Cablegate: Jamaica: Points Delivered Outlining Key Elements

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL PTER KPAO JA
SUBJECT: JAMAICA: POINTS DELIVERED OUTLINING KEY ELEMENTS
OF PRESIDENT'S SPEECH ON DETAINEES IN THE WAR ON TERROR

REF: STATE 146996

1.(SBU) PolOffs delivered points Reftel, para. 8, outlining
key elements of the President's speech on detainees in the
war on terror, in a private meeting with the Under-Secretary
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade (MFAFT)
of the Government of Jamaica (GoJ), Ambassador Vilma McNish,
the afternoon of Sept. 7. In response, McNish noted the
following:

(A) The GoJ fully supports the USG in the global war on
terror, and understands the necessity of keeping dangerous
terrorists in confinement. The GoJ would continue its close
cooperation with the U.S. on counter-terrorism and other
security issues.

(B) Nevertheless, the USG,s belated acknowledgment that
numerous detainees had been in the custody of the CIA for
extended periods, together with media reports of prisoner
abuses, would lead many around the world to doubt whether
&no detainees remain in CIA custody8.

2.(SBU) NAS Director also delivered points in Reftel, and
provided a copy of the White House fact sheet entitled
&Bringing Terrorist to Justice8 to Angela Buchanan, the
Acting Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of National
Security. Ms. Buchanan promised to review the fact sheet but
stated that the Ministry would make no formal reply to the
demarche.

3.(U) The PAO disseminated the White House fact sheets on
"Bringing Terrorists to Justice", "The Administration's
Legislation to Create Military Commissions", and "The Fifth
Anniversary of September 11, 2001" to: contacts in the media,
NGOs, and academia; civil servants and politicians; and
members of the Jamaican Constabulary and Defense Forces. The
PAO also provided information from the State Department Fact
Sheet "Winning the War on Terrorism" as background to the
media.
HEG

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