ARMENIA: GOOD COVERAGE OF PRESIDENT BUSH'S SPEECH AND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 000046

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/PPD, EUR/CARC

E.O. 12958; N/A
TAGS: OPRC AM KMDR KPAO
SUBJECT: ARMENIA: GOOD COVERAGE OF PRESIDENT BUSH'S SPEECH AND
CHARGE'S COMMENTS

REF: YEREVAN 0045

(U) Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly.

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SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) In addition to engaging with senior GOAM leaders (reftel),
on January 11 the Charge d'Affaires held an interview on the
President's new strategy in Iraq with three major Armenian media
outlets we invited to participate--Armenian Public TV (Armenia's
national television station),Kentron TV (a private television
station),and Armenia Liberty (RFE/RL's Armenian service). The two
television stations aired clips of the interview, as well as footage
of the President's speech on their evening news program. Armenia
Liberty published an article on its website entitled, "U.S. Expects
Continued Armenian Troop Presence in Iraq." In addition, most
television stations aired quotes from the President's speech without
commenting. Three newspapers published stories on the speech, two
of which commented negatively on the new strategy. We will continue
to seek media opportunities to explain and support the U.S. strategy
in Iraq. End Summary.

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CHARGE GETS PRESS ON IRAQ
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2. (U) The two television stations present at the interview with the
Charge aired clips of the interview, as well as parts of the
President's speech, during their evening news segments. Public TV
aired the Charge's statement that, "President Bush acknowledged that
the situation in Iraq is unacceptable. Our troops in Iraq have
fought bravely, and have benefited from the support of coalition
partners, like Armenia." Public TV also aired the Charge's response
to a question about Armenian troop levels in Iraq during which he
said the United States would welcome additional troops from Armenia.
Kentron TV quoted the Charge as saying, "[I]t was clear that we
needed to change our strategy in Iraq. So President Bush, together
with his national security team, conducted a comprehensive review.
...In the discussions, everyone agreed that there is no magic
formula for success in Iraq. And one message came through loud and
clear: Failure in Iraq would be a disaster for the United States,
for our coalition partners, and for the entire region." The news
anchor also noted that the Charge said that the United States
greatly appreciated Armenia's peacekeeping forces in Iraq and
expressed hope that Armenia would continue to participate in the
coalition.


3. (U) Armenia Liberty's article on the interview focuses on the
Charge's statement that the United States expects Armenia to
maintain its military presence in Iraq and his praise for the
Armenian parliament's recent decision to extend the mandate of the
Armenian troops stationed there. The article also refers to the
Charge's responses to a question about whether the United States is
providing assistance to the peacekeepers, and whether the United
States would like Armenia to send troops to Afghanistan. The
article states, "In Godfrey's words, the U.S. will specifically
carry on with its 'very significant' assistance to a special
peacekeeping battalion of the Armenian Armed Forces that provides
personnel for Yerevan's ongoing missions in Iraq and
Kosovo....[G]odfrey indicated that this could pave the way for
Armenian involvement in other conflict zones such as Afghanistan."


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OTHER MEDIA OUTLETS COVER THE PRESIDENT'S SPEECH
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4. (U) In addition to the three media outlets invited to the
interview, the majority of television stations aired clips of the
President's speech without providing commentary. Print publications
covered the speech less broadly, with three newspapers publishing
articles. Hayastani Hanrapetutiun, the government-run newspaper,
published an article entitled, "The Danger of the Vietnamization of
Iraq." The author compares the strategy to increase U.S. forces in
Iraq with the increase of forces in Vietnam, and says that American
politicians are also concerned about the situation. A second
article in the daily, which focuses on summarizing the new strategy,
leads by saying that President Bush "took full responsibility for
the mistakes in Iraq." Iravunk, an opposition newspaper known for
its sharp commentaries, published an article entitled, "Foreign
Games in the Armenian Political Field." The article says, "The fact
that 2007 would be heated was obvious before the celebration of the
new year when Saddam Hussein was flamboyantly subjected to capital
punishment and George Bush 'made Americans happy' by sending an
additional 20,000 troops to Iraq. In other words, Washington will
lead a more aggressive policy in our region, trying to create
tension with Iran and establish America as the superpower in

YEREVAN 00000046 002 OF 002


Armenia."

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COMMENT
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5. (SBU) The two newspapers' negative articles about the strategy
reveal that, while Armenia is a member of the international
coalition in Iraq, the entire country is not necessarily on board
with the U.S. strategy there. The Charge's interview helped get out
the U.S. view of the new strategy and was an important way to thank
Armenia for its contribution to the global fight against terrorism.
We will continue to seek out ways such as this to get our message on
Iraq out to the Armenian public.

GODFREY