US embassy cable - 05PARIS6277

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