Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BUENOSAIRES1210
2006-05-31 15:44:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Buenos Aires
Cable title:  

MEDIA REACTION IRAQ; COLOMBIAN ELECTIONS; UN

Tags:  KPAO OPRC KMDR PREL MEDIA REACTION 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0009
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #1210/01 1511544
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 311544Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4701
INFO RHMFISS/CDR USSOCOM MACDILL AFB FL//SCJ2//
RULGPUA/USCOMSOLANT
UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001210 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR INR/R/MR, I/GWHA, WHA, WHA/PDA, WHA/BSC,
WHA/EPSC
CDR USSOCOM FOR J-2 IAD/LAMA

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO OPRC KMDR PREL MEDIA REACTION
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION IRAQ; COLOMBIAN ELECTIONS; UN
SECURITY COUNCIL; ENRON CASE; US IMMIGRATION
LEGISLATION; ARGENTINE JUDICIAL SECURITY; IMF
DELEGATION TO ARGENTINA; MERCOSUR; MONTENEGRO
05/30/06;BUENOS AIRES

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001210

SIPDIS

STATE FOR INR/R/MR, I/GWHA, WHA, WHA/PDA, WHA/BSC,
WHA/EPSC
CDR USSOCOM FOR J-2 IAD/LAMA

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO OPRC KMDR PREL MEDIA REACTION
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION IRAQ; COLOMBIAN ELECTIONS; UN
SECURITY COUNCIL; ENRON CASE; US IMMIGRATION
LEGISLATION; ARGENTINE JUDICIAL SECURITY; IMF
DELEGATION TO ARGENTINA; MERCOSUR; MONTENEGRO
05/30/06;BUENOS AIRES


1. SUMMARY STATEMENT

Weekend stories include the current situation in Iraq;
the outcome of Colombian elections; the imminent
voting at the UN Security Council to remove five of
its non-permanent members; the implications of the
Enron case; the status of the US immigration draft
bill; the arrival of an IMF delegation to Argentina;
the re-launching of Mercosur and Venezuela's entry
into it; the independence of Montenegro; Venezuelan
President Hugo Chavez preparing to sign deals to
secure his country's role in Bolivia's recent
nationalized energy industry; and Hamas withdrawing
its militia from the streets of Gaza.

Daily-of-record "La Nacion" (05/28) published an
interview with Leslie Burger, Library Association
President, who lectured at the 39th Argentine Meeting
of Librarians in Buenos Aires.


2. OPINION PIECES AND KEY STORIES

- "Far from a triumphant attitude, Bush and Blair
issue a 'mea culpa' about Iraq"

Ana Baron, Washington-based correspondent for leading
"Clarin," writes (05/27) "... President George W. Bush
and PM Tony Blair gave a joint press conference to
issue a 'mea culpa' due to the mistakes made in Iraq.
Aware of the cost that those mistakes have had on
their respective presidencies and the manner in which
it affected their popularity rates, both were more
united than ever.

"Bush admitted having used a tough language, with
which he gained the image of a cowboy decided to
exterminate Indians...

"... Furthermore, Bush said that the most important
mistake on a military level was the abuse of prisoners
at Abu Ghraib and the pictures that were shown all
over the world...

"For his part, Blair said that his most important
mistake was having overthrown every former member of
the Baaz political party, which left the Iraqi
government institutions without any government
official with the necessary knowledge and background
to perform duties."

- "They still don't get it"

Gwynne Dyer, contributor to liberal, English-language

"Buenos Aires Herald," writes (05/30) "... The
original decision to invade Iraq was the fatal
mistake; the rest is just consequences. Iraq's
government was crueler and less loved than most
regimes in the Arab world, but the US and UK would be
facing the same kind of resistance movement today if
they had invaded Morocco, Egypt or Yemen in 2003.
There is no country of over two million people in the
Arab world where an invading US army would not soon be
confronted by the kind of resistance it is facing in
Iraq.

"... If some other country had invaded Iraq with the
best of intentions - Russia, say, or Japan - it might
have got away with it. But the Anglo-American invasion
of Iraq was doomed from the first, and Bush and Blair
had dozens of experts on call who could have told them
why. Either they didn't listen, or they chose not to
ask."

- "Iraq cannot write the final chapter yet"

Leading "Clarin" carries an op-ed piece by Felipe A.

M. de la Balze, international economist and
negotiator, who opines (05/28) "The Iraqi people has
been subject during almost all its history to cruel
tyrannies...

"Since last week, for the first time in its history,
Iraq has a 'national unity' democratic government
including its most representative communities -




Shiites, Kurds and Sunnis...

