VZCZCXYZ0010
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #0915/01 1142040
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 242040Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4268
INFO RHMFISS/CDR USSOCOM MACDILL AFB FL//SCJ2//
RULGPUA/USCOMSOLANT

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 000915 
 
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 GLOBAL TORTURE CHINESE 
PRESIDENT HU JINTAO'S MEETING WITH US PRESIDENT BUSH 
US IMMIGRATION POLICY NUCLEAR DEAL BETWEEN IRAN AND 
RUSSIA WAR IN IRAQ HAITI AND ARGENTINA PRESIDENT 
KIRCHNER'S STYLE 04/24/06 
 
 
¶1. SUMMARY STATEMENT 
 
Key international stories today include Osama bin 
Laden issuing new threats in an audiotape broadcast on 
Arab TV accusing average Westerners of supporting "a 
Zionist, crusaders' war on Islam" and urging his 
followers to go to Sudan to fight a proposed UN peace 
force; criticism of the globalization of torture; the 
implications of the meeting between US President 
George W. Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao; 
Chinese President Jintao's statement that he "has no 
plans to copy Western political paths wholesale;" the 
US immigration policy; a nuclear deal between Iran and 
Russia; EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson warning that 
an Argentine-Uruguayan dispute over pulp mills 
involving European companies could harm European trade 
relations with Latin America; the costs of the war in 
Iraq; Haitian President-elect Rene Preval requesting 
assistance from President Kirchner in the form of 'a 
suggested growth-based plan of government;' 
disagreements between Argentine Economy Minister 
Felisa Miceli and the IMF at the IMF Spring Meetings 
as well as Miceli's meeting with US Assistant 
Secretary Earl Anthony Wayne; and Bolivian President 
 
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Morales getting tough with the US. 
 
¶2. OPINION PIECES AND KEY STORIES 
 
- "On the globalization of torture" 
 
Oscar Raul Cardoso, international columnist of leading 
"Clarin," writes (04/22) "... Under the pretext of 
defending superior goods, the most diverse regimes 
justify the use of abhorrent practices. 
 
"... Human rights declarations and conventions are 
losing importance since US President George W. Bush 
announced he would launch a 'war on terror' in 2001... 
 
"US VP Dick Cheney proclaims the CID formula (cruel, 
inhuman, and degrading) as an indispensable tool in 
the fight on terror. 
 
"Vladimir Bukovsky (who spent twelve years in Soviet 
prisons) replied to Cheney, 'If the VP is right and 
the CID is a required tool to win the war on 
terrorism, then this war is already lost.'" 
 
- "Hu Jintao's visit leaves Bush empty-handed" 
 
Ana Baron, Washington-based correspondent for leading 
"Clarin," writes (04/229 "During the meeting between 
US President George W. Bush and Chinese President Hu 
Jintao, the latter obtained almost everything he 
wanted, while Bush was empty-handed. 
 
"... Jintao managed to consolidate China as a 
superpower in the international scenario... while he 
reinforced his leadership at a domestic level. It was 
a deft public relations maneuver, which was free for 
him. 
 
"Meanwhile, US President Bush did not get any kind of 
progress on the two most important issues for him - 
the US trade deficit with China, and the crisis with 
the Iranian nuclear program. 
 
"Hu Jintao did not want to commit himself to 
devaluating the Yuan, which would enable American 
goods to compete under better terms in the Chinese 
market. He only spoke of making the exchange rate more 
flexible. 
 
"On political matters, the Chinese president 
reiterated his reluctance to the implementation of 
Chapter 7 of the UN Chart, which foresees sanctions 
ranging from the economic ones to the use of military 
force." 
 
- "Immigration legislation - 'Bush will review 
whatever comes out of Capitol Hill'" 
 
Jorge Sosa, on special assignment in Washington for 
business-financial "El Cronista," writes (04/24) "... 
 
 
 
 
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice avoided using 
the word veto, but she made clear that the US 
President 'will review every project or report coming 
out of Congressional debates based on the criteria he 
has maintained'... 
 
According to the USG official, the White House is 
planning to achieve an 'integral policy' of 
immigration, which will protect borders while 
preserving the humanitarian treatment of those who 
cooperate with our economic development so they can 
also protect their own families.'" 
 
- "Nuclear deal between Iran and Russia" 
 
Daily-of-record "La Nacion" reports (04/24) "Just one 
week away from the expiration of the time established 
by the UN for Iran to stop its nuclear plan, Iran 
announced yesterday that it reached a 'basic deal' 
with Russia to enrich uranium in Russia while it 
asserted that it will not stop exporting oil in spite 
of international sanctions. 
 
"... It was not made clear whether Iran will 
completely stop enriching uranium in its own territory 
(which was a demand of the West) or whether the joint 
operation will complement the current process of 
uranium enrichment in Iran. Tehran has said that it 
will never renounce its right to process uranium and 
manufacture nuclear oil as per the Non Proliferation 
Treaty." 
 
