MEDIA REACTION; IRAQ; IRAN; US PRESIDENT BUSH'S LATAM TOUR;

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 000563 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 PRESIDENT BUSH'S LATAM TOUR; 03/20/07; BUENOS AIRES ¶1. SUMMARY STATEMENT Leading international stories today include US President Bush pleading for patience and warning US citizens of dire consequences of a swift troop withdrawal from Iraq; the possibility that international judicial system could be amended to legalize a Western military action against Iran; and the impact of US President Bush's visit to Latin America on Mexico and Mercosur. ¶2. OPINION PIECES - "Bush: abandoning Iraq would be devastating" Hugo Alconada Mon, Washington-based correspondent for daily-of-record "La Nacion," writes (03/20) "... Now that the Democratic opposition was able to set a debate on Capitol Hill over a possible US troop withdrawal from Iraq in the short run, US President George W. Bush declared that a swift troop withdrawal could have 'devastating' consequences on US security. "... Bush and his team believe that substantial progress has been made ever since 2003. Among other achievements, Saddam no longer rules Iraq - he was replaced by democratic leaders. According to Bush's critics, those achievements have not made up for the strategic costs caused to the US... To the dismay of France, Germany and Latin America, some scandals (like those related to Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, CIA secret prisons and flights) added themselves." - "The choice to amend legislation to justify an attack against Iran" Oscar Raul Cardoso, leading "Clarin's" international analyst, penned (03/20) "What could happen in the event the international judicial system was amended to legalize a Western military action against Iran? This is a remarkable option that is worth considering because it would go well beyond what implied the invasion of Iraq... "In the Iraqi case, the international legal system was simply ignored (or perhaps dodged) by the US when George W. Bush claimed the US right to launch military, pre-emptive attacks against any country harboring terrorist groups. However, his decision was questioned from scratch and is still questioned by most of the international community. "Now, the situation is different. It simply comes down to amending the basic principles of international law, thereby removing the current limitations found by Washington to attack Iran... "The possibility is not new and appears among the topics being debated by international judicial experts, who amazingly underscore the need for creating a legal framework so that Israel would eventually launch the military action. "... The proposal is based on the fact that 'the UN Chart is not well equipped' to deal with the 'Iranian nuclear threat' and the efforts of the international community to convince the Tehran government to abandon its (nuclear) program have ignored the so-called 'no return point,' when Iran masters the nuclear oil cycle." - "Wailing over the wall" Michael Soltys, executive editor of liberal, English-language "Buenos Aires Herald," writes (03/20) "... Bush's visit to Mexico literally ran into a wall - namely the wall against illegal immigration being constructed along the US-Mexican border, about which no Mexican can be happy, not even as conservative and pro-Western a soul as President Felipe Calderon... Little enough progress was made toward solving this gigantic problem when the two presidents met in the Yucatan capital of Merida - Bush made vague promises of immigration reform while Calderon spoke of creating jobs for Mexicans in Mexico as the only real answer. "... What did the visit achieve? It was widely seen as too little, too late in contrast to the open-handedness of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez... Nevertheless, the visit to part of Mercosur (Brazil and Uruguay) seems to have driven a wedge into the faltering trade bloc even if only Uruguayan Economy Minister Danilo Astori was overly flattered by Bush's attentions." To see more Buenos Aires reporting, visit our classified website at: http://www.state.sqov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires WAYNE