MEDIA REACTION: SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA: PAKISTAN, MILITARY

UNCLAS SAO PAULO 000290 SIPDIS STATE INR/R/MR; IIP/R/MR; WHA/PD DEPT PASS USTR USDOC 4322/MAC/OLAC/JAFEE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KMDR OPRC OIIP XM XR XF BR SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA: PAKISTAN, MILITARY OFFENSIVE AGAINST TALIBAN, AFGHANISTAN, AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN STRATEGY; GLOBAL ECONOMY: FINANCIAL MARKET CRISIS; ANTI-TERRORISM EFFORTS: GUANTANAMO CLOSING; DETAINEE POLICY; SCO PAULO "U.S. debt becomes unsustainable" Main editorial in center-right O Estado de S. Paulo (5-17) states: "....the replacement of the dollar may be difficult, but this does not make the U.S. imbalance less serious. The adjustment will depend on a rebound of U.S. public accounts, which have already been promised by President Barack Obama. The sooner it begins the better for all. If the adjustment is delayed and is put in place due to a crisis in confidence, the cost will be disastrous for all." "Afghanistan swamp" Editorial in center-right O Estado de S. Paulo (5-17) says: "The replacement of the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, Army General David McKiernan, attests to the increasing deterioration of the seven-year-war that the U.S. has waged against the Al Qaeda-Taliban axis.....Afghanistan ousted Iraq as the first priority for the Pentagon ........ Washington is again paying for the cursed heritage of the Bush era.... [Bush] left the war to its own fate to take care of his obsession with Iraq. This monumental mistake kept the U.S. from delivering a devastating blow against its real [threatening] enemies and created conditions for the fanatic Taliban to redo their bases among the Afghan tribes. And, if Iraq is a muddy place, Afghanistan is a swamp." "Obama in practice" Editorial in liberal Folha de S. Paulo (5-16) notes: "After a resounding start, with measures of symbolic impact in the sense of repairing damages caused by the Bush Administration, Barack Obama begins to pull back. Yesterday the White House confirmed it would resume the controversial military court trials of those accused of terrorist practices .....Seen in perspective, the pull-back does not bring any news.....[but] it is embarrassing, though, that the trend [of democratically-elected presidents] is repeated with Obama, herald of the 'change'." "It's neither G20, nor G8. It is G1" Op-ed in liberal Folha de S. Paulo (5-17) by Clovis Rossi states: "The Barack Obama Administration unveiled a plan to regulate its derivatives....Regulating all financial products was the main decision of the G20 with regards to the elaboration of a new global financial framework. The fact that the U.S. is leading the way is institutional and politically significant....With regards to leadership and the ability to have initiative, there is not a G20 or even a G8.....It's really the G1. But we can call it United States of America." WHITE