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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 003979 
 
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E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR FR
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Guantanamo Iraq - Camp David Talks 
Latin America - Chavez's Limitations 
PARIS - Tuesday, June 13, 2006 
 
(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT: 
 
Guantanamo 
Iraq - Camp David Talks 
Latin America - Chavez's Limitations 
 
(B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE: 
 
Domestic stories dominate today's front pages, with the government's 
budget for 2007 prominently featured in Le Figaro and the 
announcement of 15,000 job cuts projected in the public sector. 
 
In international news, the aftermath of the Guantanamo suicides 
leads afternoon left-of-center paper Le Monde to publish an 
editorial calling for the "closing of the detention camp," and 
commenting about the U.S., "which remains deaf to all arguments 
supporting the decision." La Croix's Gilles Biassette revisits 
Guantanamo's legal standing, the conditions of detention and the 
possible closing of the prison in an article entitled: "Guantanamo 
Embarrasses the Bush Administration." For Jean-Christophe Ploquin, 
Guantanamo is "one symbol too many." Liberation calls Guantanamo "A 
legal black hole." (See Part C) Liberation also interviews former 
U.S. Air Force legal advisor Scott Silliman who says "Washington 
does not know what to do with its detainees... It would like to have 
assurances from governments if they release them into their custody, 
but these claim they have no legal stand to keep them in prison..." 
He also believes Washington should close Guantanamo because "it is 
of little value to the U.S. government in terms of intelligence 
gathering..." 
 
The Middle East, with Israeli PM Olmert's visit to Europe, including 
today's visit to Paris, and the latest violence in the Palestinian 
territories are major international stories. 
PM Olmert's interview with Le Figaro is entitled: "Putting an End to 
the Hamas Government." On Europe: "I want to develop a much closer 
relationship with Europe..." On Hamas and Abbas: "I hope for Abbas's 
sake he will be able to impose himself and force Hamas to adopt the 
proposals set by the Quartet... If he accomplishes all of this, then 
we can talk long-term strategy... I will do everything I can to 
strengthen Abbas's position... " On Jerusalem: "Jerusalem has been 
the capital of one nation throughout history. It will always remain 
so..." On the security wall: "The security wall will adapt to the 
boundaries..." On Iran: "The diplomatic initiative is a necessary 
step to find an answer. We are determined to keep Iran from 
acquiring the nuclear bomb... But we are not the main players in 
this issue. It is the responsibility of the major powers and the 
UN." 
 
Le Figaro reports on the Camp David talks on Iraq (See Part C) and 
on Turkey's new step towards EU membership as talks began yesterday 
in Luxembourg: "This is the first and least contentious round of 
discussions, on science and research... But the question of the 
official recognition Cyprus is pending... and the EU is pressing 
Ankara to open its ports to Cypriot ships by the end of 2006 which 
would be a de facto recognition of the Republic by Turkey." 
 
(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES: 
 
Guantanamo 
 
"Closing Guantanamo" 
Left-of-center Le Monde in its editorial (06/13): "The reaction of 
Rear Admiral Harris to the three suicides illustrates the gap that 
separates American officials and the rest of the world on 
Guantanamo. The same goes for Colleen Graffy's reaction when she 
said it was 'a publicity stunt...' We do not want to cover our face 
when it comes to what needs to be done to deal with terrorism, but 
we would like to make the U.S. understand that Guantanamo has become 
a black stain in the democratic world... America's blindness when it 
comes to the detainees... exposes all democracies to Islamic 
propaganda and radicalization... It was not enough to clamor that 
Guantanamo is a legal absurdity, that it is a violation of human 
rights... It was not enough to underscore the errors of History in 
matters of detention, from Japanese war camps... to Thatcher's 
stubbornness over the IRA hunger strikers. The U.S. remains deaf to 
all our arguments. The least that European leaders can do is, every 
time they attend a high level meeting with American officers, demand 
the closing of Guantanamo. Angela Merkel recently showed the way. 
The French must follow." 
 
"One Symbol Too Many" 
Jean-Christophe Ploquin in Catholic La Croix (06/13): "Gunatanamo 
has become the tip of the iceberg. Visible but secret, the prison 
stands as a symbol to a state of mind which ignores international 
and American law. It is the symbol of an excessive fight which has 
gone too far, as witnessed by what went on at Abu Ghraib... It is 
impossible to say whether the detention of the hundreds of 
individuals at Guantanamo has prevented other terrorist attacks or 
enabled terrorist networks to be dismantled. But it seems obvious 
that after four years, either the information has been collected, or 
it has lost pertinence... The question is what to do with these 
prisoners who may have become more dangerous since their captivity? 
The only way out is to get out of the legal no man's land that they 
are in. As for Europe, a willing partner in the fight against 
terrorism, it should not turn away from this time bomb that 
continues to fuel the fires of hatred towards the West inside the 
Muslim world. Several European countries have shown themselves to be 
shamefully weak by authorizing the CIA rendition flights." 
 
"A Legal Black Hole" 
Pascal Riche in left-of-center Liberation (06/13): "The 
international community is calling for the closing of the detention 
center...Meanwhile American authorities at Guantanamo have not shone 
with humanity in their comments... A State Department official, 
Colleen Graffy, stood out when she said that the suicides were a 
'good PR move.'" 
 
Iraq - Camp David Talks 
 
"American War Council on Iraq" 
Philippe Gelie in right-of-center Le Figaro (06/13): "It is truly a 
war council that George W. Bush has been holding at Camp David since 
yesterday... One noteworthy addition to these meetings is the 
presence of independent experts... The difficulties in controlling 
the militia and the slowness of reconstruction are the two dark 
shadows that Washington and Baghdad are hoping to work out, 
especially since the disappearance of Zarkawi... For Bush, the 
possibility of pulling American troops from Iraq is considered a 
tangential outcome of the talks, even if officially, the topic is 
not on the agenda." 
 
Latin America - Chavez's Limitations 
 
"Chavez's Proselytism Has Limitations" 
Pierre Rousselin in right-of-center Le Figaro (06/13): "The 
unleashed Chavez wave has crashed in Peru. Despite his oil dollars, 
Chavez was not able to get his man elected... In Nicaragua, his 
money may not suffice either in next fall's elections... Chavez 
claims to want to rid Latin America of American imperialism. But 
asking Latin America to give up agreements, which open up the North 
American market, in exchange for a revolutionary mirage makes no 
sense... While there is no love lost between the Latin Americans and 
the U.S., the former know where their interests lie... American 
diplomacy, which is otherwise engaged with Iraq, Iran, the Middle 
East and Russia, has no other choice but to let things be in Latin 
America. Especially as long as Chavez's rhetoric does not keep him 
from supplying oil to the U.S. ... Humala's victory in Peru would 
have created an anti-American block. This has now been compromised. 
And the U.S. can feel relieved, especially considering the support 
Caracas has given Iran on its nuclear program." STAPLETON