Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06PARIS6842
2006-10-17 13:35:00
SECRET
Embassy Paris
Cable title:  

MFA DISCUSSES COUNTER-TERRORISM COOPERATION

Tags:  PTER PGOV PREL FR 
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O 171335Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2256
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEILB/NCTC WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHMFISS/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEAWJA/DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
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RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS IMMEDIATE 1764
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0929
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S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 006842 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/17/2016
TAGS: PTER PGOV PREL FR
SUBJECT: MFA DISCUSSES COUNTER-TERRORISM COOPERATION


Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt, for reas
ons 1.4 (b) and (d)

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 006842

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/17/2016
TAGS: PTER PGOV PREL FR
SUBJECT: MFA DISCUSSES COUNTER-TERRORISM COOPERATION


Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt, for reas
ons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (U) This is an action request. See paragraph 7.


2. (S) Summary: In a meeting on October 16, MFA
DAS-equivalent for Security in the Bureau of Strategic
Affairs, Pierre Thenard, outlined generally positive French
views on the Terrorist Inciters/Facilitators Initiative.
Thenard inquired about the possible visit in December of the
A/S for Counter-Terrorism Crumpton to continue bilateral
discussions inaugurated by Counselor Zelikow in 2005. (See
Action Request in paragraph 7.) He explained in some detail
France,s domestic efforts to adopt measures similar to the
U.S., E.O. 13224, and improving 1267 Committee cooperation
including preserving the committee,s relevance. Thenard
also touched on French/Israeli counter-terrorism dialogue,
ideas for further U.S./France cooperation in the G8,s
Counter-Terrorism Action Group (CTAG) and French efforts to
enforce EU designations like the PKK and Tamil Tigers. End
Summary

Terrorism Finance: Terrorist Inciters/Facilitators Initiative
-------------- --------------


3. (S) MFA DAS-equivalent for Security, Pierre Thenard, told
us on October 16 that the French interagency was still
evaluating the U.S. request to co-sponsor the 1267
designation of five individuals who are known to provide both
material support to terrorists and incite/facilitate
terrorism. Thenard characterized the overall French response
as positive, and explained that the initiative already had a
great deal of support in his own office, the French Mission
to the UN, the French Embassy in Washington, and several of
the French intelligence agencies. He noted, however, that
the names were still being vetted with the MFA,s Middle East
bureau, as well as several other concerned agencies. The
GoF, he said, hopes to have a response in the coming week.
Thenard added that there is no public debate on this issue in
France because the public fully supports actions against
individuals who incite terrorism.


4. (S) While Thenard was personally supportive of the
initiative, he explained that other GoF officials were less

certain about its added value. If individuals were already
sanctionable under 1267 for providing material support, some
questioned the added benefit of specifying their role in
inciting terrorism through speech. Furthermore, Thenard
asked if the U.S. was prepared to articulate a threshold for
incitement, and if so, which activities would qualify.
Poloff explained that highlighting the international
community,s contempt for inciting/facilitating terrorism,
already condemned in UNSCR 1624, was an important aspect of
U.S. counter-terrorism policy.

Terrorism Finance: Domestic Legislation to Freeze Assets
-------------- --------------


5. (S) France,s most recent counter-terrorism legislation,
adopted on January 24, 2006, permits the government to freeze
assets of French citizens and foreigners suspected of money
laundering or terrorist financing (Chapter 8, Article 23).
According to Thenard, the government,s enforcement decree
(required of all French legislation that contains an
enforcement element) is now in the last stages of
negotiation. Several French banks had been particularly
difficult because of the onerous burden it would put on them,
but most of the details had now been settled. The French
plan to issue the decree by the end of 2006. The GoF
currently has the capacity to freeze assets based on 1267
designations, but has not had its own domestic legislation
(like E.O. 13224) that would allow the government to
independently freeze assets of French citizens. Thenard
noted that he is not aware of the GoF,s initial targets
under the new decree, but added that rumors about Corsican
separatists were circulating.

