US embassy cable - 05PARIS7030

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 007030 
 
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 - Iraq - `Oil For Food' Scandal 
Syria - Questions on Suicide of Interior Minister 
GWOT - Rendition and Legislation on Torture European Issues 
PARIS - Thursday, October 13, 2005 
 
 
(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT: 
 
Iraq - `Oil For Food' Scandal 
Syria - Questions on Suicide of Interior Minister 
GWOT - Rendition and Legislation on Torture 
European Issues 
 
B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE: 
 
Although no editorial commentary is devoted to the alleged 
suicide of Syria's Interior Minister Kanaan, several reports 
raise questions about his involvement in the assassination of 
Rafic Hariri as well as about the future of the Syrian regime. 
Le Figaro headlines "An Affair of State that Weakens Syrian 
Regime." (See Part C) Several other stories make today's front 
pages, including rescue efforts in Pakistan after the 
earthquake, with La Croix headlining: "Muzaffarabad 
Disorganized and Suffering." Inside, the report says: 
"Washington has allotted 41 billion dollars in aid to 
Pakistan, its great ally in the `fight against terrorism.' 
Liberation briefly reports: "Secretary Rice made a short stop 
in Islamabad to `personally express the feelings of support 
from the American people' to the Pakistani President." 
 
The `oil for food' scandal and the arrest of a former French 
diplomat is a major editorial story. For Le Monde "France's 
Image Is Tarnished," while La Croix concludes that `corruption 
is a weapon of mass destruction." (See Part C) La Croix 
interviews former U.S. diplomat Peter Galbraith about the 
Iraqi Constitution: "The country is already essentially 
divided. The question is whether it will be broken up by 
violence and chaos or by peaceful means. The primary objective 
is to minimize the risks of a civil war. The Constitution 
provides the framework for minimizing the potential for rift 
between the three emerging entities. Iraq should never have 
been a unitary state. Federalism offers the framework for a 
solution to the fact that Baghdad does not control Basra, all 
the while limiting Iran's influence." 
 
Liberation carries an editorial commentary titled "Bush 
Decrees the Need for Torture." (See part C) 
 
In Le Figaro an op-ed by columnist Alexandre Adler invites 
France to make military and strategic cooperation overtures to 
Great Britain in order to fold the UK into the Paris-Berlin 
tandem. (See Part C) Le Figaro carries a full page on European 
issues, including a report by two retired NATO generals who 
criticize Europe's lack of "political will" in assigning 
budgets and means to Europe's defense: "The alarm has been 
raised: if Europe continues along the same lines in matters of 
security, it is `heading towards a catastrophe.' According to 
the two NATO generals, Europe will not even be in a position 
to protect its own interests, including protecting itself from 
terrorist threats." 
 
(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES: 
 
Iraq - `Oil For Food' Scandal 
 
"The Image of France" 
Left-of-center Le Monde in its editorial (10/13): "The `oil 
for food' scandal is seriously tarnishing France's diplomacy. 
The more lenient will wonder about the dangers of France's pro- 
Arab policy and its blindness. The revelations of the 
investigation are smearing France's diplomacy at the highest 
level. Washington was behind the original disclosures. This 
was part of its merciless battle with France, while France 
brandished the banner of multilateralism and opposed President 
Bush's war plans for Iraq. This scandal also gave Washington 
an opportunity to broaden its campaign against the UN, an 
organization that has never been sufficiently effective in the 
eyes of the U.S. While all of this is true, there is no excuse 
for corruption, if corruption is proven, on the part of French 
diplomats." 
 
"The Scandal of Corruption" 
Dominique Quinio in Catholic La Croix (10/13): "The `oil for 
food' scandal is smearing the UN., casts doubts on France's 
diplomacy and greatly tarnishes its previous flamboyant anti- 
war stance. How can anyone believe in France's sincerity in 
the attitude it adopted about Iraq, if dangerous liaisons were 
indeed established with a dictator and corruption is proven? 
This doubt benefits neither the UN, nor multilateralism nor 
peace. Corruption is a weapon of mass destruction." 
 
Syria - Questions on Suicide of Interior Minister 
 
"An Affair of State" 
Pierre Prier in right-of-center Le Figaro (10/13): 
"Coincidentally, the disappearance of Kanaan is happening just 
when new pressure is mounting against the Syrian regime. Syria 
is the target of repeated admonitions from the U.S. to stop 
supporting Iraqi insurgents. Pushed against the wall, the 
Syrian regime may be tempted to save itself by eliminating the 
more cumbersome of its elements. The regime's opponents, who 
are prohibited from assembling in Damascus, are holding open 
meetings in Paris and Washington. It is alleged that they are 
in close contact with the Assad family. There are also 
allegations that a close advisor of Bachar el-Assad has made 
contact with the U.S. and the Syrian arm of the Muslim 
Brotherhood exiled in London. The suspicious death of Kanaan 
is one more mystery to add to these cloak and dagger 
negotiations." 
 
GWOT - Rendition and Legislation on Torture 
 
"Bush Decress the Need for Torture" 
Jacques Amalric in left-of-center Liberation (10/13): 
"President Bush believes that what he calls a `war' against 
terrorism authorizes all sorts of practices, including the use 
of torture. The Senate vote is a slap in the face for the 
White House. President Bush . is ready to use his veto to 
allow the use of torture outside the U.S. This is a first in 
contemporary history; all the while dictatorships, including 
the worst of them, claim they do not resort to torture." 
 
European Issues 
 
"Paris - Berlin- London: A Mnage a Trois" 
Alexandre Adler in right-of-center Le Figaro (10/13): "In the 
coming months, France has great opportunities to resurrect the 
European process. A thirty-three-member Europe would once and 
for all put to rest the original Europe, eager for power and 
competition with the U.S., which was the French founding 
fathers' ambition. But a thirty-three-member Europe is too 
much. A central core needs to be erected in Brussels. This is 
where France can play a major role: this new architecture 
cannot leave any of the major parties on the outside. If 
France were able to offer Great Britain a privileged military 
and strategic partnership, with constant consultations on 
issues ranging from the nuclear to the Middle East, then and 
only then would London be in a position to see the re- 
enforcement of the Franco-German tandem as something other 
than the death of its own ambitions. In other words, for 
Paris, the road to Berlin passes strategically through a 
generous arrangement with the still ill-defined ambitions of 
Great Britain, which, like France, is also searching for 
itself." STAPLETON