- "In spite of its deal with Russia, Iran warns that 
its nuclear plan is 'irreversible'" 
 
Daily-of-record "La Nacion" reports (04/24) "Less than 
24 hours after a deal between Tehran and Moscow was 
announced, which was seen as a way out of the crisis 
unleashed by the Iranian nuclear plan, the government 
of the Islamic republic clarified that it is not 
willing to renounce uranium enrichment on an 
industrial scale in its own territory, and it added 
that the implementation of the nuclear plan is 
'irreversible.' 
 
"Just four days away from the UN deadline for Tehran 
to stop enriching uranium, the US has all the options 
on the table in order to put an end to the 
controversial Iranian nuclear plan - last Tuesday, US 
President George W. Bush did not dismiss the 
possibility of attacking Iranian nuclear facilities, 
while US media have lately reported Washington's 
several military plans against Tehran." 
 
- "Iraq, the most expensive war in history" 
 
Gustavo Sierra, columnist of leading "Clarin," writes 
(04/23) "The war in Iraq has been the most expensive 
war in the history of the US. Some 10 billion dollars 
are spent per month, twice as much as what was spent 
in Vietnam. The total cost so far of the three years 
of war is 282 billion dollars. 
 
"According to two studies carried out by the Center 
for Strategic Budgetary Assessments and the official 
Congressional Research Service, the Bush 
administration will spend this year at least 94 
billion dollars, a 50% increase vis--vis 2003. 
 
"... Analysts believe that the only way to stop this 
'hemorrhage' of dollars is by immediately withdrawing 
a good number of the 140,000 US troops stationed in 
the area. However, Bush has already warned that while 
the withdrawal will start as of July, the task of 
abandoning Iraq will be up to his successor, as well 
as the check." 
 
 
- "A hand for President Preval" 
 
Left-of-center "Pagina 12" reports (04/24) "Last March 
13, Nestor Kirchner received Haitian President-elect 
Rene Preval. In the middle of a friendly meeting, the 
Argentine president asked his guest whether Haiti 
 
 
 
 
expected some special help, 'a hand,' as we say. 
Preval did not hesitate. He said that he needed 'a 
plan of government based on growth.' And he added... 
that he wanted to involve Argentina, Brazil and Chile 
in his request. 
 
"Kirchner realized Preval's request was not merely 
rhetoric... Preval said he needed the plan before 
taking power. President Kirchner asked several 
government officials from five ministries to put hands 
to work and have a draft before the Haitian 
president's swearing-in ceremony, which should be made 
compatible with the governments of Brazil and Chile. 
 
"Every government should cooperate, although Preval 
expects Argentina to provide data and expertise on 
emergency policies aimed at getting out of the crisis, 
this is, social policies. The criticized "Jefas and 
Jefes de Hogar" (Household Chiefs Program) and the 
Remediar program will surely be the stars of the 
Argentine contribution. The Argentine rebound after 
the 2001 meltdown... inspired Preval a hypotheses of 
imitation and perhaps a feeling of identification." 
 
- "Clashes with the IMF could speed up the withdrawal 
of the IMF office in Buenos Aires" 
 
Jorge Luis Vazquez, columnist of leading "Clarin," 
writes (04/23) "The prevailing climate during the 
assembly between the IMF and Argentina could speed up 
the withdrawal of the IMF office in Buenos Aires. 
 
"At this moment, there is a gradual downsizing at the 
office. Andrew Wolfe's return to Washington was only 
the first step... 
 
"However, now the clashes between IMF officials on the 
one hand and Nestor Kirchner and Felisa Miceli on the 
other hand could end up in a formal request from the 
Argentine Government so that the IMF office is closed. 
 
"For now..., the IMF is handling the timing of its 
withdrawal given that Argentina only made 'a 
suggestion' in this regard when it paid its entire 
debt of 9.5 billion dollars in early 2006." 
 
- "Miceli charged the IMF with 'being part of the 
problem and not of the solution'" 
 
Jorge Luis Velazquez, on special assignment in 
Washington for leading "Clarin," writes (04/23) "In 
her debut at the IMF Assembly, Felisa Miceli reversed 
the traditional roles assigned to attending countries. 
This time, she assumed the role of principal analyst 
of the international economic situation and that of 
Argentina, and placed the IMF in the defendant's seat. 
 
"In a written presentation at the IMF Financial and 
Monetary Committee during the first session of the 
Spring Assembly, Felisa Miceli recriminated the IMF, 
among other things, because it is only devoted to 
detecting problems and it only contributed a few 
solutions; it has a wrong diagnose on world and local 
inflation; it has not adequately pondered the 
importance of the salary sector as an element of the 
economic recovery; it generates information of 
'dubious credibility;' and it only defends the 
interests of the financial creditors of indebted 
countries." 
 
- "According to the IMF, price controls are not 
enough" 
 
Hugo Alconada Mon, Washington-based correspondent for 
daily-of-record "La Nacion," writes (04/23) "The first 
meeting between Economy Minister Felisa Miceli with 
IMF Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato was better than 
expected. 
 
"Rato said 'You should take the opportunity. You have 
a great local growth and a good international 
context.' 'This is the moment to promote some reforms 
to reduce the vulnerability of the country when the 
current world cycle changes.' 
 
