MEDIA REACTION NORTH KOREA; US-LATIN AMERICA; GUANTANAMO;

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001389 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 NORTH KOREA; US-LATIN AMERICA; GUANTANAMO; FREE TRADE; LATIN AMERICAN POPULISM; GLOBAL WARMING 06/22/06; BUENOS AIRES ¶1. SUMMARY STATEMENT Today's papers lead with the current tension between the US and North Korea; the US concern over Latin American democracy; the EU pressuring US President Bush over the closure of Guantanamo prison; US President Bush leading world trade negotiations; the nature of Latin American populist movements; and the implications of global warming. ¶2. OPINION PIECES AND KEY STORIES - "Without any margin to run risks" Hugo Alconada Mon, Washington-based correspondent for daily-of-record "La Nacion," writes (06/22) "Yesterday, the White House sent a message to North Korea - there will be neither a pre-emptive attack nor bQteral talks. It also asked North Korea to put an end to its missile and nuclear program, agree to international rules, and join the five countries that wait for them to find a way out together - China, Russia, Japan, South Korea and the US. "Why has US President Bush dismissed a pre-emptive attack (just like the one he approved against Iraq) except under extreme circumstances? "Why, if North Korea has said it does have WMD, which Saddam Hussein denied? Because all variables are different. North Korea is not Iraq - neither for its neighboring countries (China, Russia, South Korea and Japan) nor for its military capabilities. "Pyongyang's Communist regime is making progress every day on its long-range war power, while Iraqi forces were reduced after the First Gulf War and the following embargo. Times have changed also. September 11 attacks changed the world dynamics and particularly that of the US." - "The US is concerned over Chavez and Nicaragua" Ana Baron, Washington-based correspondent for leading "Clarin," comments (06/22) "Latin American democracy has not been a US priority for a long time. In the framework of the Cold War, the USGs justified (Latin American) military dictatorships in the name of the struggle against Communism. Currently, the opposite happens. The only thing Washington seems to be concerned about is the future of our democratic systems. So much so that yesterday the US Lower House's Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing that was entirely devoted to this issue. "Beyond this turn, the problem remains that the US lacks an efficient strategy to help find a solution to poverty and corruption, which partly explain the region's past and current democratic weakness. "... Both legislators and Thomas Shannon and other two attending USG officials, USAID Assistant Director Adolfo Franco and Assistant Secretary Paula Dobriansky, agreed to denounce Venezuela's SIPDIS interference in the elections of Bolivia, Peru and Nicaragua. "However, Democratic Deputy Howard Berman said that not only has Venezuela interfered in the elections of other countries. 'I have been in Nicaragua during the latest presidential elections and it seemed to me that the US Embassy was involved in guaranteeing Mr. Ortega's defeat.'" - "Bush is pressured over Guantanamo" Daily-of-record "La Nacion" reports (06/22) "US President George W. Bush faced new EU pressures over the controversial Guantanamo prison during a summit with EU leaders in which the EU formally asked him to close the prison. "In response to this demand and in an attempt to reverse the negative image he has in the EU, Bush reiterated he intends to close the military prison in Cuba, but that he would not be able to do it in the short term. "The US-EU summit occurred at a time when bilateral ties have improved after the disagreement over the war in Iraq, although the relationship is still darkened due to Bush's bad reputation in Europe based on the way he is carrying out the war on terrorism." - "Bush leads free trade discussions" Centrist newspaper "Perfil" reports (06/22) "One week away from WTO member countries seeking to make progress in the Doha Round negotiations, US President George W. Bush took the initiative in multilateral negotiations by pointing out that 'the delayed world trade deal is still possible,' in spite of the transatlantic disagreement over who should take the first step. "Following a meeting with European leaders in the framework of a US-EU summit in Vienna, Bush said 'The US remains committed in succeeding in WTO global negotiations.'" - "Populists and left-wingers" Liberal, English-language "Buenos Aires Herald" carries an opinion piece by contributor James Neilson, who writes (06/23) "... What is populism? To some, it is simply a nasty way of referring to governments that favor the interests of the common man over those of the well-heeled. On occasion, that may be true, but unfortunately there is more to it than that. "According to Cardoso, populism is a form of exercising power in which the 'Leader' bypasses Congress, other institutions such as the political parties and establishes a direct relationship with 'the masses' largely by means of handouts. That is a fair description of what has happened in Venezuela and, to a lesser extent, in Argentina. Another characteristic of populism is the 'Leader's' reluctance to do anything that might have an adverse effect on his image... "All populists are self-pitying nationalists who make out that their country has for long been the innocent victim of foreign wickedness but thanks to them is now determined to fight back. This is the main theme of Chavez, Morales and Kirchner, all of whom have contrived to pick quarrels with many of their neighbors... "But while Chavez... blames the US for most of his country's woes, Kirchner's approach is more eclectic. Even though some polls suggest that Argentines are on the whole less inclined to like the US, especially when its president is that dreadful George W. Bush, than any other Latin Americans, Kirchner has not made a habit of screaming insults at the superpower. The only time he got the people in Washington worried was when his government helped Chavez and his friends stage an anti-US jam-boree in Mar del Plata, but much to the disappointment of local leftists he did not follow that up with a full-scale rhetorical onslaught." ¶3. EDITORIALS - "The polar year and a world threat" Daily-of-record "La Nacion" editorializes (06/22) "Next year, one of the most important scientific events of all times will begin. It is the International Polar Year Program. Roughly 10,000 researchers from 50 countries will use teQllion dollars to carry out over one thousand works related to diverse specialties. "... The most important question concerning everyone, which will be the IPY-07 central issue, is where will global warming take us? "David Carlson, prestigious international geologist and head of the future IPY, maintained that that the Northern Pole will disappear in fifty years due to at eight-percent-per-year ratio-ice melting, and only the sea will remain. "... The panorama that has been delineated is tragic for our planet and its inhabitants... "Global warming...is the outcome of gas emission, which should have been put under control a long time ago. The steps of the Kyoto Protocol should strongly be implemented but there are still some countries that oppose it. "... Therefore, the IPY/07 should then promote decisions that are aimed at rescuing our world from a tangible danger that is jeopardizing humanity." To see more Buenos Aires reporting, visit our classified website at: http://www.state.sqov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires GUTIERREZ