Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BUENOSAIRES2747
2006-12-14 18:48:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Buenos Aires
Cable title:  

US-ARGENTINE BILATERAL TIES; AMIA BOMBING CASE AND IRAN;

Tags:  KPAO OPRC KMDR PREL MEDIA REACTION 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0001
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #2747/01 3481848
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 141848Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6753
INFO RHMFISS/CDR USSOCOM MACDILL AFB FL//SCJ2//
RULGPUA/USCOMSOLANT
UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 002747 

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: US-ARGENTINE BILATERAL TIES; AMIA BOMBING CASE AND IRAN;
GSP; DEATH OF PINOCHET; 12/13/06; BUENOS AIRES


UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 002747

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: US-ARGENTINE BILATERAL TIES; AMIA BOMBING CASE AND IRAN;
GSP; DEATH OF PINOCHET; 12/13/06; BUENOS AIRES



1. SUMMARY STATEMENT

Leading international stories today include US Assistant Secretary
of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Tom Shannon's statement that
the US is working 'fantastically' with the Argentine Government; the
current state of the Argentine-Iranian ties following an Argentine
court decision to charge eight former Iranian government officials
with the AMIA bombing case; the Argentine Foreign Ministry's
statement announcing that the US Congress extended Trade Benefits
Regime applied to a number of Argentine exports for two years; and
the aftermath of the death of former Chilean dictator Augusto
Pinochet.

Leading "Clarin" and business-financial, center-right "InfoBae"
report on yesterday's PAS press conference with US Speaker Terrence
O'Brien, Deputy Director at the California Energy Commission, on
California's initiatives to encourage energy efficiency and new
energy sources and its efforts to protect the environment.


2. OPINION PIECES

- "US hints at better dialogue with the (Argentine) Government"

Leonardo Mindez, on special assignment in Washington for leading
"Clarin," writes (12/13) "The USG official in charge of regional
affairs, Tom Shannon, stated that improved dialogue with the
Kirchner administration during recent months 'reflects our
understanding that Argentina has strategic importance,' and he
appeared confident that the bilateral relationship would be
'strengthened'.

"During a break at a conference at the Council of the Americas in
New York, Shannon mentioned his talks with Kirchner and Ministers
Alberto Fernandez and Julio De Vido last September... and the
arrival of the new US Ambassador to Argentina, Earl Anthony Wayne,
as some of the factors that allowed for improved feelings between
Washington and Buenos Aires.

"Shannon said 'We cleaned up our (bilateral) agenda and that was
useful.' 'Sometimes one gets lost in rhetoric and we should
acknowledge that we share strategic interests, and that those
interests are at last reaching the surface again.'"

- "Kirchner, the focus of criticism and cautious praise in the US"


Hugo Alconada Mon, Washington-based correspondent for
daily-of-record "La Nacion," writes (12/13) "During a seminar, US
Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Tom Shannon said
yesterday that the US is working 'fantastically' with the Argentine
Government. During the same seminar, two former Latin American
Foreign Ministers criticized President Nestor Kirchner for his
'leftist populism.'

"The seminar, which was entitled 'Regional politics the year after
elections,' was organized by the Council of the Americas, the same
forum which hosted Kirchner's dinner with Shannon, Wall Street
businessmen and analysts last September.

"Shannon opened the event with a speech and Q&A session that lasted
for 53 minutes, during which he carefully avoided referring to
Argentina or Kirchner. His message carried a general tone. He said:
'The time has come for us to connect with the region in a friendly
way and to play a significant role in its development.'

"The Bush administration's representative for Latin America added
that 'all countries, with a couple of exceptions, acknowledge that
it is necessary to establish a relationship with the US.' Without
mentioning President Hugo Chavez, he immediately referred to him -
'The most obvious exception is Venezuela, whose confrontation, based
on political reasons, does not reflect reality.'

"... Shannon chose to highlight the bilateral relations (between the
US and Argentina),which 'have good dialogue, confidence,
frankness,' and 'are working fantastically in Haiti, at the UN, in
many areas,' and he predicted that, with the arrival of US
Ambassador Earl Wayne, the bilateral relationship will be
'deepened.'"

- "'There are no grounds for a protest'"

Left-of-center "Pagina 12" reports (12/13) "The (Argentine)
Government did not turn a deaf ear to Iran's warning that 'Argentina
has entered a dangerous game' - the Argentine Foreign Ministry told
the Iranian Charge d'Affairs in Buenos Aires, Mohsen Baharvand, that
it considers 'unacceptable' the terms in which Argentine
representative to Tehran Mario Quinteros was summoned following the
(Argentine) Judiciary's decision to order the capture of former

Iranian President Ali Bahramaie Rafsanjani and other seven suspects
in connection to the AMIA bombing case. The Foreign Minister also
told Baharvand of the Argentine 'concern' over the Iranian
administration's initiative to make a historical revision of the
Holocaust."

- "No war over peanuts"

Left-of-center "Pagina 12's" columnist Fernando Krakowiak writes
(12/13) "The US Congress extended the GSP, which benefits a number
of imports from developing countries. In early August, the USG had
said that it was planning to remove those advantages for Argentine
exports, but they were finally maintained.

"There was speculation in the Argentine Government that the eventual
removal of the GSP could have been linked to President Kirchner's
closeness to his Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chavez, and to
Argentina's rejection of the FTAA... Nonetheless, Foreign Ministry
sources told 'Pagina 12' that the changes introduced 'will not alter
the trade benefits for our country.' During 2005 and under the GSP,
Argentina's exports to the US climbed to 616.5 million dollars,
which accounts for 15 percent of total exports to the US."


3. EDITORIALS

- "Chile, the memory of a dictatorship"

An editorial in leading "Clarin" reads (12/13) "The death of former
dictator Augusto Pinochet has made both Chile and Latin America
resort to their historic memory in order to differentiate the
tragedies and traumas of the past from the current and future
challenges.

"Pinochet was the best example of a Latin American dictator taken to
the extreme... The historic context of the time favored him - during
the Cold War, Latin America was a scenario of clashes between
insurgency and counter-insurgency groups that led to the rise of
anti-Communist military dictatorships, which were permitted, if not
supported, by the US.

"... Pinochet's death has closed a gloomy chapter of Latin America's
history, which will perhaps be analyzed, discussed and researched,
but should never be repeated."

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

WAYNE