MEDIA REACTION; THE KIRCHNERS TO THE US; AHMADINEJAD'S

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001934 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; THE KIRCHNERS TO THE US; AHMADINEJAD'S ADDRESS TO THE UNGA; US-ARGENTINE BILATERAL TIES; 09/25/07 ¶1. SUMMARY STATEMENT Major international stories today include Argentine Senator/First Lady Cristina Kirchner's human rights agenda in New York; implications of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's address at UNGA; and the Argentine Government's alleged attempt to thaw its relationship with the US. ¶2. OPINION PIECES AND EDITORIALS - "Human rights on the (Argentine presidential) candidate" Hugo Alconada Mon, Washington-based correspondent for daily-of-record "La Nacisn," writes (09/25) "Like her husband, Senator and Presidential Candidate Cristina Kirchner started her schedule of activities in this city last night with... veiled criticism of the US for its 'double standards' on human rights as well as explicit criticism of the UK. "This was during the conference in which she lectured at NYU along with Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzsn and the head of the International Center for Transitional Justice, Argentine Juan Mndez. "The candidate defended the reopening of trials over the illegal military repression, she attacked the 'mafia message' implied by Jorge Julio Lspez's disappearance and claimed that it is necessary 'to achieve a single standard' ...' "Then, she targeted the US without naming it by noting the precedent of invading Panama, removing and subjecting its dictator Manuel Noriega to trial when he was no longer useful to the US while overlooking charges against General Pervez Musharraf in Pakistan or those against other past military dictators, including those in Argentina." - "A sensitive moment for dialogue" Oscar Ral Cardoso, international analyst of leading "Clarn," opines (09/25) "... Neither Ahmadinejad nor his audience was really prepared for the moment. The Iranian president was not ready because he was unable (or did not want) to exercise real sincerity and did not fully respond to the questions about Israel's existence from the Iranian viewpoint, the witchhunt of homosexuals in his country or his questioning of the Holocaust, among others. "... In this way, the public seduction campaign Ahmadinejad seems to be attempting during his visit to New York is irremediably 'lame.' "Nonetheless, his audience did not seem willing to balance things either. Almost all questions implied censorship of the Iranian theocratic regime and the invitee himself..., which almost seemed to justify of the toughest segments of the Iranian president's speech in which he criticized Western powers 'for attempting to destroy millenary civilizations' and 'stripping their identity away from them.' "In a surprising gesture, the head of the University, Lee C. Bollinger, introduced Ahmadinejad by calling him 'a petty and cruel dictator' and attacked him with a full list of charges made by the US and Israel against Iran. "... Psychological campaigns based on the idea of an attack against Iran have been revived, particularly claims that VP Dick Cheney has attempted to convince Israel to start bombing the Natanz nuclear facilities in order to set off an Iranian military response that will give Washington an excuse for a wider confrontation. "No, the Columbia dispute did not happen at the best of times, although perhaps we will find out eventually that was its very merit." - "(Argentina) attempts to thaw its ties to the US" Hugo Alconada Mon, daily-of-record "La Nacisn's" Washington-based correspondent, comments (09/25) "Six months after the latest main short circuit happened, Argentina and the US will resume high-level diplomatic meetings. It will be within the next 72 hours in this city with a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings through which they will seek to leave some points of disagreement behind. "The crucial meeting will occur Friday when FM Jorge Taiana and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meet again. According to the SIPDIS Argentine delegation, the US Department of State made the first move to promote its own interests, which include Iran and Venezuela, among others. "The meeting will be the first high-level get-together between both foreign ministries since George W. Bush and his aides took offense at the Argentine Government allowing an anti-Bush rally led by President Hugo Chvez. "... A first and indirect meeting will take place tomorrow when Argentine Vice FM Roberto Garca Moritn participates in a multilateral meeting along with the number three at the US Department of State, Nicholas Burns and other countries that are 'friends' of Haiti. "This meeting will only be focused on Haiti, including the deployment of troops from Argentina and other countries under the UN flag on the island and the country's democratic development. "According to sources, one day later Garca Moritn and Burns will again meet, but this time it will be a private meeting and they will tackle the bilateral agenda and international issues of common interest, including Venezuela and Iran." To see more Buenos Aires reporting, visit our classified website at: http://www.state.sqov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires WAYNE