Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06PARIS1199
2006-02-27 12:13:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Paris
Cable title:  

MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Iraq GWOT - Guantanamo -

Tags:  OPRC KMDR FR 
pdf how-to read a cable
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 001199

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 - Iraq GWOT - Guantanamo -
Bagram Iran
PARIS - Monday, February 27, 2006

(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT:

Iraq
GWOT - Guantanamo - Bagram
Iran

B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE:

The aftermath of the slaying of a young Jewish man, Ilan
Halimi, and yesterday's silent march that brought out tens of
thousands, including France's top politicians across the
political spectrum, is one of today's front-page stories. The
other is the Suez-Gaz de France merger in order to fend off a
hostile takeover by Italy's Enel. Le Figaro sees the merger as
a "surprise privatization" which has led to protest from
unions, but also from Italy's government, which is accusing
France of "protectionism." Le Figaro comments on the
government's decision: "This is a good surprise. France, which
claims to be liberal and European, when speaking in Brussels,
is extremely lukewarm at home about privatization, mainly
because it wants to keep unions happy."

Avian Flu is spreading with new cases of swans infected with
the H5N1 virus in the same region of France where there were
ducks and turkeys were previously diagnosed. President
Chirac's visit to the Salon de l'Agriculture is widely
reported, along with his message to "eat chicken." As more
cases of Avian Flu are diagnosed, France's officials reiterate
that "eating poultry is safe." Le Figaro details France's plan
to fight against Avian Flu explaining the role of each
national health agency. In its reporting on the chicungunya
epidemic in Reunion, the other health-related top story, Le
Figaro quotes Health Minister Bertrand about the cooperation
between France and the University of Maryland in developing a
vaccine against the virus.

The New York judge's ruling that the Pentagon must reveal the
names of detainees in Guantanamo is reported in Le Figaro, in
an introduction to a major report on the modernization of
Guantanamo. (See Part C) Iran's preliminary agreement with
Russia is today's other main international story. (See Part C)

The editorial in Les Echos reflects on the "binary" view of
the White House in seeing the war against terrorism as a
battle between Good and Evil. (See Part C)


(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES:

Iraq

"Bush and the Binary System"
Right-of-center Les Echos in its editorial (02/27): "The
American intervention in Iraq has had as its principle effect,
up to now, to destabilize the power relationship between
Sunnis and Shiites in the region. The risk that the southern
half of Iraq and the oil fields of Basra and of the Gulf
falling under Iranian Shiite influence is now very serious for
the Sunni camp. Samarra (site of the attack on the Shiite
mosque) could become the founding act of a civil war in Iraq,
which no one could predict the outcome and which we fail to
see how it could be managed by the American army. It could
equally open the door to a partitioning of the country into
three parts. In Washington, people must admit that binary
thought has its limits. In Tehran, they have known that for a
long time and are rubbing their hands."

Iran

"Glimmer of Hope in Nuclear Crisis"
Delphine Minoui in right-of-center Le Figaro (02/27): "The
agreement for a joint venture between Tehran and Moscow on
uranium enrichment brings a glimmer of hope to an otherwise
stalemated crisis. The Russian proposal for Iran to enrich its
uranium on Russian soil is meant to alleviate the
international communities' concerns about Iran acquiring the
atomic bomb. But nothing proves that Tehran will give up
uranium enrichment on its territory. The Russians are playing
a key role in the diplomatic pas-de-deux between Iran and the
international community, with a personal interest in resolving
the crisis. Sanctions against Iran could indeed put a damper
on a number of economic partnerships between Russia and Iran.
First among them, the nuclear plant in Bouchehr, where the
Russians are supervising the construction of two nuclear
reactors, presumably `commercial' nuclear reactors, and
despite the annoyance this has caused in Washington."

GWOT - Guantanamo - Bagram

"Guantanamo, a Fortress of the Absurd"
Philippe Gelie in right-of-center Le Figaro (02/27): "Four
years after Guantanamo opened, 409 detainees remain, although
they have been transferred to more modern installations. While
the officials here insist on the improvements which have been
made here, it is also clear that compared to a visit made in
2003, the changes observed prove that Guantanamo is here to
stay. What has not changed in Guantanamo is the absurdity
surrounding the base. Absurd not because the fortress has no
reason for being - some detainees are proven Jihaddists -
absurd because the detention has its own laws which escape
common sense. The concept of `error' has not arrived here yet,
despite a few liberated inmates. While the U.S. General in
charge reiterates that all inmates `are here for a reason,'
none is here for a good reason: `a reason' that only the law
could determine. The absence of light at the end of the tunnel
erases every effort by the U.S. Military to give a `positive
image' of this `model prison.'"

"A Second Guantanamo in Bagram"
Pascal Riche in left-of-center Liberation (02/27): "There is
worse than Guantanamo: it is the U.S. base in Bagram, outside
Kabul. Initially meant as a center for triage of prisoners to
be dispatched elsewhere, Bagram has become a permanent
detention center. Some 500 prisoners, Afghans for the most
part, are detained in conditions which are much worse than
those in Guantanamo. A situation until now undisclosed, but
reported in the New York Times, and which emphasizes that
contrary to the detainees in Guantanamo, those in Bagram
cannot contest their detention before a U.S. court and have no
legal representation. The number of detainees here has been
steadily growing, since the U.S. has been under fire about its
Guantanamo detention center conditions." STAPLETON