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### Viewing cable 07PARIS3534, FRENCH MFA "REFLECTING" ON IMPLICATIONS OF

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
07PARIS3534 | 2007-08-24 15:03 | 2010-11-30 21:09 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Paris

`

    VZCZCXRO9415
    OO RUEHAG RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK RUEHROV
    DE RUEHFR #3534/01 2361500
    ZNY CCCCC ZZH
    O 241500Z AUG 07
    FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9685
    INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES  PRIORITY
    RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

` `

    C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 003534

    SIPDIS

    SIPDIS

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/24/2017
    TAGS: PREL PGOV FR IZ US
    SUBJECT: FRENCH MFA "REFLECTING" ON IMPLICATIONS OF
    KOUCHNER'S VISIT TO IRAQ

    Classified By: Political Minister-Councelor Josiah Rosenblatt for reaso ns 1.4. (b), (d).

    ¶1. (C) Summary: French FM Kouchner's visit to Iraq allowed
    France to re-engage meaningfully with a wide range of Iraqi
    political and confessional/ethnic leaders and left Kouchner
    "moved" by the extent of destruction in that country. The
    French MFA told us August 24 that Kouchner and his staff are
    still "reflecting" over the visit as they decide how to
    follow up. Kouchner's interlocutors received his message of
    solidarity and desire to help with appreciation. Kouchner
    also took pains to dissociate his visit from the USG and
    denied any link to the meeting in Maine between Presidents
    Bush and Sarkozy. The MFA denies Kouchner formally offered
    to organize a dialogue among Iraqis and believes the press
    has exaggerated the importance of some public musing on
    Kouchner's part. France will reach out to the EU in support
    of a new multilateral initiative. The MFA expects to be in
    touch with the USG as well, although it may wait to see how
    things play out in Washington in response to the Petraeus
    report. The contours of French thinking should be clearer by
    the time of the UNGA, which will be no coincidence given
    Kouchner's desire to place the UN at the head of a
    multinational effort for Iraqi reconstruction. One concrete
    result of the visit was Kouchner's decision to proceed with
    stalled plans to establish a French "embassy office" in
    Irbil; for budget and other administrative reasons, however,
    it is unclear when it will be set up. End summary

    ¶2. (C) French MFA Iraq desk officer Olivier Masseret
    provided a readout August 24 of FM Kouchner's visit to Iraq
    August 19-21. His main points, a number of which have been
    made in the press, included:

    --The visit was entirely at Kouchner's initiative and was in
    no way tied to the meeting in Maine between Presidents Bush
    and Sarkozy. Masseret recalled Kouchner's longstanding ties
    to Kurdish leader and current former President of Iraq Jalal
    Talabani, who had been pressing Kouchner to visit since
    Kouchner became foreign minister.

    --Making it clear that the visit in no way occurred at the
    request of the U.S. or in furtherance of U.S. policies was
    something Kouchner stressed with each of his interlocutors.
    Masseret complained that it has been hard to shake the press
    from the false but understandable impression that Presidents
    Bush and Sarkozy had discussed or approved the visit when
    they met in Maine. Kouchner also carried with him a copy of
    an editorial he wrote before the March 2003 invasion entitled
    "Neither Saddam nor War" to correct the misimpression that
    Kouchner had supported U.S. military force to remove Saddam
    Hussein.

    --Kouchner's jam-packed schedule included meetings with
    nearly every political leader and just about every
    confessional grouping. Masseret indicated that Kouchner knew
    he had some work to do rebuilding France's image. This
    included dispelling the notion that France still harbors some
    nostalgia for the days when Iraq's Sunnis dominated the
    political scene. Masseret sought to correct the
    misimpression that Kouchner only had contacts among Kurds to
    say that this visit revealed to many for the first time that
    he was well known in all the major ethnic and confessional
    groups.

    --Iraqi leaders responded well to Kouchner's core message of
    solidarity with the Iraqi people's suffering, readiness to
    listen and help, and commitment to turning the page in the
    Iraqi/French relationship. There was some grousing about
    France's policy under President Chirac, but even that seemed
    pro forma. If anything, according to Masseret, the angriest
    sentiment Iraqis expressed was that France had waited so long
    after Saddam Hussein's fall to re-engage meaningfully.

