MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Iraq - Alleged Massacre in Haditha

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 003619 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. E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR FR SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Iraq - Alleged Massacre in Haditha Afghanistan PARIS - Tuesday, May 30, 2006 (A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT: Iraq - Alleged Massacre in Haditha Afghanistan B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE: While domestic stories and the Indonesian earthquake dominate most front pages and commentaries, the surge in violence in Afghanistan gets wide coverage in today's media. A political analysis on the Taliban and Pakistan's manipulations to use them to control Afghanistan is penned by Le Figaro's Adrien Jaulmes. The report is titled "A Surge of Anti-Americanism in Afghanistan" while in Liberation a report is entitled "Kabul Up in Arms After American Blunder. (See Part C) Liberation titles "Haditha, a Cold Blooded Massacre Covered Up by the Marines." The report carries a half-page photograph of the alleged victims in body bags. Inside the report, correspondent Pascal Riche writes: "It is impossible not to think about My Lai, and the repercussions in public opinion...," which is a direct quote from the Human Rights Watch Marc Garlasco as reported in Le Figaro's article on "Washington's turmoil after the Marines' blunder in Iraq." (See Part C) Communist l'Humanite devotes a full-page report to the flight of the Iraqi elite from Baghdad and 'the new government's need to react rapidly before the country breaks down in a civil war." The journalist goes so far as to say: "In Baghdad, where communities lived side by side, a system of ethnic cleansing by another name is slowly settling in." Reporting on a TV documentary on Iraq's casualties to be aired this evening and titled "When America Doubts," Sophie Rostain in Liberation comments: "The documentary is devoted to an America in the grips of doubt, and it is a good thing it is being shown. Because President Bush's war is first and foremost that: soldiers who are dying and their families' pain and doubts... As one listens to America's youth: 'enlisting would be great. Plus, the army pays for my education...' one wonders what is worse: the widow's doubts about the war... or the young man who is certain he must serve his country without thinking." Reporting on the same documentary, La Croix's Gilles Biassette writes: "By letting people air their doubts, the documentary emphasizes the belated and painful questioning of certain truths which to date had been accepted without qualm... But it also stresses that for the majority of Americans, the war is a far away business which does not touch their everyday lives. Leaving the bereaved families alone to deal with their loss." Le Monde notes the Iranian President's interview in the German weekly Der Spiegel in which he warns Europe that: "aligning with the U.S. will lead to the EU's total loss of influence in the Middle East." Joschka Fischer, former foreign minister for Germany, pens an op-ed on Iran in Saturday's Liberation, which originally appeared in English with Project Syndicate. Fischer believes nuclear Iran poses a serious problem for European security and that the U.S. and Europe must quickly find a way to dissuade Iran from going nuclear. "But this initiative can only succeed if the U.S. administration goes along with the West and sits down at the negotiating table with Iran." Le Figaro carries an op-ed penned by FM Douste-Blazy on the European Constitution, entitled "No, France's Voice in Europe Has Not Disappeared," as part of a series one year after the failed vote on the EU Constitution: "France's voice continues to be expected, desired and respected..." After enumerating France's commitments to Europe, financial and political, the FM also lists France's technological European projects, such as Galileo, Iter and Quaero. "Our country plays a leading role in fighting illegal immigration, and has made proposals to fight terrorism, including by reinforcing joint EU criminal legislation... We have also led proposals for a true foreign and defense policy which will allow the EU to play its true role on the international scene." The FM reiterates that the "failed vote last year on the EU Constitution "does not mean the end of the idea of Europe." He concludes that it is up to "us to transform an imposed Europe into a wanted and harnessed Europe." (C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES: Iraq - Alleged Massacre in Haditha "A Cold-Blooded Massacre" Pascal Riche in left-of-center Liberation (05/30): "The story which began as a rumor and has ended up on the front page following an inquiry into the facts, may well end up as a vast scandal, because the massacre of these 24 civilians was initially covered up by officers. It is therefore impossible not to think of My Lai... and as the ex-hawk turned dove John Murtha has pointed out, this is a scandal 'worse than Abu Ghraib...' The investigation has now unearthed proof that the civilian victims were shot point blank... What has Congress up in arms is the role played by the higher officials and whether they helped to cover up blunders committed by their men." "Washington Up in Arms Over Marine Blunder in Iraq" Jean-Louis Turlin in right-of-center Le Figaro (05/30): "When President Bush said last week that the scandal of Abu Ghraib was the 'biggest blunder' made by U.S. troops in Iraq, and later added 'so far' he may have already known that the Pentagon was putting together proof about another incident... To quote Congressman Murtha, 'it will be worse than Abu Ghraib,' if indeed it is proven that innocent civilians were not tortured, but actually murdered... And Haditha could indeed be worse than Abu Ghraib if it is also proven that the higher ups covered up the truth." Afghanistan "The Taliban Once Again Instrumentalized by Pakistan to Control Afghanistan" Adrien Jaulmes in right-of-center Le Figaro (05/30): "The return of the Taliban... also means the return of Pakistan on the scene... The Taliban offensives are growing in intensity with groups, which are increasingly well armed on the Pakistani side by Pashtun tribes. Officially, the Afghan authorities fault Islamabad for negligence, and unofficially they accuse them of interference. But faced with Pakistan's double game, Kabul finds itself hampered by its American ally's ambivalent stance of trying to maintain its alliance with Islamabad in order to find Bin Laden... With Kabul having trouble controlling areas outside the zones manned by the international force, and the Americans ready to pull out part of their troops, Pakistan's interference represents a real threat for Karzai... As long as the Americans and ISAf are present, the chances of a victorious Taliban offensive are slim... But the Taliban are exploiting the growing animosity towards the Americans in the Pashtun population... The deployment of NATO forces, their varying military effectiveness and their operational capabilities, which are inferior to the U.S., offer the Taliban a new opportunity to regain ground. As long as Islamabad will encourage, or at least tolerate, having its secret police recruit and train Taliban on its territory, Afghanistan will remain under the threat of being destabilized by the students in religion. But as long as Islamabad remains indispensable to Washington in its search for Bin Laden, it also protects itself from all pressure." "A Surge of Anti-Americanism in Afghanistan" Arnaud de la Grange in right-of-center Le Figaro (05/30): "Apparently American soldiers have a hard time dealing with the 'war after the war' in Afghanistan as in Iraq... The violence and demonstrations of anti-Americanism are the worse since the fall of the Taliban regime... and are taking place in a very tense atmosphere. This new surge in Taliban violence is not a good omen for the NATO forces, which must deploy their troops in southern Afghanistan soon... But the American military wants to read into this renewed violence a sign for hope as it would point to the result of improved cooperation between the Afghan, the Coalition and the NATO forces, thus being able to hunt down rebels in their most entrenched strongholds. But this optimism is not shared by most western governments whose troops are being deployed in Afghanistan." STAPLETON