BRAZIL: FOUR SENATORS TAKE ON THE FOURTH FLEET

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRASILIA 001002 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MARR PREL XM BR SUBJECT: BRAZIL: FOUR SENATORS TAKE ON THE FOURTH FLEET REF: BRASILIA 943 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Four members of the Senate Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee visited Ambassador Sobel on July 9 to express objections to the re-establishment of the Fourth Fleet, and called on President Bush to reverse it. They asked the Ambassador to transmit their objections to both U.S. presidential candidates. They repeated their objections to waiting media outside the Embassy gate. Mission is conducting public affairs outreach to counter misconceptions about the Fourth Fleet. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) On July 9, Ambassador received four members of the Senate Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee who wanted express objections to the re-establishment of the Fourth Fleet. Their visit followed recent statements by Presidents Lula and Chavez at the Mercosul Summit last June, covered in generally negative media reports. In a related development, Ambassador met with FM Amorim on July 3 to discuss the Fleet (reftel). The Senate group included Cristovam Buarque (PDT - Democratic Workers Party; left; government coalition; of the Federal District),Eduardo Suplicy (PT - Workers' Party; left; lead party in the government coalition; of Sao Paulo),Pedro Simon (PMDB - Brazilian Democratic Movement Party; non-ideological; government coalition; of Rio Grande do Sul),and Joao Pedro (PT; of Amazonas). ¶3. (SBU) Senator Simon objected to the fleet's re-establishment on a number of grounds. He said he did not believe media reports linking the Fleet's re-establishment to the Brazil's recent discoveries of offshore oil reserves or that the U.S. has designs on the Amazon region, but demanded to know the rationale for the re-establishment's timing. Senator Simon said that President Bush, with only a few months remaining in his term of office, and low popularity ratings, had "no right" to reactivate the Fourth Fleet, and should have left such a decision to his successor. He suggested that the Fleet represented a threat to Brazilian democracy, and recalled that published reports, including a book by former U.S. Ambassador to Brazil Lincoln Gordon, have stated that U.S. warships were off the Brazilian coast in 1964 to assist the Brazilian military at the time of the coup d'etat had there been resistance from then-President Joao Goulart. ¶4. (SBU) After hearing Ambassador's explanation of the Fleet's purpose, Simon argued that humanitarian relief and disaster assistance tasks could be carried out without a fleet, and therefore the fleet was unnecessary. Senator Suplicy asked whether the Fleet was coming to the Brazilian coast. He acknowledged that U.S.-Brazilian bilateral relations are very good, and suggested that for that reason we would be able to have a dialogue even in a crisis. Like Simon, he said the Fleet reminds Brazilians of the military regime, and said Brazilians want instead peaceful movements in keeping with the peaceful character of the region. Simon predicted that if the re-establishment is not canceled, a movement in the hemisphere will grow against the Fourth Fleet. ¶5. (SBU) Simon and Joao Pedro posed several specific questions about the Fleet, such as how many ships were in it, what is its purpose, and how many doctors are in the Fleet. ¶6. (SBU) Ambassador Sobel stressed that no ships are assigned permanently to the Fleet, it is not being reactivated with an offensive purpose, and ships assigned to it would not come into Brazilian waters without Brazilian permission. He noted that the Fleet's configurations vary according to the specific mission, and described the missions of the USNS Comfort that have provided medical services to tens of thousands of patients. The Fleet will engage in joint training with other navies from the hemisphere, he said, and the U.S. has a long tradition of respecting other countries' territorial waters. Mission will provide additional details about the Fourth Fleet in information packets to be presented to the Chairman of the Foreign BRASILIA 00001002 002 OF 002 Relations and National Defense Committee. Mission Public Diplomacy ¶7. (U) Post has been conducting an information campaign on the Fourth Fleet: Information Officer gave an interview on the Fourth Fleet to the CBN radio network, and PAS placed an op-ed by the Ambassador in two national dailies and a letter from Southcom Commander Admiral James Stavridis in two other national dailies. WHA A/S Thomas Shannon's remarks on the Fleet to the media in Sao Paulo got very favorable coverage in all major media on July 10. PAS, the Foreign Press Center, and SouthCom PA organized a tour to the Fourth Fleet inauguration on July 12 that included Brazilian press. Mission issued a press release immediately after the senators' visit and able to ensure balance in media coverage of their meeting with the Ambassador, but more work is required to set the record straight on the Fourth Fleet. Mission will distribute information packets to media and leading political figures. Comment. ¶8. (SBU) Without sufficient public information and private engagement from our side, misconceptions about the Fourth Fleet could fester and take hold. Many Brazilians harbor suspicions about U.S. intentions in Brazil and the region, and the atmosphere is ripe for a new myth about U.S. plans. While the Vice President told us in private, and Navy Commander and Defense Minister said in public that they are not concerned about the Fourth Fleet, we need to continue engaging senior Brazilians, opinion leaders, and the media to dispel misconceptions. KUBISKE