MEDIA REACTION; IRAN; THE KIRCHNERS TO THE US; FUJIMORI

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001902 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 SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION; IRAN; THE KIRCHNERS TO THE US; FUJIMORI 09/24/07 ¶1. SUMMARY STATEMENT Weekend international major stories include expectations regarding Argentine President Nstor Kirchner's address to the United Nations General Assembly and how he will discuss the issue of Iran's cooperation on the AMIA case; as well as the growing chances of war against Iran; and the important precedent set by the Chilean Supreme Court of Justice's decision to extradite former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori. ¶2. OPINION PIECES AND EDITORIALS - "As time goes by" Jorge Elas, international columnist of daily-of-record "La Nacisn," comments (09/23) "... By having threatened to declare war against Iran, Sarkozy placed his bets on an appeasement with the US... What benefit can Iran's achievement of nuclear autonomy bring to (French President) Sarkozy and German FM Angela Merkel? None. It would bring no benefit at any of them or to the US and even less to Israel. "It is the economy, then. Hence the Sarkozy administration's war rhetoric, which is conveyed by FM Bernard Kouchner's warning - it is necessary to 'get ready for the worst.' Is it war? Not necessarily. He made clear that the worst case could be war in the event Ahmadinejad does not moderate his nuclear ambitions. He added that he does not wish the worst to happen, and he did not say that war is the best choice. Neither did he say that war was his choice, although neither did he dismiss the hypothesis of a conflict... "Even the US itself believed for the first time in some years that Bush was not alone... "... The bottom line is not only economic but also political power... - it comes down to just power itself... "... After Iraq, everybody knows that the medicine can be worse than the disease. However, they know that lack of action can pose an even larger risk - that Iran creates the bomb, such as North Korea, Pakistan, India and Israel, among others. The equation is neither exclusively economic nor exclusively political. "Power itself not only lies in the hands of banks and corporations but it relies on a network of interests in which political gestures should bring economic benefits and the vice versa." - "The US expects more concrete signs from Cristina" Ana Barsn, Washington-based correspondent for leading "Clarn," writes (09/24) "After the tensions created in Washington by the Buenos Aires Chvez-led anti-Bush rally the often-postponed bilateral meeting between US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and FM Jorge Taiana will finally take place on Wednesday in the venue of the UN General Assembly. "Since that controversial rally, bilateral talks continued between US Ambassador Anthony Wayne and Argentine Ambassador to Washington, Jos Octavio Bordsn. However, the (Rice/Taiana) meeting will be the first ministerial, which indicates that the US Department of State is again willing to hold talks. "As a matter of fact, Deputy Assistant Secretary Tom Shannon has also confirmed that he will attend the luncheon hosted by the Council of the Americas in which Senator Cristina Fernndez will be the keynote speaker... "A US source told 'Clarn': The climate between the two countries has again improved.' 'The meeting between Ambassador Wayne and Cristina in Buenos Aires was highly positive. The old bitterness has faded.' "... The two most important topics for the US Department of State are Iran and Venezuela. US diplomats were surprised by Cristina's trip to Venezuela and by her address to the Venezuelan Jewish community. "Kirchner's address to the UN General Assembly asking for (Iranian) support in the investigation of the AMIA attack will be carefully scrutinized. A source told 'Clarn': 'What the Iranian diplomat to Argentina said is atrocious,' referring to the interview of the Iranian DCM, in which he said that such a claim from Kirchner at the UN would mean that 'Argentina is in favor of war.' "In any event, the US expects more concrete signs from Cristina. Her speeches will be carefully evaluated not only by members of the Bush administration..., but also by Democrats who deal with Latin American issues... Nelson Cunningham, former advisor to John Kerry for Latin America, said that they want to know whether she will reposition Argentina in the world." - "Iran - the unwanted stop on Kirchner's trip" Carlos Pagni, political analyst of daily-of-record "La Nacisn," comments "The AMIA case and the remaining negotiation of (Argentina's) public debt are two reasons for Nstor Kirchner's intervention in international politics. They are joined by a sometimes invisible thread, which will appear on the agenda of the President and his wife in New York... "Kirchner will complain that Iran has not cooperated in arresting Rafsanjani... "Argentina's intransigence has allies in Washington. Contrary to what Kirchner might expect, those partners are not the Republicans but the Democrats. The most hostile leader towards Iran is the head of the House Foreign Relations Committee, Tom Lantos, who has just asked the Bush administration to impose sanctions on corporations doing business with Iran. He mentioned one - Shell. Any more points of agreement with Kirchner? "According to a governmental source, the main reason why the (Argentine) President will not go beyond this alignment with 'hawkish' sectors in the relationship with Tehran is that Kirchner does not believe the international political system would fully support his motion. This is the core of his international view. An future rupture with Iran would imply an alliance with Washington that would also imply Argentina's direct access to international funding. However, Kirchner continues to be doomed to the generosity of Hugo Chvez, who has started to be restrictive... Chvez is a strident ally of Iran. He frequently visits Ahmadinejad. How (could Kirchner) offend Chvez without having a conventional source of funding?" - "Fujimori - international law has fewer cracks" Oscar Ral Cardoso, international analyst for leading "Clarn," opines (09/22) "The Chilean justice system took an important step in granting the extradition of former Peruvian President (Fujimori), who was accused of crimes against humanity. This major step was an important turning point regarding its behavior on Pinochet... Just a few judicial experts could question the assumption that the Chilean Supreme Court of Justice decision to extradite former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori could be a more important or stronger precedent in the evolution of international public law that the 17 months that Chilean Pinochet was compelled to stay in the UK based on a political decision made by the Blair administration. "... For the first time in Chile's history, its highest court decided to extradite a former chief of State based on a request from the Peruvian Judiciary. In this case, the governments of Lima and Santiago did not interfere in the handling of the problem and there was no mediator in the issue." To see more Buenos Aires reporting, visit our classified website at: http://www.state.sqov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires WAYNE