Cablegate: Media Reaction Report - Cia - Terrorist Finance Tracking

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 004381

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.

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR FR
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION REPORT - CIA - Terrorist Finance Tracking
Program Iraq North Korea
PARIS - Monday, June 26, 2006

(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT:

CIA - Terrorist Finance Tracking Program
Iraq
North Korea

B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE:

French domestic stories dominate today's news, but the lead
front-page story revolves around the Mittal Steel-Arcelor merger,
which was finally approved yesterday by Arcelor's Board of
Directors. The two economic papers, Les Echos and Le Tribune
headline: "Arcelor Resigned to Mittal Takeover." Le Figaro headlines
"Arcelor Gives In to Mittal." Also on the domestic front, President
Chirac will be the guest of this evening's France 2 8PM newscast
where he is expected to renew his support to PM Villepin.

Le Monde carries a full-page interview with Former Foreign Minister
Hubert Vedrine, who wants Europe to get out of its impasse and find
again its own capacity for political initiative. He says it is
"dangerous" for Europe to tag along behind the U.S. "The U.S. is the
biggest power the world has ever seen, yet, the West is losing its
monopoly on the conduct of world affairs. Not its influence, for the
West's influence continues to be colossal. But on the strategic
level, the world is slowly resembling the WTO, where the wealthiest
nations do not make the laws... and have to agree to paradoxical
alliances. For centuries we have been leading, and defining the
criteria of good and evil... The Americans are dreaming of a global
alliance of democracies under their aegis. Hence their reasons for
an expanded NATO... and Echelon. This American strategic concept
will be adopted by the Europeans because they lack their own. This
is a concept for combat. It may be legitimate, but is it legitimate
for NATO to operate outside its zone, in Afghanistan? These are
major turning points which are not being sufficiently debated."

Le Parisien carries a one-page report on Guantanamo by correspondent
Thomas Cantaloube entitled "In the Hell of Guantanamo" after his
visit to the detention camp. Cantaloube begins: "The iguanas did not
want to move when the camp was built. Cohabitation is great between
the reptiles and the detainees. Not so between the prisoners and
their wardens. Nevertheless the Americans are very proud of the
installations: they point to the arrow painted on the floor showing
the direction of Mecca... They are very proud of their carrot and
stick system, of the white, off-white and orange jumpsuits..." But
Cantaloube contends the carrot and stick system does not work: "camp
4, the 'easy' camp, is practically empty..." About the JTF-GITMO he
writes: "The military men in charge show no doubts about their
mission, like their President... They are all convinced they are
fighting terrorism, like their colleagues in Iraq or Afghanistan...
despite the daily insults from prisoners..." But Cantaloube quotes
an American soldier at the end of his article: "We Americans are
naove, we think we can continue to detain these men indefinitely...
Some are guilty, but some are innocent... They have no hope... In
their place I would also rebel or commit suicide. One of these days,
things are going to blow up here..."

Le Journal du Dimanche interviews Health Minister Xavier Bertrand on
the latest avian flu alert in Indonesia where a human-to-human
transmission was detected: "We need to take this information
seriously because it is the first time we have proof of a human
transmission of the disease. But fortunately, the virus has
undergone a minimal mutation."

The Sunday-Monday edition of Le Monde leads with "The CIA Accused of
Banking Espionage." The front-page article quotes Under Secretary
Stuart Levey: "The system gave us an incredible vista onto the
operations of terrorist networks..." (See Part C)

France Inter radio's Bernard Guetta devotes his commentary to Iraq's
Prime Minister's plan for national reconciliation. (See Part C)

In Le Journal du Dimanche Gilles Delafon devotes his column to the
"Nuclear Alert in the Pacific" (See Part C) while Le Figaro devotes
a full page to the situation in Somalia, and to Ethiopia's new
concerns. Le Figaro interviews Kofi Annan's special representative
for Somalia, Francois Fall, who is "encourage by the recent
agreement between the federal government and the Islamic Tribunals."
Falls says "deployment of foreign troops in the region is not being
considered for the moment..." Fall is favorable to "the lifting of
the weapons embargo" but he is concerned about "a potential armed
clash between Somalia and Ethiopia. This is why we have asked all
the major powers to use of their influence to stop the Islamic
militia from concentrating on the Ethiopian border..."

(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES:

CIA - Terrorist Finance Tracking Program

"The CIA Spied on International Banking Transactions"
Eric Leser in left-of-center Le Monde (06/26): "The existence of the
Terrorist Finance Tracking Program was confirmed by the Secretary of
the Treasury, albeit reluctantly. But says that it is limited to
banking operations by individuals suspected of having ties to
Al-Qaeda. The program could not have been implemented without the
cooperation of the Swift network... The existence of this secret
spying network was known to the G-10 central banks. But as in the
case of the NSA's eavesdropping, it would appear that the Bush
administration has deliberately bypassed the laws protecting
individuals in the framework of civil liberties... The Bush
administration asked the NYT to refrain from publishing its
information, but to no avail."

Iraq

"If the Iraqi Prime Minister Says So..."
Bernard Guetta on government-run France Inter radio (06/26): "Prime
Minister al-Maliki's national reconciliation plan is akin to
admitting that in Iraq there is no rule of law... Each of his
proposals, at once desirable and necessary, underscores what should
be and therefore what hasn't been done, and the resulting picture is
terrifying. When he asks all political factions to adopt a moderate
discourse to instill a climate of confidence, he is saying there is
neither confidence nor moderation... The PM has acknowledged the
existence of death squads by asking for an end to summary
executions... And when ha calls for commissions to decide on the
liberation of imprisoned innocents, he acknowledges that innocents
have been unfairly detained... Punishing those who carry out torture
means they have gone unpunished... When he calls for a dialogue with
the multinational forces -read the U.S. army - to prevent human
rights violations, the implications speak for themselves...
Al-Maliki asked for warrants before arrests and searches can
proceed... In short, the Prime Minister has just confirmed that in
Iraq, instead of an emerging democracy, what reigns is the law of
the jungle."

North Korea

"Nuclear Alert in the Pacific"
Gilles Delafon in right-of-center Le Journal du Dimanche (06/25):
"Unpredictable North Korea is preparing its missile launch. The
fueling of the launcher has started, scrutinized by American spy
satellites. Cleverly orchestrated, the provocation has had its
effect. South Korea is convinced its neighbor is not bluffing. Japan
is deploying its radars and is threatening Pyongyang. Australia is
threatening to cut its food aid program. But it is in Washington
that the embarrassment level is most obvious. The talks on U.S.
economic aid, in exchange for North Korea giving up its nuclear
program, between the group of six and North Korea are at an
impasse... Washington has opted for diplomacy. But it is not making
progress. The North Korean maneuver is clearly of the blackmailing
type. Pyongyang knows that Washington is betting on the fall of the
North Korean regime, the most ludicrous in the world. Pyongyang
knows also that Iran has just been offered the chance of a direct
dialogue with the U.S., which North Korea has unsuccessfully been
asking for. Hence the danger that North Korea choose an electroshock
approach in order to remind Washington of its capacity for harm."
STAPLETON

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