MEDIA REACTION IRAQ IRAN US IMMIGRATION

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 000759

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 IRAQ IRAN US IMMIGRATION
POLICY MOUSSAOUI AND THE WAR ON TERROR ARGENTINE ANTI-
MONEY LAUNDERING LEGISLATION US TREASURY DEPARTMENT ON
ARGENTINE DEBT EVO MORALES US DEPARTMENT OF STATE AND
USDA COMMENTS ON ARGENTINA SCHOOL OF THE AMERICAS
ISRAELI ELECTIONS WORLD ENVIRONMENT 04/03/06


1. SUMMARY STATEMENT

Weekend papers cover US Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice acknowledging US "mistakes" in Iraq; the
implications of the war in Iraq and the threat posed
by Iran; US immigration policies and their impact on
upcoming US legislative elections; the trial of
Zacarias Moussaoui; FATF praise for Argentina's
progress on anti-money laundering legislation; the
opinion of an anonymous US Treasury official that
Argentina should negotiate its defaulted debt; the
upcoming Bolivian referendum over greater regional
autonomy; the US State Department and Department of
Energy's critical comments on Argentine trade and
energy policies; the USDA criticizing Argentina's
suspension of meat exports; and the visit of Catholic
priest Roy Bourgeois to Latin America. Leading
"Clarin" carries two editorials, one on the outcome of
Israeli elections, the other on global environmental
damage.


2. OPINION PIECES AND KEY STORIES

- "Rice acknowledges mistakes in Iraq"

Daily-of-record "La Nacion" reports (04/01) "US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice acknowledged

SIPDIS
yesterday that the US made 'thousands' of tactical
errors in Iraq since the beginning of the invasion in
2003, although she insisted on defending the USG
decision to overthrow dictator Saddam Hussein.

"During a visit to the UK, where she was the target of
massive protest demonstrations, the USG official
attempted to calm Europe's concerns about the 'war on
terrorism' launched by the Bush administration, and
she added that the US 'does not want to be the warden
of the world.'

"Nonetheless, Rice sustained that the removal of
former Iraqi president Hussein was 'a positive
strategic decision,' because 'it would have been
impossible to build a different Middle East with
Saddam Hussein in the middle.'"

- "US - from the mistakes in Iraq to the threat posed
by Iran"

Oscar Raul Cardoso, international analyst of leading
"Clarin," comments (04/01) "... Republican legislator
Henry Hyde, who presides over the US House Committee
on International Relations, said 'Becoming indifferent
to easily recognizable signs, we run the risk of
ignoring the long-term costs of our actions and
retreats, which should lead us to re-assessing our
goals and means.'

"His reference to the Iraqi chaos generated by the
2003 invasion is clear...

"Many members of the G.O.P. are telling Bush that it
is increasingly clear that (the invasion of) Iraq was
a mistake and that the time is approaching when it
will be unavoidable to acknowledge this.

Regarding Iran, most experts agree that Iran does not
have the feared bomb, nor is it on the verge of having
it and, in any event, there are those who believe that
if Tehran enters the exclusive Nuclear Club, it would
not be a factor that could significantly alter the
current power balance in the region.

"The bottom line is that Bush ordered Iran to abandon
its nuclear program from his rigid 'You are with me or
you are against me'-view. From this point of view,
there is not much margin either for negotiation or for
Iran to dismiss Washington's wishes. This is why, as
happened in 2003 in Iraq, the diplomatic scene (UN,
etc.) threatens to become irrelevant once again."

- "Immigration, a challenge for Bush"

Hugo Alconada Mon, Washington-based correspondent for





daily-of-record "La Nacion," comments (04/02)
"Accustomed as they are to passing unnoticed, and,
even more, to making an effort not to call attention
to themselves, illegal immigrants have broken their
own rules. One million people - most of them Hispanics
- demonstrated in Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago,
Phoenix and this capital city during the last eight
days. This time, they wanted to be heard.

"... How to respond to the wave of immigration has
become one of the most sensitive topics in the
remaining time before November legislative elections,
as well as the status of the economy, the fight
against terrorism and the future of Iraq. According to
a Pew Hispanic Center opinion survey, 52% of Americans
believe illegal immigrants represent a 'burden'
because they ultimately obtain work positions and
houses... 44% believe they 'strengthen' the country.

"President George W. Bush agrees with the second view
and he got involved in the Congressional debate. With
declining popularity ratings, and elections getting
closer, the road to be taken by legislators could well
turn him into a 'lame duck' or, on the contrary, he
could still preserve the power he won in 2004. Bush
supports the idea of granting temporary legal worker
status to illegal immigrants, with the possibility of
becoming permanent residents and, after that,
citizens, although without priority over legal
residents already in the process of becoming
citizens."

- "Moussaoui: lying for jihad"

Gwynne Dyer, contributor for liberal, English-language
"Buenos Aires Herald," writes (04/03) "'You are
allowed to lie for jihad. You're allowed any technique
to defeat your enemy,' Zacarias Moussaoui told the
Virginia courtroom on March 27, trying to explain why
he had changed his story about not being directly
involved in the September 11 plot.

"... Moussaoui's testimony is worthless - and yet his
trial does tell us some important things about
September 11. It reminds us of the spectacular
incompetence of the FBI... It also reminds us that the
White House was not paying attention to intellgence
about terrorist threats anyway, so focused was it on
building a case for invading Iraq...

"Above all, it reminds us of what sad sacks the
terrorists were. Over the past four and a half years,
the Bush administration has constructed its entire
foreign policy on a 'war against terror' which
presupposes a serious opponent on the other side...

