VENEZUELA'S CANDICACY TO THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL; US

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 002390 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: VENEZUELA'S CANDICACY TO THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL; US NATIONAL SPACE POLICY; NORTH KOREA; LATIN AMERICAN FREE TRADE; 10/19/06; BUENOS AIRES ¶1. SUMMARY STATEMENT Today's most important international stories include the standstill in the vote to determine who will succeed Argentina at the UN Security Council; the implications of the new US National Space Policy; the international community vis-`-vis North Korean nuclear tests; and the possibility of creating a regional free trade area in Latin America. ¶2. OPINION PIECES - "UN voting remains stalled - consensus candidate sought" Ana Baron, Washington-based correspondent for leading "Clarin," comments (10/19) "As the days go by, and the standstill in the election to decide who will obtain Argentina's seat at the UN Security Council continues, Latin America's image is increasingly deteriorated. "However, Guatemala and Venezuela, the two countries that are competing to obtain the Latin American seat at the UN Security Council, are not willing to withdraw their candidacies. And, even though countries like Chile and Mexico are working on an agreed solution, disagreement prevailed during yesterday's Latin American and Caribbean Regional Consultation Group (GRULAC) meeting. "... Argentine Ambassador to the UN Cesar Mayoral said that 'while no consensus has been reached on an alternative candidate, it was decided that if the standstill continues a solution will have to be found without influence from outside (we should understand from the US),and the two candidates have been asked to speak about this among themselves.'" - "The US wants to 'own' the Space" Leonardo Mindez, on special assignment to Washington for leading "Clarin," writes (10/19) "... The (US) National Space Policy, which was approved by (US President) Bush last October 6, is the first official review of the US space agenda in the last decade, and it went unnoticed until the US Office of Science and Technology Policy made some of its contents public and 'The Washington Post' published the topic on its front page yesterday. "... Space arms development programs have been frozen since the end of the Cold War. And even though the White House asserted that the plan is not related to arms development or deployment in the Space, �A;one does not have to go too far to find more signs of alarm. "A year ago, the US was the only country at the UN who voted against negotiations to ban the development of space armament. "The differences between the new strategy and the one signed by Bill Clinton in 1996 are obvious. Clinton's was intended to 'deepen the knowledge of the Earth, the Solar System and the Universe.' This one is aimed at 'strengthening the nation's space leadership and ensure that space capacities are available in time to further US national security, homeland security, and foreign policy objectives.'" - "Playing the endgame" James Neilson, contributor to liberal, English-language "Buenos Aires Herald," writes (10/19) "As chess aficionados are well aware, the endgame can be quite different from previous stages when there are more pieces on the board and a blunder may not lead inexorably to ruin. Now that North Korea has started testing nukes, what the starry-eyed call the international community is facing the international community is facing some very difficult choices... "... Unless Kim's regime implodes, one of the world's worst countries will soon be in a position to blackmail the rest into giving it pretty well everything it sees fit to demand. "Many, perhaps most, think that would be better either than war or the chaotic collapse of a failed state held together by terror, but letting North Korea off the hook could... give countries such as Iran good reason to assume they have little to fear if they press on with their nuclear programs so they too can acquire the means to make the world dance to their tune." - "Mini-FTAA could be launched" Business-financial "Ambito Financiero" publishes an EFE wire service story (10/19) "The countries of the Pacific coast of Latin America are analyzing the possibility of creating a regional free trade area, which could partially turn the FTAA dream into reality, although it would deepen the division in the hemisphere on trade issues. "It is not the 800-million-consumer market of which former US President Bill Clinton spoke in December 1994 at the Miami SOA..., but, according to experts, it would be a big achievement all the same. "... The Pacific Latin American Trade Association is a much more feasible dream than the FTAA, whose negotiations are stalled, given that the countries of the region have already reached several bilateral free trade deals among themselves." To see more Buenos Aires reporting, visit our classified website at: http://www.state.sqov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires MATERA