"... According to the optimistic ones, the
conformation of a national unity government is the
first step toward a new Iraq. The pessimistic believe
that Iraq will inexorably be pushed to civil war...

"... For the USG, the possibility of civil war
represents a strategic, almost humiliating defeat."

- "Bush's victory; Chavez's setback"

Business-financial "Ambito Financiero's" columnist
Marcelo Falaz writes (05/29) "If Alvaro Uribe's
reelection has been much more of a possibility for
months, his definitive triumph is the most emphasized
news of yesterday's elections and has an impact beyond
Colombia.

"The outcome of Colombian elections implies strong
support for the most pro-US South American
administration and, at the same time, a possible brake
on Hugo Chavez's wishes to gain regional influence.

"Colombia's importance for the Bush administration is
that US top priority issues (drug trafficking,
terrorism, and free trade) overlap extensively in that
country."

- "A hard regional role for Bogota"

Oscar Raul Cardoso, international analyst of leading
"Clarin," opines (05/30) "... Just like Chavez's
successive triumph and the most recent one of Evo
Morales did not imply... an automatic rebirth of a
'populist chaos' in the region..., four years of
sustained economic growth and a notorious reduction of
violence are the reasons for Uribe's victory...
Neither the right nor the left wing can today
disregard Latin America's real mosaic.

"Nevertheless, the truth is that four more years for
Uribe will place Colombia in a troubled regional
situation, between the sword and a hard place. 'The
Times' newspaper considered (Colombia) a crucial place
'in the new Cold War' that is occurring in South
America, in clear reference to the growing
confrontation between the US and Venezuela.

"Colombia is in the middle of a confrontation between
its first and second trading partners. And, while
Uribe's obvious empathy is tuned to Bush's view and he
depends on Bush for his future FTA and for continued
military aid, the truth is that Venezuela not only
represents an economic asset (for Colombia) but a
national security issue as well."

- "An ally of George W. Bush"

Mercedes Lopez San Miguel, columnist of left-of-center
"Pagina 12," writes (05/29) "One of the few remaining
allies of the Bush administration in the region, which
is increasingly hostile to it, is perpetuating in
power. Recently, both Bush and Uribe signed an FTA,
and Washington is funding the so-called Plan Colombia
(an anti-drug plan that ended up in an 'anti-
terrorism' plan).

"Alvaro Uribe's reelection occurs now that the Andean
Community of Nations is dying, and the Cuban-
Venezuelan-Bolivian axis has invigorated since Evo
Morales took over.

"The man who has a tough line with insurrection and
ties with the paramilitary, has two challenges on both
the domestic and international levels - coming to
terms with the FARC and reviving the Andean Community
of Nations."

- "Chile rejects US pressure"

Business-financial "Ambito Financiero" reports (05/30)
"Chilean Foreign Minister Alejandro Foxley said
yesterday that his country is willing to be persuaded,




not pressured, to vote at the UN Security Council,
which will remove five of its non-permanent members.

"... According to 'La Tercera' local newspaper, the
USG had warned Chile that the bilateral relationship
between the two countries will be damaged if Chile
supports Venezuela's entry into the UN Security
Council."

- "The Enron case and a statement of condemnation of
corporate culture"

Mario Diament, contributor to daily-of-record "La
Nacion," comments (05/27) "... The US verdict against
two business executives of the Enron Company was a
condemnation of a perverse trend in US corporate
culture.

"... The implications of the Enron case are not
limited to the business environment. To a great
extent, they reach the White House due to a series of
complex ties between Kenneth Lay and George W. Bush...

"As has happened with other scandals, including that
of the war in Iraq, Bush has managed to avoid all
responsibility.

"With his popularity rate at the lowest level in
history, Bush has the advantage of a tiger and its
stripes - one more stripe does not make a difference."

- "Key US immigration legislation makes progress"

Hugo Alconada Mon, Washington-based correspondent for
daily-of-record "La Nacion," writes (05/26) "The US
took an important step yesterday toward the biggest
immigration reform in 20 years through the US Senate's
approval of a restrictive immigration draft bill that
will increase the penalties for those hiring illegal
immigrants and reinforce border controls. However, the
initiative includes the possibility that nearly ten
million undocumented immigrants will obtain US
citizenship.

"The (US) Senate's deal represents the first clear
triumph for President Bush's domestic agenda during
recent months. However, the draft bill could suffer
deep changes. The Lower House approved its own text,
even harsher, last December, and now legislators will
have to come to terms about a unique draft bill that
can be passed.

"In an election year, the initiative immediately
triggered an increasing wave of demonstrations of
immigrants, civil rights defenders and the Catholic
Church...