"... This is not a global crisis, however much
President Bush strives to define it as such. From the
start, the 'war on terror' has served as a cover for
various plans for asserting US military and political
hegemony around the world that were already on the
agenda of the neoconservatives for years before they
took control of US foreign and defense policy with the
inauguration of Mr. Bush in January, 2001. It has been
one of the longest and most successful hoaxes in
history - but the strategies that hide behind it are
still doomed to end in failure."

- "FATF praises Argentina"

Daily-of-record "La Nacion" reports (04/01) "Argentina
passed the test - Kander Asmal, head of the Financial
Action Task Force (FATF)... showed he is happy with
the progress made by our country in adapting its
legislation to the FATF's recommendations to fight
money laundering.

"... The head of the Argentine House Committee on
Foreign Relations, Jorge Arguello, said that
'Argentina has passed the FATF's June review'... The
FATF had asked Argentina to approve legislation
facilitating the judicial investigation of money
laundering crimes. For this purpose and aware of the





arrival of the FATF delegation, the Argentine Lower
House accelerated the enactment of a law to lift
banking, stock exchange and professional secrecy.
However, legislators acknowledged that financial
terrorism is still a problem which has been solved in
most countries of the world."

- "Argentine Government is asked to negotiate its
defaulted debt"


Martin Kanenguiser, on special assignment in Belo
Horizonte for daily-of-record "La Nacion," writes
(04/02) "The US Treasury Department believes Argentina
should resume negotiations with its holdout
creditors...

"A high-ranking Treasury official said yesterday that
the Bush administration still considers this issue
very important.

"... 'We are not siding with creditors or with the
Government, but something should be done -
negotiations should continue.'"

- "Domestic problems ahead for Morales"

Mark Scott, contributor for liberal, English-language
"Buenos Aires Herald," writes (04/01) "Since taking
office in January, Bolivia's president Evo Morales has
made worldwide headlines with his controversial
leadership style and anti-globalization rhetoric.

"... A referendum over greater regional autonomy will
be held in conjunction with the election of delegates
for the constitutional assembly in July.

"Indeed, he has spent more time bolstering alliances
with left-wing politicians throughout Latin America,
as well as reassuring the US of his 'coca si, cocaine
no' drug policy, than he has addressing the growing
regional autonomy movement.

"If Morales does not confront it soon, however, he may
learn first-hand, as did the presidents preceding him,
that the greatest challenge to democracy in Bolivia
comes from within the country's borders."

- "The US strongly criticizes the Argentine trade and
energy policies"

Hugo Alconada Mon, Washington-based correspondent for
daily-of-record "La Nacion," comments (04/01) "Members
of the USG criticized several points of the Argentine
economic policy by warning that it could bring
'serious' consequences for local growth, inflation
control and new investment.

"These remarks were made by members of the USTR, and
the US Secretary of Energy, who agree with the remarks
made by the US Department of Agriculture about the
suspension on meat exports.

"Karen Harbert, Under Secretary for International
Issues at the US Department of Energy, focused on
price controls in Argentina's energy production
system, and she placed the country among those facing
'serious challenges' in this area in Latin America,
along with Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador."

"Also, the US State Department does not like the
(Argentine) Government's decision to freeze prices and
suspend meat exports."

- "The USDA criticizes the Argentine ban on exports"

Hugo Alconada Mon, Washington-based correspondent for
daily-of-record "La Nacion," writes (04/01) "The US
Department of Agriculture criticized the suspension of
meat exports ordered by the Argentine government. It
predicted that its impact will be highly negative if
it goes beyond the 180 days expected, and it assessed
that the measure could affect the image of the country
abroad."






- "They want to close the School of the Americas"

Nestor Restivo, columnist of leading "Clarin," writes
(04/03) "... Catholic priest Roy Bourgeois, one of the
founders of SOA Watch, came to Latin America, came to
Latin America... so that the claim of US citizens who
'pay 20 million dollars per year in taxes to support
this school of murderers' adds itself to the region's
commitment 'not to send more military or police
officers to the school.'

"'The US renamed the School as Western Hemisphere
Institute for Security Cooperation, but 'it is the
same as in the past - the only difference is that
instead of talking about anti-subversion, they talk
about global terrorism and drug trafficking. In fact,
it trains those who defend economic interests in the
region with their crimes."


3. EDITORIALS

- "Israel voted for peace"

An editorial in leading "Clarin" (04/03) reads "The
outcome of Israeli elections indicated that current PM
Ehud Olmert is Ariel Sharon's successor.

"This continuity suggests a change in the Israeli
political map with the emergence of a new centrist
political force whose unifying factor is the promise
to solve the conflict with the Palestinians.

"It is the first time that such a proposal is
supported by the majority of the Israeli electorate...

"... Formulas for consensus will be required to attend
to the chief demands of the people, among them, a
resolute peace process under such difficult
circumstances as a Palestinian government in the hands
of Hamas, which has not renounced violence or war."

- "Gloomy environmental future"

Leading "Clarin" editorializes (04/01) "... The
environmental situation is so sensitive that, as per
the UN Convention for Biodiversity's request, a group
of experts have pointed out that even if an immediate
stop of all carbon dioxide emissions were implemented,
there would be a lingering inertial impact for decades
and temperatures would continue increasing.

"If this gloomy prediction comes true, it could bring
the extinction of many species and would force the
implementation of adapting strategies. Entire
populations, like that of Tuvalu, would have to be
evacuated while catastrophes like that of New Orleans
(which would not have happened had its marshes not
been destroyed) would repeat themselves in many parts
of the world.

"In spite of this knowledge, the attitude of some of
the main powers prevents basic deals aimed at
alleviating the environmental damage."

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