Cablegate: Media Reaction Report - Alleged Cia Secret Prisons
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 008217
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR INR/R/MR; IIP/RW; IIP/RNY; BBG/VOA; IIP/WEU; AF/PA;
EUR/WE /P/SP; D/C (MCCOO); EUR/PA; INR/P; INR/EUC; PM; OSC ISA
FOR ILN; NEA; WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC/WEUROPE; DOC FOR ITA/EUR/FR
AND PASS USTR/PA; USINCEUR FOR PAO; NATO/PA; MOSCOW/PA;
ROME/PA; USVIENNA FOR USDEL OSCE.
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR FR
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Alleged CIA Secret Prisons
The U.S. and the UN China - U.S.: Airbus and Nuclear
Competition
PARIS - Monday, December 05, 2005
(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT:
Alleged CIA Secret Prisons
The U.S. and the UN
China - U.S.: Airbus and Nuclear Competition
B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE:
President Chirac's participation in the Franco-Africa summit
and the prospect of a "historic" Chinese Airbus contract are
today's two major front-page stories. As regards the contracts
for Airbus, Les Echos headlines: "Airbus Signs a Historic
Contract with China" while the editorial is titled "One Airbus
for 800 Million T Shirts." Liberation devotes a major report
to China's "nuclear dependency" and more specifically to the
"Franco-American Duel for the Contract of the Century." (See
Part C)
The media focuses on immigration control as part of President
Chirac's visit to Africa. Le Figaro headlines: "Chirac's
Gesture" while the editorial is titled "Chirac in Favor of
Selective Immigration." Yves Threard believes that for once
the stance adopted by the President is not just "words." He
commends France's intention to support the deliverance of
visas to African professionals, including "professors and
artists. France has lost some of its prestige in Africa. The
U.S. has become the new land of plenty for African students."
Europe's construction "through its defense" is the subject of
an op-ed in Les Echos by Defense Minister Alliot-Marie: "I
believe that a joint defense and security initiative will
contribute to revive Europe's confidence and action. We are
facing new challenges today, including the permanent threat of
terrorism. For Europe, only a strong cooperation between the
governments is an adequate response. While all our answers
cannot be military, they must be above all military. Contrary
to what some contend, the EU and NATO are not rivals: they
complement each other. The EU experience in defense matters
should help it approach the transatlantic alliance without any
hesitation whatsoever. Europe needs more strategic autonomy.
The European Defense Agency is a way to optimize our efforts
and needs. Mostly, the agency encourages the emergence of a
competitive European defense industry base." A separate op-ed
in La Croix by Jose Manuel Barosso is titled "More Money is
Needed for Europe!" In Liberation the President of the
European Parliament pens an op-ed titled "Inventing a New
Budget for the EU."
Le Figaro devotes a full-page report to "A Day with the
Marines in Iraq" by its correspondent Adrien Jaulmes. The
heading reads: "A year after taking Fallujah, the Americans
continue to pursue un-stoppable insurgents." Liberation
carries a full-page portrait of the Belgian woman converted to
Islam who became a suicide bomber in Iraq, while Le Parisien
devotes a two-page report to "Al-Qaeda in France: Confessions
of a Terrorist." Christophe Dubois quotes suspected terrorist
Safe Bourada: "French institutions are part of the list of our
enemies."
A major report in Le Figaro is titled: "The Americans Refuse
to Give Explanations About Secret Prisons" while another story
is devoted to the new relationship between the U.S. and the UN
(See Part C).
Le Journal du Dimanche carries a portrait of Pascal Lamy,
Secretary General of the WTO, "The Man Who Needs to Bring
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Together 149 Countries." "Market capitalism has its faults,
Lamy is quoted as saying, but everything we have tried in its
stead for the past 150 years has failed."
