OUTREACH ON NEWSWEEK'S RETRACTION OF ARTICLE ON

UNCLAS PARIS 003413

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/PPD


E. O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO PREL KISL FR
SUBJECT: OUTREACH ON NEWSWEEK'S RETRACTION OF ARTICLE ON
KORAN DESECRATION AT GUANTANAMO

REF: State 090992


1. State 090992 asked all posts to approach media and
appropriate host government officials to reiterate USG
respect for religious worship and tradition, and to ask
media outlets to give the same wide coverage to the Newsweek
retraction as to the original allegations. Given that
French language media have reported extensively from their
US bureaus on the Newsweek retraction, Embassy Paris has
approached trusted Arab and Muslim media contacts to deploy
our points and seek their perspectives on the story.


2. Reactions from our Arab and Muslim media contacts
reflect the currents we have observed in the French language
press: that similar allegations have floated around before
from former Guantanamo prisoners, so this is nothing
completely new; reports on Koran desecration allegations are
balanced with statements from USG officials including
SecState and DOD, State, and White House spokesmen; the
nexus of the story elsewhere, either in the US or in Arab
countries; and Newsweek's retraction may have resulted from
USG pressure. Embassy Paris will, in a separate cable,
provide an analysis of this story's development in the
French press and highlight possible themes to refute it.


3. Post has not yet spoken with Muslim community group
contacts about the story, but will draw attention to
Newsweek's retraction as part of its continuing outreach to
these organizations.
WOLFF