MEDIA REACTION AL ZARQAWI'S DEATH US-CUBAN TIES FARM

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001340 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 AL ZARQAWI'S DEATH US-CUBAN TIES FARM SUBSIDIES ICC ARMAMENT EXPORTS TIP REPORT 06/13/06 ¶1. SUMMARY STATEMENT Today's most important international stories include the implications of Al Zarqawi's death; an escalation in the US-Cuban confrontation; agricultural liberalization as the main demand of developing countries; the progress made by the International Criminal Court; international arms exports; and the implications of the TIP report on Argentina. ¶2. OPINION PIECES AND KEY STORIES - "Bush and a delayed 'victory'" Oscar Raul Cardoso, international analyst of leading "Clarin," opines (06/13) "Perhaps, George W. Bush should accept that the seeming victory brought by the death of Al Zarqawi arrived too late to substantially improve things in Iraq, or, at least, the world's perception of the US commitment in the Persian Gulf. It is interesting to note that the murder of the second most powerful terrorist, after Osama bin Laden, has not provided Bush with any margin to validate his policy on 'maintaining' an increasingly unpopular war. "... The idea that Al Zarqawi was coldly executed has clouded the achievement. "... It is useful to observe the overall disbelief in Bush's account of the events... And we have not even considered Wall Street's increasingly hostile attitude toward Bush's economy. According to banker Ken Miller, if they ever loved this war, 'markets no longer do it.'" - "The US denounces 'harassment' against its Embassy in Cuba" Hugo Alconada Mon, Washington-based correspondent for daily-of-record "La Nacion," writes (06/13) "The USG and the Cuban Government have escalated the confrontation that has occurred for decades between them, which currently includes an exchange of accusations of interference and restrictions on the activities of US diplomats posted on the island... "Last week, there was a power outage at the Office of US Interests in Havana. "The Castro regime denied performing 'intimidating practices,' as termed by the US State Department spokesperson, Sean McCormack..., he dismissed the possibility of the US taking similar steps with the Office of Cuban Interests in Washington." - "World farm subsidies and hope" Daily-of-record "La Nacion" carries an opinion piece by contributor Alieto Guadagni, who writes (06/13) "... Agricultural liberalization today, is the main demand of developing countries. It requires political leaders from wealthy countries to confront protectionist interests, while also calling for strong multilateral leadership. "The last opportunity for this seems to be the G8 meeting to be held in July... Now it is time to strengthen the Transatlantic Dialogue on liberalization at the 'top brass' level of big European countries and the US, however none of the administrations seem enthusiastic due to their own domestic and geopolitical problems." - "A world justice system" Daily-of-record "La Nacion" carries an op-ed piece by Luis Moreno Ocampo, attorney of the International Criminal Court at The Hague, who writes (06/13) "... The impact of the Statute of Rome is becoming more apparent all over the world. "The Colombian paramilitary forces have mentioned that the ICC is the basis of its decision to demobilize... The Netherlands' attorneys, who prosecuted a Dutch businessman for having revived the conflict in Liberia, mentioned the ICC as inspiration for their decision as well... "The system created in Rome three years ago has been put to work." - "The aspects of an increasingly contradicting world" Jorge Rosales, international columnist of daily-of-record "La Nacion," comments (06/13) "Contradictions continue troubling the world at the beginning of the 21st century. "In a scenario with the lowest number of wars since the end of the Cold War, developed countries have responded to the challenges posed by a world with mobile borders and hundreds of millions of people trying to flee from poverty and hunger through an increase in military expenditures. "... In this scenario, the increases in defense and homeland security expenditures seem to be a logical outcome. However, the countries increasing their defense expenditures are the same countries that export armaments, which many times end up in the hands of the terrorist groups they are fighting. "Russia and the US, which struggle against Chechen terrorists and Al Qaeda respectively, are the two main suppliers - they placed weapons in the world for 57 billion dollars in 2005." ¶3. EDITORIALS - "Struggle against trafficking of persons" Leading "Clarin" editorializes (06/13) "The trafficking of persons is an abhorring crime based on socio-economic causes, like poverty and the decadence of some regions in the interior of Argentina and neighboring countries, and on the inefficiency of our institutions. "The US State Department's report on this crime placed Argentina among the countries that were included in a watch list... "Police corruption, judicial inefficiency and the disarticulate functioning of the several jurisdictions facilitate this crime and the impunity of organized gangs. "In view of this, the (Argentine) Government should promote the enactment of the draft bill against TIP, which is now in Congress... as well as take the struggle against the TIP seriously." To see more Buenos Aires reporting, visit our classified website at: http://www.state.sqov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires GUTIERREZ