 
 
 
 
"... Rato was firm on one point - price controls are 
'insufficient' to eliminate inflation. He said that 
more than that is required. 
 
"... Anoop Singh, IMF director for Latin America, said 
that the Government should promote a 'set of 
macroeconomic measures' going beyond price controls in 
order to put the inflation under control in the medium 
term." 
 
- "Meeting between Argentine Economy Minister Felisa 
Miceli and A/S Earl A. Wayne" 
 
Hugo Alconada Mon, Washington-based correspondent for 
daily-of-record "La Nacion," writes (04/23) "During a 
45-minute meeting at the Watergate complex in this 
city, Economy Minister Felisa Miceli and US Assistant 
Secretary) Earl Anthony Wayne reviewed the bilateral 
 
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economic and commercial agenda. 
 
"According to members of the Argentine delegation, 
Miceli explained the central points of the Argentine 
Government's economic policy while A/S Wayne offered 
his cooperation." 
 
- "Argentine debt with the World Bank will be lowered" 
 
Hugo Alconada Mon, Washington-based correspondent for 
daily-of-record "La Nacion," writes (04/24) "Five 
months after having announced the cancellation of its 
entire debt owed to the IMF, the Argentine Government 
fixed a similar goal - it will reduce its credit 
exposure with the World Bank (6.8 billion dollars9 by 
30%. 
 
"Argentine Economy Minister Felisa Miceli's strategy 
is prioritizing the country's relationship with the 
IDB, from which she will request new infrastructure 
loans." 
 
- "Kirchner, the Peronist Party and Uruguay" 
 
Leading "Clarin's" political columnist comments 
(04/23) "... The (Argentine) Government suspects its 
strategy in the conflict over the pulp mills may have 
started to create doubts among the financiers of the 
undertaking. Miceli left a folder with background 
information with the head of the World Bank, Paul 
Wolfowitz. There is a climate of success. However, 
this could be a mistake - Argentina's and Uruguay's 
failure to solve the problem could not only frustrate 
this investment but scare away future economic bets in 
the region as well. 
 
"... A high-ranking EU government official made this 
warning. Finland suspended the visit of its Trade 
minister. International mistrust seems to broaden. US 
Treasury Secretary mixed praising statements for the 
country's growth and clear omissions about holdout 
bondholders through a statement he made to Miceli on 
the lack of a positive business climate. The reproach 
is not related to the potent status of the economy but 
on certain legislation and a political style." 
 
- "Evo Morales gets tough with the US" 
 
Leading "Clarin" reports (04/22) "In a new chapter of 
a saga of clashes between the US and Bolivia, Bolivian 
President Evo Morales lashed out at the US for having 
denied the visa to a Bolivian vice minister, and he 
threatened to adopt similar measures against US 
citizens. It is the second time in a few weeks in 
which a government official is denied a visa." 
 
- "Chavez takes Cuban foreign minister to the Asuncion 
meeting" 
 
Sergio Moreno, columnist of left-of-center "Pagina 
12," writes (04/22) "... During a meeting among the 
presidents of Uruguay, Bolivia, Venezuela and 
Paraguay, Tabare Vazquez asked that a hypothetical gas 
pipeline, which is being projected among Bolivia, 
Paraguay and Uruguay, should not go through Argentina 
 
 
 
 
in fear that Argentina cut gas supply in retaliation 
for the pulp mills issue. 
 
"The US Department of State focused its attention and 
concern on the meeting because Chavez arrived 
accompanied by Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez 
Roque, who was visiting Caracas... 
 
"... The US has not stopped wielding pressure to 
prevent Venezuela from entering the UN Security 
Council. Argentina is being pressured because it has 
decided to vote in favor of Venezuela's entry as a 
temporary member." 
 
¶3. EDITORIALS 
 
- "The US, China and global balance" 
 
Leading "Clarin" editorializes (04/24) "The summit 
between Presidents George W. Bush and Hu Jintao in 
Washington is a most important event for world 
politics not only for the importance of the two 
countries but also because their bilateral 
relationship has a decisive influence on international 
stability, security and peace. 
 
"... The two countries are facing an increasing 
transnationalization of their main corporations, which 
means that the larger their cooperation the greater 
predictability global economy will have. 
 
"Finally, in an international scenario crowded with 
signs of alert and conflict..., China could play a 
moderating role and avoid mismatches, which jeopardize 
the world." 
 
- "Again, the IMF" 
 
An editorial in conservative "La Prensa" reads (04/23) 
"That one who believed that after canceling its entire 
debt with the IMF, Argentina was going to rid of the 
IMF was wrong. Rodrigo Rato, IMF head, said that 
Argentina will be an example of what should not happen 
in other nations... and that inflation will only be 
controlled through a fiscal and monetary adjustment... 
 
"Nine out of ten economists agree that the Central 
Bank is not doing everything it can to fight 
inflation. Just growth is not enough... All ideas 
should, therefore, be welcomed." 
 
To see more Buenos Aires reporting, visit our 
classified website at: 
http://www.state.sqov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires 
 
GUTIERREZ