VZCZCXRO5102
PP RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHNEH
DE RUEHNE #2429/01 3361214
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 021214Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8787
INFO RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHHJJPI/PACOM IDHS HONOLULU HI
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 2146
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 5357
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 4567
RUEHNEH/AMCONSUL HYDERABAD 1160
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 2541
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 6479
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 2987
RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI 9823
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 4385
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 7052
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 8699
RHOVVKG/COMSEVENTHFLT
RHMCSUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 002429 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NP, AC, PM 
 
STATE FOR INR/MR 
 
STATE FOR SCA/INS, PM/CBM, PM/PRO 
 
STATE FOR SCA/PPD, PA/RRU 
 
STATE FOR AID/APRE-A 
 
USDOC FOR 4530/IEP/ANESA/OSA FOR BILL MURPHY 
 
E.O. 12958:N/A 
TAGS: KMDR KPAO PGOV PREL IN
SUBJECT: SPECIAL MEDIA REPORT - COVERAGE OF POTUS AF- 
PAK SPEECH IN INDIAN MEDIA 
 
SUMMARY:  The majority of the reporting on the 
President's speech on Indian television channels is so 
far objective and straightforward.  The timing of the 
speech (0630 December 2 in India) means that commentary 
and analyses as well as newspaper stories, are yet to 
come.  President Obama's call to PM Singh in advance of 
the speech to preview its messages was reported 
overwhelmingly positively in the morning's newspapers 
and television reports.  The telephone call is seen in 
New Delhi as U.S. acknowledgement of India's 
substantial role in Afghanistan.  News stories pointed 
out that this was the first time the President had 
consulted New Delhi before a major policy statement. 
The outliers were India's CNN-IBN news channel which 
this morning criticized the speech saying, The 
President "made no mention of the Mumbai attacks, or 
the need to take on the Lashkar-e-Taiba," thereby 
"leaving India in the cold," the channel said.   The 
reports further took issue with the strategy of 
offering a withdrawal timeframe, which the report felt 
thereby "encourages Al-Qaeda and the Taliban to stay 
their course" until the U.S. vacates Afghanistan.  It 
is too soon to say if this will become a trend in 
commentary - that seems unlikely at this juncture but 
tomorrow's press will hold the answer.  The Embassy 
also put out a statement by Ambassador Roemer today, 
reiterating India's role as a key partner on the way 
forward in Afghanistan and Pakistan. End summary. 
 
---------------------------------- 
U.S. LEAVES INDIA COLD: TV CHANNEL 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶1. The speech appeared on major Indian news networks 
soon after it was delivered. NDTV 24x7 headlined their 
story "Nuclear-armed Pakistan big security threat, says 
Obama," and quoted the President as saying the cancer 
of terrorism has spread from Afghanistan to Pakistan 
and that the danger will grow if the region slides 
backwards. The TIMES NOW channel, in their story "US 
sends nuclear alarm on Pakistan," said the President 
described the stakes in the region being higher with a 
nuclear-armed Pakistan. 
 
¶2. The 24-hour CNN-IBN English news channel was, 
however, hard-hitting in its reaction. The channel 
said: "This was a message meant to reassure the 
Americans and the Pakistanis, but it has ended up 
leaving India in the cold. Obama has described the U.S. 
relationship with Pakistan as key to the success of the 
Af-Pak plan. He made no mention, though, of the 26/11 
attacks on Mumbai, or the need to take on the Lashkar- 
e-Taiba." 
 
¶3. The channel's chief diplomatic correspondent Parull 
Malhotra said: "When President Obama talked about a 
time-bound withdrawal of American troops, what he 
essentially did is encourage the Al-Qaeda and Taliban 
to stay their course, because they know that within 18 
months the American troops will be out of their 
country. And during that time period, and even beyond, 
 
NEW DELHI 00002429  002 OF 002 
 
 
they will continue to work actively against Indian 
interests." 
 
¶4. "There was no mention of the Mumbai attacks. Obama 
talked about the London bombings, 9/11, and even the 
Bali bombings, but 26/11 found no mention in his 
crucial address," CNN-IBN said. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
POTUS TELEPHONE CALL REPORTED POSITIVELY 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. All newspapers highlighted the President's call to 
PM Manmohan Singh before the speech. THE INDIAN EXPRESS 
said the telephone call is being seen in New Delhi as 
U.S. acknowledgement of India's role in Afghanistan. 
 
¶6. THE TIMES OF INDIA said that while the phone call 
was one of several that President Obama made, officials 
said India's satisfaction was derived from the high 
level of Obama's commitment to stay the course in 
Afghanistan despite growing clamor in the US for an 
early pullout. 
 
¶7. THE TIMES OF INDIA'S diplomatic editor Indrani 
Bagchi said: "The Obama-Singh conversation had another 
important component for India: India's own presence and 
activity in Afghanistan. The Indian takeaway here is 
that the Pakistan "line" which, in some ways was 
reflected in the report prepared by the top US 
commander in Afghanistan General Stanley McChrystal, 
that Indian activities in Afghanistan could be counter- 
productive, was comprehensively discarded. Obama 
reportedly told the PM that Indian activities were not 
only appreciated but they should continue." 
 
¶8. THE HINDUSTAN TIMES daily reported U.S. diplomatic 
sources as saying that this was the first time the 
President had consulted New Delhi before a major policy 
statement. 
ROEMER