VZCZCXRO3171
PP RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHCP #0327 1581240
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 061240Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY COPENHAGEN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4292
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L COPENHAGEN 000327 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/06/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER DA
SUBJECT: DENMARK AFTER EMBASSY BOMBING: "NO APOLOGIES" 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Sandra Kaiser, reasons 1.4 (b) a 
nd (d). 
 
¶1. (C) Danish government leaders and politicians of all 
stripes here have responded with defiance to al-Qaeda's claim 
that it was responsible for the June 2 bombing of the Danish 
embassy in Islamabad.  Prime Minister Rasmussen and Foreign 
Minister Moeller have stated publicly that Denmark will not 
apologize for the Mohammed cartoons and their re-printing 
earlier this year, al-Qaeda's suggested motive for the 
attack.  While most Danish political parties have backed the 
PM and FM, the Islamabad attack and al-Qaeda's claim of 
responsibility have touched off a potentially contentious 
debate on the direction of Danish foreign policy.  A few are 
asking whether Denmark in recent years has been too 
aggressive and too closely associated with the United States 
in pursuing Danish interests overseas. End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) One of the biggest questions surrounding the June 2 
car bomb attack on the Danish embassy in Islamabad was 
answered June 4 when al-Qaeda released a message from senior 
AQ associate Mustafa Abu al-Yazid claiming responsibility for 
the attack.  Al-Yazid's message suggested the Islamabad 
attack was retaliation for caricatures of the Prophet 
Mohammed printed in Danish newspapers in 2006 and re-printed 
again earlier this year.  The AQ missive further demanded 
that those responsible "apologize immediately." 
 
¶3. (SBU) Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said 
there was no reason to doubt al-Qaeda's claim of 
responsibility, and he was quick and resolute in his 
response.  Rasmussen vowed that there would be "no mention" 
of any apology for the Mohammed cartoons, adding that "I can 
say flat out that terrorists do not control the direction of 
Danish foreign policy."  Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig 
Moeller, in a metaphor that generated chuckles here, compared 
al-Qaeda to a garden slug infestation currently plaguing 
Denmark, saying "there are no snails in my garden.  The 
snails can be stopped, and al-Qaeda can, too...  We have to 
fight with hard power," said Moeller.  Moeller also said 
there would be no apologies for Denmark's role in the 
Mohammed cartoon crisis. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The government's line has received broad backing 
within the Danish parliament, with the largest opposition 
party, the Social Democrats, backing the FM and PM.  When 
Social Liberal Party leader Margrethe Vestager asked 
Wednesday whether Islamabad wasn't an occasion to question 
the overall direction of Danish foreign policy, she was 
loudly condemned from nearly all corners of the Danish 
political world for raising that question so soon after the 
attack.  Solidarity seems to be trumping other political 
instincts as Denmark grapples with how to respond to 
Islamabad. 
 
¶5. (C) Danish concern is visceral.  Our ministerial and law 
enforcement contacts believe Danish embassies are exposed and 
vulnerable to follow-up or copycat attacks.  (We are working 
closely with those contacts to help them investigate and 
gather intelligence on the attack.)  Al-Yazid's announcement 
has had the effect of keeping the policy debate, and the 
blame for and focus of the attack, squarely trained on 
al-Qaeda.  However, there are some here who, like Vestager, 
are already asking whether Denmark has been too aggressive in 
promoting freedom of speech and human rights abroad, and 
whether it has done enough on Muslim integration at home. 
Some of these voices are already suggesting, quietly for now, 
that Danish policy initiatives have been too aggressive, too 
high-profile, and too closely identified with the United 
States.  Pakistan's ambassador to Denmark raised eyebrows 
here this week when, after apologizing for the Islamabad 
attack, she directed a harsh rhetorical question at the 
Danish newspaper that published the Mohammed cartoons, "Are 
you satisfied now?"  Other critics point to Danish 
involvement in Afghanistan as a continuing danger for Danish 
interests at home and overseas.  One prominent Danish CEO 
(whose company, Grundfos, recently had one of its 
subsidiaries blacklisted by the UN for involvement in the 
Iraq oil-for-food scandal) asked today whether Islamabad was 
not a sign that Denmark's forward-leaning foreign policy is 
hurting the country's commercial interests.  Once the 
immediacy and shock of the Islamabad attack fade, Danish 
politicians may have to work harder to maintain the consensus 
that has underpinned Denmark's ambitious foreign policy 
agenda.  For now, though, Denmark remains defiant. 
CAIN