    --If anything impressed Kouchner, it was the absolute
    devastation that marked Iraq in all spheres, especially the
    economic and social. This fueled Kouchner's view, as
    expressed publicly, that Iraq's ongoing crisis was not merely
    a national tragedy but a catastrophe whose already dramatic
    regional implications are only increasing. Masseret said it
    may seem simplistic, but the visit was an eye-opening and
    moving experience for Kouchner. In particular, the plight of
    Iraq's Christians touched Kouchner because of the escalating
    persecution they seem to face. (Comment: This was a point
    Kouchner made in an interview on one of the nightly national
    newscasts. End comment)

    ¶3. (C) Kouchner and his staff are now reflecting on the
    visit and trying to figure out what to make France's focus
    and how best to rally European and other international
    support. Masseret dismissed press speculation about a

    PARIS 00003534 002 OF 002

    possible French-hosted gathering of Iraqi leaders along the
    lines of the intra-Lebanese dialogue Kouchner initiated. He
    explained that Kouchner did muse to reporters that France
    would be open to creating a safe space for competing factions
    to meet, but it was no more concrete than that. He denied
    that Kouchner made the offer in his various meetings and
    agreed that President Talabani's rejection of such an
    initiative effectively took it off the table at least for
    now. The bottom line for Kouchner, Masseret continued, was
    that anything France does add real value and not appear to
    another case of France off on its own pursuing objectives
    that had no other buy-in.

    ¶4. (C) Masseret spoke of the UN angle, which is
    symbolically and ideologically important to Kouchner. As
    reported in the media, Masseret spoke of Kouchner's
    insistence on arriving in Baghdad exactly four years after
    the bombing of the UN compound that killed his friend Sergio
    de Mello and many former colleagues from Kouchner's days
    directing UN efforts in Kosovo. Kouchner further insisted
    that his first official act in Bagdhad be the laying of a
    wreath at the site of the bombing to honor the fallen. It
    was not clear to Masseret how the UN will fit into Kouchner's
    thinking, but press reports were right to highlight the key
    role he will want it to play in any concerted multilateral
    effort.

    ¶5. (C) How Europe will fit into French ideas for the way
    forward in Iraq is a central aspect of evolving French
    thinking. Masseret would not comment on press reports of
    tepid responses by many of Kouchner's EU colleagues in
    response to his encouragement that they follow his lead.
    Europe, however, will be key should France seek to mobilize a
    more robust UN presence and effort in Iraq. Although there
    are no plans just yet, France will seek an appropriate EU
    ministerial to discuss increased and concerted support for
    Iraq. Masseret said that Kouchner will need to convince his
    colleagues that this is not just another instance of France
    going off on its own but something that has implications for
    EU interests in the Middle East.

    ¶6. (C) Working with the U.S. is another subject under
    discussion. Masseret said that Kouchner wants to consult
    with the Secretary, as he did August 24, on a regular basis
    but preserve France's independence. This includes its
    ability to speak its mind when and as it deems necessary.
    Agreeing that the visit arguably transformed the Iraq issue
    from being a subject of disagreement to one about which we
    could have a useful dialogue, the MFA will probably not have
    recommendations on what to say to the U.S. until the current
    "reflection" period ends. While not saying how long that
    might last, he surmised that France will be ready to talk to
    us and others about Iraq on the margins of the UNGA in late
    September. Noting the release of the Petraeus report in
    mid-September, Masseret expected it would inform French
    thinking not merely for its content but also for its impact
    on U.S. policy afterward.

    ¶7. (C) One area of U.S./French cooperation Masseret praised
    effusively was the outstanding help provided for Kouchner's
    visit by Baghdad Deputy Polcouns Rob Waller (on a one-year
    TDY from his job as Paris NEA watcher). His role was vital
    in ensuring coordination of security and other logistical
    arrangements. (Comment: The acting director of the MFA's
    equivalent to our NEA bureau echoed this point in a separate
    encounter.)

    ¶8. (C) As a final note, Masseret confirmed tentative press
    reporting that the MFA is now committed to the idea of
    opening an "embassy office" in Irbil. He elaborated that it
    would be lightly staffed -- a sort of "French presence post"
    -- and not expected to handle consular duties (too few French
    citizens in northern Iraq, no desire to take on visa work in
    Irbil). When asked about the timeframe, Masseret was vague,
    citing budgetary and other "administrative" issues that
    needed to be worked out. Another problem arose after
    Kouchner started informing his interlocutors of the office in
    Irbil as Shi'a contacts pressed for a similar office in Basra
    for "balance." Kouchner made a vague commitment to do what
    he could, but Masseret stated the security situation in Basra
    at the moment clearly ruled that idea out of the question.

    Please visit Paris' Classified Website at:
    http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm

    PEKALA

`