[Media-watch] FW: U.S. media lies about France

[david Miller]

Got this from the US: letter from the French ambassador:


-----Original Message-----
From: Diana Johnstone [mailto:DianaJohnstone at compuserve.com]
Sent: Saturday, May 17, 2003 11:28 AM
 Subject: U.S. media lies about France

    Following Levitte's letter is an accompanying document with some
examples provided by the ambassador of specific disinformation campaigns.
--
Jim

Washington, May 15, 2003
Dear [Name],
        For more than two hundred years, the United States and France have
been friends and allies. But for several months, some members of the
American media have issued false accusations against France.
        The most serious of these accusations share the following
characteristics:
        - They spread false information
        - They all rely on information from "anonymous administration
officials."
        A list of some of these allegations is attached to this letter.  I
would like to draw your attention to the troubling-indeed,
unacceptable-nature of this disinformation campaign aimed at sullying
France's image and misleading the public.  The methods used by those
propagating this disinformation have no place in the relationship between
friends and allies, who may
disagree on important issues but should not engage in denigration and lies.
        Our friendship is a treasure. It must be protected. In this
dangerous world, we must continue to work side by side against the scourge
of terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and for the
promotion of peace and our common values. Terrorism is the most important
threat that we have to face today, as the deadly and cowardly attacks in
Saudi Arabia have once again proven. We should not let bitterness between
two staunch allies distract us  from the fight against terrorism. France is
determined to continue to work with the United States in a spirit of good
will on all these issues.
        In transmitting this information to you, I hope to help put an end
to these useless polemics. I hope that this information will be useful to
you and I remain at your disposal to discuss this issue in greater detail
should you wish to do so.
        Best regards,
        Jean-David Levitte

1. September 1-15, 2002:  In its "Week in Review" section, The New York
Times published an article entitled "Psst. Can I Get a Bomb Trigger?"
alleging that in 1998, France and Germany had supplied Iraq with
high-precision switches used in detonating nuclear weapons.
        The Embassy issued a denial, which was published the following week
in that section's Letters to the Editor column, noting that a French
company had indeed received an order for 120 switches, presented as "spare
parts" for medical equipment but that the French authorities had
immediately barred this sale and alerted both Germany and the country that
had previously sold the equipment that incorporated the switches.

2. On November 5, 2002, the front page of The Washington Post carried a
story entitled "Four Nations Thought to Possess Smallpox." According to
this article, France, along with Russia, Iraq and North Korea, possesses
prohibited human smallpox strains. This "information" was purportedly given
to the Washington Post by an "American intelligence source," who mentioned
the existence of a "report" on this subject.
        At the Embassy's request, the Post subsequently published a
rebuttal from the Embassy Press Office noting that France abides by WHO
provisions and by its own national regulations prohibiting the possession
of human smallpox strains.

3. On March 7, 2003, Washington Times reporter Bill Gertz asserted that two
French companies had sold Iraq spare parts for airplanes and helicopters.
The article referred to "a U.S. intelligence source."
        On March 8, the two companies named in the story formally denied
these allegations, as did the Embassy, which had already given a
categorical reply to the question put to it by the reporter. On March 10,
the Foreign Ministry deputy spokesperson reiterated the two companies'
denial, adding that the French authorities had never authorized the export
or re-export of such spare parts and strictly respected the arms embargo
and Security Council resolutions. That denial was published, which did not
prevent the Washington Times from regularly referring to this case.

4. On March 13, New York Times columnist William Safire began a series of
articles entitled "The French Connection" in which he claimed that France
had permitted the delivery of sensitive equipment to Iraq. According to
him, a French intermediary had facilitated Iraq's acquisition, through
Syria, of chemical components for long-range surface-to-surface missiles.
Safire asserted in the same article that "he had been told" that the
Société Nationale des Poudres et Explosifs had signed a contract in April
2002 to provide Iraq with five tons of dimethyl hydrazine, a chemical that
can be used for missile propulsion.
        The Foreign Ministry spokesman denied these allegations on March
14, noting that it had neither delivered nor authorized the delivery of
such products, either directly or indirectly. In his interview with
CNN/CBS, President Chirac expressed himself most clearly on this subject.
Although he no longer mentioned the SNPE after that, Safire nevertheless
continued his attacks in two successive columns. Moreover, The New York
Times never published the Embassy's rebuttal to these charges nor took the
trouble to answer the letter the French Ambassador personally sent them on
this subject. 

5. On April 2 on  MSNBC, Joe Scarborough accused France of selling Iraq
"planes, missiles, armored vehicles,  radar equipment and spare parts for
Iraqi fighter planes," and of offering to sell nuclear reactors, without
mentioning specific dates.
        Needless to say, France fully complies with the UN sanctions
against Iraq, including a ban of all weapons sales.

6. On April 21, Newsweek reported the "possible" discovery of Roland 2
missiles by coalition forces in Iraq and implied that they had been
manufactured in 2002. A charred Roland 3 missile launcher was also
allegedly found.
        Once again, the Ministry spokesman had to specify that France had
sold no military equipment to Iraq since the summer of 1990 and that it was
furthermore impossible for Roland 2s to have been manufactured in 2002,
given the fact that they were not manufactured after 1993. This information
had in fact been communicated to the author of the article, who made very
limited use of it.

7. On May 6, The Washington Times once again attacked our country,
indicating that according to an "anonymous American intelligence source,"
France had helped wanted Iraqi leaders to escape to Europe by providing
them with French passports.
        Although the author of that article did call the Embassy and
included our denial in his article, he nevertheless referred to this
supposed "scandal" three times in the following days. The fact that the
Foreign Ministry's spokesman issued a categorical denial did not dissuade
the Washington Times.

 8. Recently, as reported again by the Washington Times, other
"intelligence sources" accused France and Russia of seeking to sign oil
contracts with Iraq just before the start of the war. A "military expert"
asked by MSNBC about the coalition's failure to discover banned weapons
insinuated that "weapons could well have been discovered" and that they
"could very well be French or Russian," which would have led the
administration not to mention them "out of concern for easing tensions."