US embassy cable - 05PARIS6149

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 006149 
 
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E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC, KMDR, FR 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Katrina - Political Fallout 
Iraq Middle East - Gaza Pullout 
PARIS - PARIS - Monday, September 12, 2005 
 
 
(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT: 
 
Katrina - Political Fallout 
Iraq 
Middle East - Gaza Pullout 
 
B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE: 
 
Ambassador Craig Stapleton is saluted in regional L'Est 
Republicain on the occasion of his visit to Verdun and his 
inauguration of the Meyerowitz photo exhibit "Ground Zero." 
"The U.S. Ambassador embodies courtesy and simplicity. If 
Europe's diplomacy were modeled after Craig Stapleton, the 
level of arrogance in the world would drop by about half." 
 
Ambassador Craig Stapleton signs an op-ed in Le Monde titled 
"From 9/11 to Katrina" commemorating the 9/11 tragedy and 
France's friendship and solidarity, then and now, illustrated 
by Le Monde's editorial at the time: "We Are All Americans." 
The two tragedies are also juxtaposed in a number of reports 
on the aftermath of Katrina and the 9/11 commemoration 
ceremonies, noting President Bush's third visit to the Gulf of 
Mexico, "where he planned to spend the night." Commentary and 
headlines remain harsh. For popular right-of-center France 
Soir "President Bush's Friends Will Profit From Katrina." 
Sacha Vandebrouk writes about the new Halliburton scandal and 
mentions newly appointed Karen Hughes, whose "task of image 
rebuilding like that of President Bush's damage control, looks 
like mission impossible." But in Le Figaro editorialist Yves 
Threard is much less critical in a column titled "Simple- 
Minded Anti-Americanism." (See Part C) The report in Le Figaro 
from their correspondent nevertheless suggests that "President 
Bush's political priorities may have been upset by Katrina. He 
may have to re-orient his priorities to domestic issues and 
see his international aspirations somewhat weakened." Right-of- 
center financial La Tribune devotes a three-page special 
report to America's vulnerability. 
 
In an interview in Le Figaro Emmanuel Todd analyzes the 
failings of the U.S. system as shown by the Katrina tragedy 
and concludes: "The great weakness of the U.S. economic system 
is that it relies on consumer buying and not on true internal 
industrial capabilities. This was apparent in Iraq, where the 
Americans were slow to protect their troops with proper 
equipment. contrary to what happened in the Second WW. At the 
time America's strength depended on industrial capitalism made 
up of engineers and technicians. rather than consumers." 
 
Left-of-center Liberation devotes its editorial to the 
military pullout from Gaza (See part C) while Catholic La 
Croix carries an op-ed by Joseph Yacoub on Iraq's 
democratization. (See Part C) 
 
(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES: 
 
Katrina - Political Fallout 
 
"Simple-Minded Anti-Americanism" 
Yves Threard in right-of-center Le Figaro (09/12): "September 
2001, September 2005. In between these two tragedies America 
found itself at the center of numerous controversies and the 
target of every type of accusation and criticism from Europe, 
and mostly from France. In 2001, the world's most powerful 
nation appeared vulnerable and decided to take its revenge, 
first in Afghanistan and later in Iraq. The world discovered a 
new Bush, arrogant and shortsighted. In 2005, word was out 
that the American model was faulty: poverty and racial hate 
were singled out. The opportunity was too good to pass to 
underscore President Bush's negligence and the effects of 
`Yankee liberalism.' The accusations against the U.S. serve to 
hide our incoherence and our own faults. To gloat over the 
decline of the American empire is easy. Some see even the hand 
of God in Katrina, as if the U.S. had to pay for not signing 
the Kyoto protocol. Others, more credible, point that the U.S. 
lives on credit. While it is true that America is not in a 
position to give anyone lessons, it is also absurd to claim to 
discover today that America is not perfect. With or without 
Bush. Katrina, no more than Bin Laden, has brought America to 
its knees. Derision and demonizing are definitely out of 
order." 
"Bush in the Eye of the Cyclone" 
Sacha Vanderbrouck in right-of-center France Soir (09/12): 
"The House of Bush is leaking. From the heights of greatness 
to decadence. After the popularity that followed the aftermath 
of 9/11, President Bush's popularity has dropped to its 
lowest. America does not look ready to forgive, in spite of 
the President having recalled Michael Brown to Washington. 
This loss of support is fueled by a series of controversies, 
from the intervention in Iraq to the misappropriated funds 
earmarked for repair work of the levees in New Orleans. Now 
President Bush must face the new scandal of contracts assigned 
for the rebuilding of America's South to friends of the 
Republicans, including Halliburton. The President's decision 
to overnight in Louisiana is a strong gesture counterbalancing 
his two previous visits. It shows that the President wants to 
once again be in control although he is being accused from all 
sides. This determination was also apparent on Friday with the 
nomination of Karen Hughes to lead America's Public Diplomacy 
and try to improve America's image in the world. What looks 
very much like mission impossible." 
 
Iraq 
 
"Iraq in Search of Democracy" 
Joseph Yacoub in Catholic La Croix (09/12): "Imposing 
democracy is the opposite of democracy. How can Iraqi society 
become democratic with a model imposed from the outside, when 
democracy means by definition power of the people. Who has the 
authority to impose democracy in Iraq other than its people? 
One of the conditions for democracy is security. In Iraq, we 
are very far from having reached security. If the U.S. 
believes it can transform Iraq to their specifications, they 
are mistaken. Iraqi society needs a central government. 
Democracy requires certain preambles. The Americans, in their 
stubbornness, think they can proclaim democracy. They are 
wrong. And by proclaiming this they are ignoring Iraq's true 
problems. Considering Iraq's past history, Iraq cannot produce 
a miracle. Democracy is not a consumer product. It cannot be 
exported, it must invent itself." 
 
Middle East - Gaza Pullout 
 
"A Series of Traps" 
Gerard Dupuy in left-of-center Liberation (09/12): "As Tsahal 
withdraws from Gaza, it leaves behind lost illusions and a 
time bomb. In the coming months the Palestinian Authority will 
need to work hard to defuse that bomb. Normalization of Gaza 
is all the more problematic because of its new ambiguous 
status: while no longer an occupied territory, it remains 
encircled and unable to use its airport or its sea port, 
undermining an economic development without which the powder 
keg will remain a powder keg. Leaving behind the synagogues is 
another trap." STAPLETON