Cablegate: Media Reaction Report - Katrina - Political Fallout

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 006149

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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;
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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

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