"... If approved, this immigration reform will affect
the future of millions of workers and their families,
most of whom have come from Latin America."

- "A very premature reelection project"

Joaquin Morales Sola, political analyst of daily-of-
record "La Nacion," comments (05/28) "They talk about
Kirchner's reelection as it only depended on his
solitary decision.

"... The international economy is having a negative
twist... Its direct consequences may not be
catastrophic either for Latin America or for
Argentina...

"However, a deceleration in world economic growth
could bring some reduction in the prices of Argentine
exports...

"Argentina's economic growth was based on four pillars
- high exchange rate, high fiscal surplus and trade
surplus, and inflation under control. For those
variables to continue, consistency and a high level of
investment are needed.

"Argentina needs direct foreign investment. It has




received less than deserved during recent years
because the required domestic political and judicial
conditions never existed. Things are worse today - at
the current pace, that investment could only be half
of that of last year. Even domestic investment could
be reluctant due to virtual price control accords, the
lack of a strategic plan and the official rebuffs to
businessmen who are, in last instance, investors."

- "An IMF delegation will arrive today in the country
to monitor the situation of the economy"

Juan Cerruti, economic columnist of business-financial
"El Cronista," writes (05/29) "After the total
cancellation of Argentina's debt to the IMF, both the
IMF and the Argentine Government will resume formal
contacts when an IMF delegation arrives today in the
country...

"The purpose of this delegation is gathering
information for an IMF annual audit on the evolution
of the economy of every IMF country-member...
According to speculation, the delegation will
particularly focus on two variables - the status of
inflation and the evolution of (governmental)
expenditure, and the situation of the provinces."

- "A USG position is being defined, which will be
crucial for Argentina"

Ana Baron, Washington-based correspondent for leading
"Clarin," writes (05/28) "Now that the departure of US
Treasury Secretary John Snow is imminent, there are
three candidates to replace him - former Secretary of
Commerce Dan Evans..., current number two at the US
Department of State Robert Zoellick, and Secretary of
Commerce Carlos Gutierrez.

"... Zoellick was one of the main protagonists of
attempts to re-launch the FTAA..., and has closely
followed our region and particularly Argentina and its
deep economic crisis.

"For his part, Carlos Gutierrez has played a very
active role in trade negotiations, and was one of the
members of Bush's delegation at the Summit of the
Americas."


3. EDITORIALS

- "Uribe's triumph in Colombia"

An editorial in daily-of-record "La Nacion" reads
(05/30) "Colombian conservative President Alvaro
Uribe's sliding victory... has broken the prevailing
Latin American trend of recent times to vote left-wing
or center-to-left candidates. However, we should
recognize that the violence caused by guerrillas and
narcoterrorism has turned Colombia into a very
different country vis--vis the rest of the
hemisphere, and that this has determined the outcome
of presidential elections.

"... Uribe's re-election is a clear victory of his
government's frontal policy against guerrillas and
high crime rates in big urban hubs... but it has also
implied the people's support for the country's
sustained economic growth after 1999 recession.

"... With all the power Colombians have granted to
Uribe, he will be in a position to consolidate his
policy oriented to put an end to violence and put the
country on a safe track towards stabilization and
peace. For this purpose, it will be fundamental that a
frontal struggle against guerrillas and drug
trafficking will continue guaranteeing the full
enforcement of human rights."

- "Mercosur's re-launching"

Conservative "La Prensa" (05/26) editorializes "...
Venezuela's entry in MERCOSUR will have economic and
political effects that should be considered,
particularly bearing in mind the difficult situation




the alliance is going through due to bilateral
confrontations and unsolved issues regarding trade
asymmetries among its partners...

"To all this, one should add the USG's increasing
mistrust regarding the progress made by the Venezuelan
government in the area, which has been one of the most
important points taken into account for the definitive
nomination of a new US ambassador to our country."

- "Montenegro, a new State"

Leading "Clarin" editorializes (05/27) "There are
processes of integration and disintegration in the
current international scenario, which reveal the
strong tensions within societies...

"The EU is the most successful example of a supra-
national integration process. The disintegration of
former Yugoslavia... has been the harshest expression
of dis-integration processes.

"We should equally emphasize that Montenegro's
independence has been peaceful and has not threatened
to end up in another outburst of violence.

"... The independence of the small state of Montenegro
closes a traumatic cycle in the expectation of a new
form of coexistence with its neighbors, which will
discourage extreme fragmentation."

To see more Buenos Aires reporting, visit our
classified website at:
http://www.state.sqov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires

GUTIERREZ