ARGENTINA ON BRAZILIAN SOUTH AMERICAN SECURITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 000710 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/23/2028 TAGS: MARR MASS PREL PGOV AR SUBJECT: ARGENTINA ON BRAZILIAN SOUTH AMERICAN SECURITY COUNCIL INITIATIVE REF: SECSTATE 52599 Classified By: Ambassador E. Anthony Wayne for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Informal discussions with military, MOD and MFA contacts on Brazil's South American Security Council proposal indicate the Brazilians have not consulted in any detail with the Argentines, who are not clear on what the Brazilians are proposing. GOA contacts discount that the proposed Council will amount to much. It is notable that, unlike Colombia, Uruguay and Paraguay, the Brazilian Minister of Defense did not visit Argentina to win GOA support for the initiative. There has been next to nothing in the local press on the issue. ¶2. (C) Argentine military officers we have spoken with have not heard enough about the proposal to venture an opinion on it, nor are they discussing it among themselves. They see this as a matter for political decision-makers. Post will discreetly look for GOA reaction to the SASC proposal in the wake of the President's return from the May 23 meeting in Brazil of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). WAYNE