U.S./ France Counter-Terrorism Bilaterals in Paris

PARIS 00006842 002 OF 003


-------------- --------------


6. (S) Thenard said that the French Embassy in Washington had
recently informed him of Assistant Secretary Crumpton,s
upcoming visit to Paris as part of a counter-terrorism
conference for American ambassadors posted in North Africa.
He asked if A/S Crumpton intended to use the opportunity for
continuing U.S./France bilateral discussions on terrorism,
inaugurated last year by Counselor Zelikow, addeding that the
GoF would be pleased to receive A/S Crumpton. Thenard hoped
that we could soon begin to outline areas to be discussed.
Poloff agreed to contact Washington for further details.


7. (S) Action Request: Can S/CT please confirm that Assistant
Secretary Crumpton intends to visit Paris for the December

SIPDIS
6/7 U.S. Ambassadors, Conference? If so, does A/S Crumpton
also intend to hold bilateral counterterrorism discussions
with the French?

Dialogue with Israel
--------------


8. (S) France and Israel held their second annual
counter-terrorism bilaterals in Tel Aviv earlier this year,
according to Thenard. He said he was impressed by the
professionalism and focus of the Israeli delegation, at a
particularly tense time in Israel. Dialogue in the security
field, Thenard stressed, was quickly improving, despite
differences on Middle East issues. The GoF, he added, had
seen a solid effort on the part of Israel to reach out and
seek French cooperation in counter-terrorism matters.

1267 Cooperation
--------------


9. (S) When asked how French officials saw current
cooperation on designations, Thenard stressed that the GoF
was very pleased with the tools made available by the 1267
committee and thought cooperation with the U.S. in New York,
Washington, and Paris was excellent. He expressed
frustration, however, that French intelligence agencies were
not willing to share more information on proposed designees.
Often, he said, the GoF was inclined to agree with a
designation, but not share additional (and often more
damning) information on the targets. Thenard called French
intelligence agencies "old fashioned," and not accustomed to
working with diplomats. He hoped this attitude would evolve
over time, and said that the MFA continued to advocate a more
forward-leaning approach.

EU vs 1267 Designation of Jihadists
--------------


10. (S) According to Thenard, the Dutch are advocating an EU
designation of a jihadist organization they say is not
connected to al-Qaeda. France, he said, preferred to list
the organization under 1267, and was arguing the case with
its European partners. The GOF sees the 1267 committee as a
vehicle for going after all jihadist terrorist organizations
because they are by their very nature connected to al-Qaeda.
Distinguishing between jihadist groups by taking a more
legalistic approach to their direct affiliation with a
systematic al-Qaeda network could set an unhelpful precedent
that would make it more difficult to use the 1267 tools in
the future.

Improving CTAG, CTED, CTC Cooperation
--------------


11. (S) Thenard raised the possibility of further U.S./France
cooperation in the G8,s Counter Terrorism Action Group
(CTAG),in the form of G8 plus meetings in capitals (similar
to what the Russians did during their G8 presidency). He
said he was surprised to learn over the past year that many
of France,s ambassadors were completely unaware of the CTAG.
Thenard,s idea (not yet a formal proposal) is for the CTAG
to identify countries most in need of reform (based in part
on the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate,s (CTED)

PARIS 00006842 003 OF 003


analysis) and instruct G8 Ambassadors in those countries to
use the CTAG mechanism to work with the targeted country.
This could eliminate the passivity with which many countries
react to the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee,s (CTC)
monitoring mechanism. Thenard added that Israel and China had
both expressed a great deal of interest in further
cooperation with the G8 on counter-terrorism, and that this
might be one vehicle through which we could bring them in.

PKK
---


12. (S) Thenard carefully avoided questions on the PKK, but
did note that French intelligence services had their eye on
several groups operating in the country and added that the
Kurdish population in France was sizable. In response to a
very direct question about the GoF,s political will to go
after PKK operatives, Thenard admitted that the fact that the
PKK did not carry out attacks in France might be a factor in
the overall policy. He added that the Tamil Tigers had
recently been added to the EU list of terrorist
organizations, and that while the GoF had no doubts about the
nature of the group,s terrorist activities, it remained to
be seen how the GoF would react. (NOTE: Turkish diplomats in
Paris have often attributed what they call "insufficient"
French cooperation on the PKK to a lack of political will;
because France had never been the victim of a PKK attack it
did not want to create tension with local PKK operatives.)


Please visit Paris' Classified Website at:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm
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