US embassy cable - 05PARIS7788

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