(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES:
Alleged CIA Secret Prisons
"Secret Prisons: Washington Refuses To Explain"
Philippe Gelie in right-of-center Le Figaro (12/05):
"Secretary Rice is setting out to deal with the toughest
challenge of her career as Secretary of State. Thanks to
rather weak pressure from the Europeans, she has no intention
of lifting the veil covering the involvement of the CIA in
allegations of rendition flights. On the contrary, she will be
putting each country in front of its responsibility, asking
each one to pick sides. Since the original story broke,
Washington has been promising to answer the formal requests
for an explanation. The European tour which will take
Secretary Rice to Germany, Romania, Ukraine and Brussels, will
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be an opportunity for frank discussions between allies. The
answer which has been chosen is exclusively political. In
essence, Secretary Rice will say `the war against terror
concerns you as well as us, and you should point out to your
publics the advantages (of fighting terrorism) rather than
point a finger at us.' No U.S. official has officially
admitted to the existence of secret prisons. Washington
continues to hide behind legality in order to cut short every
question, with comments such as `the U.S. respects the
sovereignty of its allies.' In short, `what has not been
proven need not be justified.' With this line of attack,
Secretary Rice hopes to gain something politically, and bring
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her allies to participate in the war against terror. But this
is also where she could hit the biggest snag, while measuring
the depth of the transatlantic misunderstanding. The argument
used in her USA today interview has been the justification for
detaining `illegal combatants.' In the absence of
transparency, secret prisons, rendition flights and phantom
detainees could well dig a deeper transatlantic gap, which had
begun to diminish with the second Bush term. This could weaken
the Euro-American cooperation in Iran, Afghanistan and Syria."
The U.S. and the UN
"The U.S. Uses the Budget to Threaten the UN"
Jean-Louis Turlin in right-of-center Le Figaro (12/05): "Kofi
Annan postponed his trip to Asia for budgetary reasons. It is
a sign that he is taking the U.S. threat, unconfirmed but
implicit, of linking the U.S. contribution to the reforms
approved in September, seriously. He remembers what happened
before, and so does John Bolton. The U.S. Ambassador has also
decided to use the budget to force the institution to change,
an institution which he openly denigrated before joining it.
His mission is UN reforms. and his supreme threat is that the
U.S. could be tempted to marginalize the UN and favor new
international institutions, which are more receptive or more
malleable. Whether this is a bluff or not, this trial of
strength amuses no one: the UN cannot function without its
budget. In this battle, the U.S. is isolated, while Bolton
remains faithful to his image of stubborn intransigence. While
the Americans are not alone in wanting to move UN reforms
forward, their strong-arming methods are re-enforcing the
feelings of small nations, which mistrust measures dictated by
the U.S. According to an expert, by using the budget as a
hostage, Bolton is placing himself in an untenable position."
China - U.S.: Airbus and Nuclear Competition
"Dependency"
Patrick Sabatier in left-of-center Liberation (12/05): "There
is no stake as crucial for globalization than the emergence of
China as a peaceful superpower through its economic
integration in the world. The visit to France of China's Prime
Minister should not be looked at exclusively through the prism
of industrial contracts signed with French companies. Chinese
leaders have opted for capitalism and prosperity. Its record
growth has triggered a great Chinese dependency on the rest of
the world. History has at times shown that superpowers in the
making have reverted to aggression in order to ensure their
growth. Integration through commerce and diplomacy is of
course much better. France must do everything it can in this
regard.'
"Franco-American Duel for the Deal of the Century"
Pierre Haski in left-of-center Liberation (12/05): "A
difficult technological and political choice for the Chinese:
who of the French or the Americans will be the partner of
reference in China's nuclear industry? The stakes are
essentially political, in a choice that is pitting France's
Areva against Washington's Westinghouse. France has the
advantage over the U.S. of having already built nuclear
reactors in China and offering better long-term after sales
technical support than the U.S., whose establishment sees
Beijing as a potential enemy."
"China's Explosive Dynamism"
Gilles Delafon in right-of-center Le Journal du Dimanche
(12/05): "As always, a Chinese visit is always dominated by an
economic agenda. Even so, since 1997, Beijing has become
France's `strategic' partner. Beijing defends a multi-polar
world in the face of the U.S. . With the result that France,
going against the rest of the EU, has asked for the lifting of
the Chinese arms embargo. On human rights, France does not
speak up much. But there aren't many nations which choose to
put democratic values before their economic interests. If one
considers China's economic evolution, it is undeniable that
the opening of its market is a much better instrument for
political liberalization than all the speeches in the world."
STAPLETON