MEDIA REACTION STATE OF THE UNION, IRAN-IAEA,

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 000250

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 STATE OF THE UNION, IRAN-IAEA,
HAMAS; BUENOS AIRES 02/01/06



1. SUMMARY STATEMENT

Papers lead with the State of the Union message, in
which President Bush defends his foreign policy, warns
Iran and Hamas that the U.S. will fight tyranny in the
world, urges them to set aside terrorism; refers to
Iraq saying that if the U.S. leaves, 'then Bin Laden
will remain' and, on the domestic front, criticizes
the American people for being 'oil-dependent', urging
to break this dependence through technology and new
energy resources. The other key story is China and
Russia's decision to join the U.S., Great Britain and
France to pressure Tehran by supporting a UNSC
discussion of Iran's controversial nuclear plan.


2. OPINION PIECES AND KEY STORIES

- "Bush: 'U.S. Seeks to End Tyranny in the World'"

Ana Baron, leading, centrist "Clarin" Washington-based
correspondent, writes (02/01) "After a year of blows,
both from the international and the domestic fronts,
and with his popularity plummeting, President Bush
tried yesterday to recover the initiative with a
double message.

"For one part, he promised the U.S. will maintain its
commitment to end tyranny in the world... For the
other, aware of the general discontent sparked by the
rise in gasoline prices and the economic problems this
has generated, Bush decided to take the offensive and
said the U.S. is addicted to oil. He spoke of the need
to end the dependence on foreign oil supply and to opt
for alternative energy sources.

"Undoubtedly, highly influenced by opinion polls which
indicate that the major concern of the American people
is Iraq, Bush dedicated a large portion of his speech
to defending his foreign policy.

".... In response to those who believe that Hamas'
victory in the Palestinian elections proved his policy
of exporting democracy doesn't work, Bush reassured
that democracy is not just about elections, and,
reconfirming his commitment to the democracy agenda,
referred to the need to bring democracy to the
political regimes of Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

"During his speech, Bush explained that it was
important for the fight against terrorism to go hand-
in-hand with the dissemination of Western democratic
values. Nevertheless, he strongly defended the need to
implement a controversial system to monitor phone
calls, which the Democrats precisely criticize because
they believe it's against the essence of U.S.
democracy. Without feeling intimidated by this
criticism, Bush also insisted on the need for Congress
to pass the Patriot Act again...."

- "Bush Warns Hamas and Iran"

Hugo Alconada Mon, center-right, daily-of-record "La
Nacion" Washington-based correspondent, says (02/01)
"Decided to invest his entire political capital in a
crucial year for his administration, President Bush
last night urged the fundamentalist leaders of Hamas
and Iran to set aside terrorism and ambitions of war
or risk isolating themselves from the international
community.

".... Bush also defended his offensive in Iraq and
then addressed Iran and the 'small clerical elite
that's isolating and repressing its people,' demanding
it to modify the direction of its domestic and foreign
policies if it wants to avoid multilateral
retaliation.

".... During an hour, Bush outlined the key aspects of
his agenda for his year, which he referred to as
'decisive for the future and character' of the U.S.

".... Bush also urged the American people to eradicate
the country's oil dependence... (and) to rely on
themselves.

".... On several occasions, Bush underscored that the
U.S. economy is the most powerful in the world, even


vis--vis the challenges of globalization, the
shortage of oil and terrorism.

".... In sync with his post 9/11 policy... Bush
reiterated that the U.S. must continue the so-called
'war on terrorism'. But, unlike his first SOTU message
in 2002, in which he referred to the axis of evil
(Iran, Iraq and North Korea),last night the President
said that terrorism isn't only fought via the military
option, but 'offering a hopeful alternative of
political freedom and peaceful change.'

".... After more than 30 drafts of the speech, Latin
America was only indirectly mentioned when he referred
to immigration, border security and free trade...."

- "'If We Left, Bin Laden Would Remain'"

Mercedes Lopez San Miguel, leftist "Pagina 12"
international columnist, opines (02/01) "President
Bush's State of the Union message in Congress was a
sweetened and single chord version of his recurrent
calls to 'democratize the world.' The leader dedicated
most of his speech to the foreign agenda: defending
the offensive against terrorism, fulfilling the
mission in Iraq, viewing 'a democratic Iran in the
future and trying to be its friend.' But he was clear:
'in retreating, there's no peace or honor.' Without
changing a single letter of the text... he didn't
convey any optimism, something analysts expected,
given the drop in his popularity, during his second
tenure.

".... The most 'touching' moment of the speech - or
rather, the 'blow below the belt' - took place when
Bush mentioned the letter written by a military
officer that died in Iraq and the cameras showed his
mourning family in tears, sitting among Congressmen.

".... The short-term renovation of the Patriot Act is
in the works, as part of the 'anti-terrorist' war of
an all-knowing administration... He added that an
eventual withdrawal from Iraq would mean that
terrorism 'will move its battlefield to U.S.
territory', and 'if we left, then Bin Laden and
Zarqawi would remain in Iraq.'..."

- "Old Arguments"

Pablo Ceron, leading, centrist "Clarin" international
columnist, opines (02/01) "Bush clung to old arguments
in his attempt to respond to those who criticize his
administration. The disastrous adventure of war in
Iraq, the indolence following the catastrophe of
hurricane Katrina, the corruption in Congress and the
slow-down of the economy (in the last quarter of 2005
it grew less than half of what specialists estimated),
undermined the support obtained, basically, after
9/11. There will be legislative elections in November.
This is why, among the Republicans, there were some
alarm signals in view of recent surveys which place
the chief of the White House below 40% of approval:
one of the lowest levels for a president since WWII."

- "China and Russia Concede that UN Discuss Iran's
Controversial Nuclear Plan"

Maria Luisa Avignolo, centrist, leading "Clarin" Paris-
based correspondent writes (02/01) "The crisis of the
'European troika' with Iran on the nuclear issue
turned into an escalation of unpredictable
consequences. Yesterday, in London, the five permanent
members at the UNSC decided to send the case to the
top UN organization.

"Great Britain, the U.S., France, China and Russia
decided that the IAEA report the Iran case to the UNSC
- which is authorized to impose UN sanctions that
wouldn't be imminent.

".... The decision 'is a powerful signal (of the five
big ones) to Iran', after months of diplomatic
seduction from Great Britain, France and Germany,
which ended in a fiasco when Iran decided to resume
its nuclear production and re-open the banned
installations.

".... Russia and China are opposed to sanctions
against the Iranian people and the Iran administration
wants to force their position. According to diplomatic
sources, Iran is trying to deepen the rift that the
invasion of Iraq produced in Europe, by dividing
opinions - at least in France and Great Britain, and,
if possible, in Germany - while seeking support from
China and Russia, which have veto rights at the UNSC.

"The decision of the five global powers to take the
Iran case to the Council took place two days before
the meeting in Vienna, in which they will discuss the
suspension of the ban on the enrichment of uranium.

"In U.S. opinion, this result is the most decisive
action obtained by its allies on a sensitive issue
since the Iran nuclear crisis cropped up in 2002...."


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

The Media Reaction Report reflects articles and
opinions by the cited news media and do not
necessarily reflect U.S. Embassy policy or views. The
Public Affairs Section does not independently verify
information. The report is intended for internal U.S.
Government use only.

GUTIERREZ