MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Bush to China Bush Presidency

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 007788

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 - Bush to China Bush Presidency
Information Society Summit - Tunis CIA - Alleged Prisons
Overseas
PARIS - Wednesday, November 16, 2005

(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT:

Bush to China
Bush Presidency
Information Society Summit - Tunis
CIA - Alleged Prisons Overseas

B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE:

The World Summit on the Information Society which opens today
in Tunis continues to elicit commentaries, both because of the
"ludicrous" (La Tribune) location chosen and because the
system in place, ICANN, is working. Several regional
editorials are devoted to the role of the Internet, including
as pertains to terrorism. (See Part C) The French government's
reaction to the alleged beating and harassment of a journalist
and a TV crew, and its criticism of Tunis is widely reported
in Le Figaro and Liberation which notes that out of the fifty
expected state leaders, only twenty-five will be attending,
and none from Europe.

Secretary Rice's visit to the Middle East and the agreement

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reached on border crossings is reported in Le Figaro which
comments: "Without the intervention of Condoleezza Rice, the
negotiations which had been at a standstill for months, would
probably still be at an impasse."

President Bush's visit to Asia is widely covered in Le Figaro
and Le Monde. For Le Figaro "the delicate mission entails
giving support to one ally while not upsetting the others." Le
Monde notes that the "Chinese-American relationship is marked
by reciprocal mistrust." (See Part C)

Radio commentator Bernard Guetta devotes his editorial on
France Inter to the continuing drop in President Bush's
popularity ratings. Guetta writes: "The failure of a man is
also the failure of the U.S. The failure of the U.S. in Iraq
would be the victory of terrorism and al-Qaeda." (See Part C)

The alleged CIA prisons and transfer of detainees is again
receiving attention as the Spanish government looks into
allegations of CIA flights transiting through the Balearic
Islands. (See Part C)
(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES:

Bush to China

"The Chinese-American Relationship Marked by Mistrust"
Bruno Philip in left-of-center Le Monde (11/16): "The growing
economic dependency between the U.S. and China is forcing
Beijing and Washington to continue with a complicated dialogue
inside a relationship which is devoid of intimacy and often
marked by mistrust. No major headway is expected after the
visit, which is a sign that the relationship has its own
limitations. But in Washington everyone does not share the
same vision where China is concerned. The Pentagon's hawks and
the anti-China lobbyists are worried about China's qualitative
military changes, which they believe threatens America's
interests in Asia. The State Department moderates on the other
hand believe the U.S. must pursue its constructive dialogue
with China, which can become a factor for world stability.
Meanwhile President Bush and Secretary Rice tend to lean
towards a third way: a rejection of the `containment' policy
but without establishing a strategic partnership with China."

"Bush at the Center of Asian Tensions"
Philippe Gelie in right-of-center Le Figao (11/16): "President
Bush arrived in Japan with a delicate mission: supporting his
favorite ally while not upsetting the other interlocutors in
the region. Considering the level of tension between Tokyo,
Beijing and Seoul, the margin of maneuver is indeed narrow.
Japan, which feels it is losing a leadership that is fast
going into China's hands, needs President Bush and his
support. In Bush's world, Japan belongs to that category of
former dictatorships which has become exemplary after its
conversion to democracy and a market economy. President Bush
praises Japan for its liberalism and salutes its contribution
in Iraq."
Bush Presidency
"Two Western Crises"
Bernard Guetta on government-run France Inter radio (11/16):
"Day after day the polls are increasingly bad for [George
Bush] and even on the war on terrorism which was approved by
87% of the population in 2001, half of today's public opinion
disapproves of the way it is being handled. The shift in
public opinion is such that even the Republicans are trying to
distance themselves from the President. Senators and
congressmen do not want to be identified as being close to the
White House. and doubts linger as to where the intervention in
Iraq is leading. Added to the political concerns is a deep-
seated moral unease. For the first time in his five years in
power George Bush is on the defensive: there is little that
could put him back into the captain's seat. But the problem is
that this man's failure would mark the failure of the U.S. and
an American failure in Iraq would mean victory for al Qaeda,
for terrorism and for Jihaddists. George Bush has put
international stability on the line. Coincidentally, just when
the world could use a strong Europe, it is conspicuously
absent. This would be a good time to be able to rely on
Europe's political weight and diplomatic influence, but since
the fiasco of the referendum last spring Europe no longer
seems able to find a way to come together. Washington and
Brussels: the entire western world is in a state of crisis."

CIA - Alleged Prisons Overseas

"A Scandal in Spain About CIA Secret Flights"
Left-of-center Liberation (11/16): "Just when Madrid and
Washington are working on strengthening their relationship
after Spain's withdrawal from Iraq, the Spanish government's
warnings about alleged stopovers in Spanish airports of CIA
flights sound like a threat. The Spanish Interior Minister's
announcement that an investigation would be undertaken and the
serious allegations in the press are all the more damning
because they come on the heels of the Washington Post
revelations of secret CIA prisons."

"Torture Charters to The Balearic Islands"
Alexandra Montaldier in right-of-center France Soir (11/26):
"After Italy and Germany, Spain is the third country in Europe
to open an investigation into the alleged transportation of
U.S. prisoners to other countries where they would undergo
interrogations and possibly torture."

Information Society Summit - Tunis

"Can We Let the UN Control the Internet?"
Nicolas Barre in right-of-center Le Figaro (11/16): "In
essence the battle for control of the Internet opposes the
U.S. to the rest of the world. The system in place, ICANN, is
unique: although American, the system imposes its control over
all nations. And so the question is: can the world tolerate an
organization under the influence of the U.S. to control the
network of networks? . Those opposed to a U.S. control of the
Internet say this would be akin to the U.S. holding a sort of
nuclear weapon of cyberspace. But the only counter-proposals
are coming from totalitarian regimes, such as Cuba, Iran and
China, which see the Internet as a tool for subversion. The
fact that the summit is held in Tunis emphasizes the
limitations of the UN. For the moment, the system in place
managed by ICANN is working. But the U.S. knows that it must
evolve. Still, the only regimes complaining are totalitarian
regimes."
"The North South Digital Fracture"
Francois-Xavier Pietri in centrist La Tribune (11/16):
"Organizing a world information summit in Tunis is a first.
Considering Tunisia's policies on information, the summit
could be said to be a farce. This is the only word that comes
to mind. But there is a true need to widen the use of
telecommunications if we want to avoid a bigger digital
fracture between the North and the South."

"The World Does Not Need a Torn Web"
Joseph Limagne in regional Ouest-France (11/16): "Cyber crime
exists and everyone knows to what extent al-Qaeda-linked
terrorists know how to best make use of the Internet. A
policing of the Web is therefore a real need. But on condition
that civil liberties are not transgressed in the name of the
war against terror. These political concerns conceal other and
bigger economic concerns. The diverging points of view which
continue to dominate predict that the Tunis summit will not
end in success. But at least we can hope that there will be no
break up of the single Internet network into a myriad of
networks. What the world does not need is a torn Web."
STAPLETON