final
agreement reached, considering it more a "show of goodwill
than a plan of concrete measures." Most reports underscore PM
De Villepin's "triumphant" return to the UN and recall his
famous speech against a military intervention in Iraq. Le
Figaro notes President Bush's new stance on terrorism and
development. This afternoon's Le Monde, already available
electronically, comments: "In a spectacular reversal of roles,
President Bush gave `the most UN-like speech of the day' as
described by a UN officer." (See Part C)

The latest attacks in Iraq elicit grim commentary as to the
security situation there. "Chaos," "civil war" and
"decomposition" are some of the qualifiers used in today's
reporting. (See Part C) In popular Le Parisien Antoine Basbous
of the Observatory of Arab Countries says in an interview:
"Zarqawi is once again targeting the Shiites, whom he
considers heretics and allies of the Americans. For him, they
need to be either eliminated or converted to his cause.
Inevitably, this war is going to lead to Iraq's decomposition.
Without a massive U.S. presence, which the Americans cannot
guarantee, Iraq is on the way to decomposition."

Afghanistan and the need for the U.S. to disengage in favor of
a greater European involvement are analyzed in La Croix. (See
Part C) A separate report in Le Monde points to the "failed
battle against drugs and corruption in Afghanistan."

(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES:

UN Summit

"Bush: Development to Counter Terrorism"
Philippe Gelie in right-of-center Le Figaro (09/15): "Bush is
still holding to the same objective: to rid the world of
terrorism. But he has considerably widened his perception of
the `war' triggered by 9/11. Yesterday at the UN the American
President presented a more global view. While his appeal to
the free world to unite against terror is not new,
acknowledging that radical ideologies `feed on anger and
despair' is. The idea that developed nations have `an
obligation to help others' has taken greater importance in his
approach. The U.S. President's perception of the world is now
that poverty feeds terrorism, and that democracy protects
peace and human rights."

"A Tribute to the UN"
Dominique Quinio in Catholic La Croix (09/15): "The UN, like
the EU is part of the landscape, and no longer triggers any
dreams. One tends to forget the feelings of hope it elicited
when it was created. We lament its cumbersome system. and some
aberrations, such as the nomination of a Libyan to head the
Human Rights Commission. It is also regrettable that national
interests do not disappear as if by magic when the superior
interest of the world is at stake. Still, the UN has the merit
of existing. The Summit will probably not give it the new
impetus one hoped. But certain objectives will be reaffirmed.
Let's look at the silver lining: what if the UN did not
exist.?"

"The End of a Cycle"
Jean-Michel Thenard in left-of-center Liberation (09/15):
"Coincidentally, just as PM De Villepin returned to the UN
where he had tried to teach a lesson to America, President
Bush was taking on responsibility for Katrina. Recognizing a
mistake is not something the President does easily. but
Katrina twisted his arm. and could lead the President to
revise his domestic policy."

Iraq

"Iraq on the Brink of Civil War"
Thomas de Rochechouart in right-of-center France Soir (09/15):
"This latest attack is the last in a long series against the
Shiites by groups close to Zarqawi, who wants to plunge the
country in civil war. The political situation in Iraq has led
many Sunni leaders to adopt a strategy of chaos. While the
Shiites have resisted the Sunnis' attempts to provoke them,
the attack on Tall Afar could be interpreted as an anti-Sunni
attack. This is how Zarqawi is presenting the situation in
order to incite more and more anger among the Sunnis. And so
Iraq, caught in the cycle of attacks and reprisals, is on the
brink of a civil war."

"Forced Cohabitation"
Jean Levallois in regional La Presse de la Manche (09/15):
"Despite the cruelty of such an acknowledgement, one is
tempted to say that there was less death through violence in
the days of Saddam. The collateral effects of the war in Iraq
are obviously great. Here is a country that was suffering
because of measures adopted against it, and which today is
being confronted with a super-human task: forcing the
cohabitation of groups who obviously do not want to
cohabitate."

Afghanistan

"Patience"
Jean-Christophe Ploquin in Catholic La Croix (09/15): "If
peace in Afghanistan manages to last, the country may well
find a balance between tradition and modernism. After four
years, the balance sheet for Afghanistan is rather positive.
Yet Washington is showing signs of impatience. The American
and the European forces present are independent from one
another, and their missions differ greatly. Yet, the U.S.
would like to merge them and transfer more of the burden on
the Europeans. The British support the idea; the Germans do
not. The French are not to keen on the plan, but believe that
that this evolution is inevitable. Paris has been turning over
this question for the past year. America's pressure is
understandable because of the chaos in Iraq. Washington is
looking to disengage from Afghanistan to re-deploy elsewhere.
In Kabul, as in Baghdad, President Bush cannot help but
acknowledge that promoting democracy, the mission he once
again took on yesterday at the UN, is a drawn-out process. And
that the U.S. cannot succeed without its allies." STAPLETON

© Scoop Media