JAPAN DRAFT RESOLUTION AGAINST NORTH KOREA; MIDDLE EAST;

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001587

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: JAPAN DRAFT RESOLUTION AGAINST NORTH KOREA; MIDDLE EAST;
CHAVEZ AND MERCOSUR; US-ARGENTINE TRADE TIES; CIA CASE; MUMBAY BOMB
BLITZ; 07/13/06;BUENOS AIRES


1. SUMMARY STATEMENT

Key international stories today include Japan asking for Argentina's
support in a draft resolution it submitted to the UN, which requests
sanctions against North Korea for its missile tests; the US blames
Syria and Iran for the escalation of violence in the Middle East;
former Argentine Ambassador's statement that Venezuelan President
Hugo Chavez will use Mercosur to defy the US; Argentina's trade
deficit with the US; US President George W. Bush's main advisor
allegedly involved in CIA-gate; and the implications of the bomb
blitz in Mumbai.


2. OPINION PIECES AND KEY STORIES

- "Japan asks for Argentina's support at the UN"

Natasha Niebieskikwiat, columnist of leading "Clarin," writes
(07/13) "Japan asked for Argentina's support in the draft resolution
it submitted to the UN Security Council, it paves the way for
sanctions against North Korea for its missile tests...

"In this move, the Japanese diplomacy used all the international
fronts it could...

"Yesterday, China and Russia managed to introduce a softer version
of the Japanese draft statement, which was supported by the US, the
UK and France.

"Meanwhile, Argentine diplomatic sources commented that while the
Argentine Government supports Japan regarding the North Korean
crisis and believes that Pyongyang's action of launching missiles
was a 'provocation,' however, it does not seek to appear as one of
the co-sponsors of the initiative, which is a further diplomatic
step."

- "The US targets Syria and Iran and warns of an escalation of
violence"

Daily-of-record "La Nacion" reports (07/13) " Hezbollah's kidnapping
of two Israeli soldiers unleashed multiple statements of repudiation
from the international community. The most eloquent one came from
the US, which blamed Syria and Iran for the kidnappings based on the
Damascus and Tehran's alleged support for Hamas.

"... US National Security Council spokesperson, Frederick Jones, who
accompanied President George W. Bush on an official visit to
Germany, said 'We strongly condemn the attack from Hezbollah against
Israel and the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers.'

"... US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also condemned the
kidnappings and said that Hezbollah's action 'threatened regional
stability.'"

- "Lack of control"

Marcelo Cantelmi, international editor of leading "Clarin," writes
(07/13) "... The current escalation implies a regional extension of
the confrontation that started in Gaza...

"The Ehud Olmert administration is compelled firmly act, taking into
account the audacity of the two blows he has received in just a
matter of hours...

"... The lack of a real opening (in Israel) has never been seen as
the reason for Hamas' possible growth in the Palestinian
territories, or for Hezbollah's strengthening protected by Iran's
hawks. Washington and Israel were the ones that most contributed to
this shortfall. Today, one can see an escalation of responses.
Humanity's worst conflict continues to spiral out of control."

- "'Chavez to use Mercosur corpse to attack the US'"

Guillermo Haskel, columnist of liberal, English-language "Buenos
Aires Herald," writes (07/13) "Argentina and Brazil are serving
populist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez a Mercosur corpse that he
will use as a political arena to further challenge the US, a former
Argentine ambassador said yesterday.

"'And while the enormous Gulliver (US) will continue to be entangled
in the Iraqi marshland and unable to administer order in the world
for at least two more years, it makes no sense to adopt a
confrontational stance because it will eventually recompose its
agenda and those fostering hatred will pay for it.'

"The speaker was Carlos Perez Llana, an ambassador to Paris for the
Alliance government that collapsed in 2001 amid Argentina's


worst-ever economic crisis.

"'Mercosur is dead but now there is a political Mercosur led by Mr.
Chavez. What is being offered to him is a forum that he will use to
challenge the US.'"

- "Argentina again has a trade deficit with the US"

Sergio Serrichio, economic and political columnist of
business-financial "El Cronista," writes (07/13) "According to the
US Department of Commerce, in contrast to Latin America, Argentina
and Paraguay again have had a trade deficit with the US. From
January to May this year, Argentina had a trade deficit of 130
million dollars with the US.

"In this regard, Argentine has reversed the surplus trend it has had
since the downfall of the convertibility system. The re-born
bilateral deficit is noteworthy because it is in the framework of an
increasing US trade deficit with the world in general and with
oil-producing countries.

"Paraguay has a structural tradition of trade deficits. Argentina is
the only country that, in contrast to others, is starting to have a
deficit with the country with which most countries in the world have
a large trade surplus."

- "Argentine lemons return to the US"

Business-financial, center-right "InfoBae" (07/13) leads "US markets
were closed for Argentine lemons in 2001 based on alleged sanitary
problems. Now, reportedly, the US could lift the ban, and the
decision could have a signifigant impact on Tucuman's economy." The
paper reports "Argentine Ambassador to the US, Jose Octavio Bordon,
said yesterday that Tucuman lemons will again be able to be sold to
US markets by 2008.

"The Argentine representative in Washington pointed out to Telam
(wire service agency) that 'Tucuman's lemons could return to the US
market by 2008.'

- "Reportedly, Bush's main advisor was involved in the CIA-gate"

Ana Baron, Washington-based correspondent for leading "Clarin,"
writes (07/13) "US President George W. Bush promised that if he ever
found out the name of the White House official who leaked to the
media Valerie Plame's identity, he would immediately fire him.

"Well, after two years of silence, editorialist Robert Novak wrote a
piece in The Washington Post yesterday revealing that one of his
sources was Bush's advisor Karl Rove. Nothing indicates that Rove
will be fired but just the opposite - Bush is unlikely to want to
pay the political cost of seeing his 'right hand' and head of
campaign involved in this scandal.

"As a matter of fact, Novak's revelation was too late. Patrick
Fitzgerald, the prosecutor, announced last month that he would not
indict Rove. Analysts believe that the silence of Novak, a
conservative editorialist with access to the White House, protected
Bush's re-election."


3. EDITORIALS

- "Another crime against humanity"

Daily-of-record "La Nacion" editorializes (07/13) "Horror has again
shocked the world, just like in New York, Madrid and London. This
time, it was in an Asian country. Last Tuesday, seven bombs exploded
in Mumbay's urban trains and unleashed an unprecedented tragedy.

"... The attack against Mumbay looks like a 'copy' of the March 11,
2004 attack against Madrid.

"However, it seems that the authors of this crime are not the
members of Al Qaeda but Pakistani terrorists, particularly Kashmir
extremists belonging to the Lashkar-e-Toiba group...

"This and other Islamic groups claim the entire Kashmir region for
Pakistan and blame India, Israel and the US for the situation. This
criminal assault could bring consequences such as retaliation
against the Islamic people and confrontations among several
communities...

"... The free nations of the world should unite themselves in order
to definitely eradicate terrorism from earth because there cannot be
disagreement on this issue."


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

GUTIERREZ