VZCZCXYZ0028
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #1364/01 1671937
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 161937Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4947
INFO RHMFISS/CDR USSOCOM MACDILL AFB FL//SCJ2//
RULGPUA/USCOMSOLANT

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001364 
 
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 IMF-ARGENTINA MIDDLE EAST FTAA-MERCOSUR 
06/16/06; BUENOS AIRES 
 
 
¶1. SUMMARY STATEMENT 
 
Today's most important international stories include the US Senate 
allegedly limiting US President Bush's war power in Iraq; the report 
of external auditors on the IMF performance in handling the 2001 
Argentine crisis and the Independent Evaluation Office's review; the 
situation in the Middle East; and the upcoming Mercosur Foreign 
Ministerial Meeting to be held in Buenos Aires. 
 
Leading "Clarin," business-financial, center-right "InfoBae," and 
Radio 10 AM 710 covered the meeting between Ambassador Lino 
Gutierrez and the six Argentine young political leaders who will 
travel to the US on an exchange program. 
 
¶2. OPINION PIECES AND KEY STORIES 
 
- "Bush's war power is limited" 
 
Hugo Alconada Mon, Washington-based correspondent for 
daily-of-record "La Nacion," writes (06/16) "Only one week after 
having confirmed the best news of recent months for the White House 
in its daily battle over Iraq, US President George W. Bush's power 
suffered a new and harsh recoil. 
 
"Yesterday, the US Senate approved a 65.8 billion-dollar emergency 
package, which was asked by the US Pentagon for war, but, for the 
first time, the US Senate established precise limits on the 
President's powers to draft, finance and perform his war plans. 
 
"... The boundary established by the US Senate is only budgetary, 
but it is a clear parallel to the limits imposed decades ago on the 
White House during the turn of  the  Vietnam War." 
 
- "The IMF is accused of avoiding responsibility in the crisis" 
 
Martin Kanenguiser, economic columnist of daily-of-record "La 
Nacion," writes (06/16) "After an analysis of a previous report, a 
group of experts hired by the IMF issued their findings yesterday. 
They stated that the IMF avoided assuming its responsibility in the 
2001-02 Argentine crisis... 
 
"A panel of experts that reviewed the IMF Independent Evaluation 
Office's performance stated that there was informative manipulation 
in the Argentine case and that Washington authorities did not 
provide enough cooperation to get an accurate assessment in the 
necessary time." 
 
- "Crossed accusations at the IMF over its role in the Argentine 
crisis" 
 
Ismael Bermudez, economic columnist of leading "Clarin," writes 
(06/16) "The IMF Board publicly disputes the role it played in the 
2001 Argentine crisis. 
 
"While there has been controversy for a long time, the debate had 
not been publicly commented on by IMF authorities. However, they 
were unable to ignore the situation. The basis of the disagreement 
comes from a report issued by a panel of experts (appointed by the 
IMF itself) about the work done by the Independent Evaluation Office 
(IEO). 
 
"This report included strong criticism of the IEO. According to the 
report, the IEO's task had certain 'weaknesses.' It strongly 
disapproved of the IEO's work in Argentina by mid-2004, when the IEO 
evaluated the IMF's role in the process leading to the end of the 
convertibility system." 
 
- "The signs of a lie can already be detected" 
 
David Cufre, economic columnist of left-of-center "Pagina 12," 
writes (06/16) "The IMF manipulated information, scrimped 
fundamental data about its negotiations with Domingo Cavallo, and 
led independent evaluators to mistakes. 
 
"These were the conclusions of a new group of external auditors 
hired by the IMF to judge its performance. The document was posted 
yesterday on the IMF Website. The report is highly critical. It 
asserts that in evaluations of the IMF's performance in the 2001 
Argentine crisis, the responsibility of the Argentine government was 
exaggerated while the equally serious mistakes of the IMF were 
disguised. 
 
"In regards to the performance of the Independent Evaluation Office 
(IEO), which drafted a report assessing IMF performance, auditors 
explained that it passively accepted the IMF staff's intromissions 
to the extreme, and thus changed its conclusions toward that 
direction..." 
 
 
- "One thousand and one mistakes" 
 
Marcelo Cantelmi, international editor of leading "Clarin," writes 
(06/16) "The Palestinian territories are in the middle of chaos for 
which they are not solely to blame. The combination of blind 
interests, lack of perspective and all kinds of fundamentalisms 
explain the lack of a State that fully represents that national 
entity... 
 
"All players have been wrong, particularly the US, which ignored the 
moderate Palestinian administration, thereby contributing to the 
arrival of extremist Hamas to power... 
 
"The economic siege to which the Palestinians are being subject to 
have African features. It will hardly serve to moderate violence - 
it is rather an incentive to hatred." 
 
¶3. EDITORIALS 
 
- "Mercosur is under debate" 
 
An editorial in conservative "La Prensa" reads (06/16) "The Mercosur 
foreign ministerial summit hopes to reach deals that will allow for 
strengthened regional integration, particularly in regards to 
crucial international trade negotiations. One of the central things 
to advance in is the decision to lead joint negotiations at the main 
institutions; other important issues include drafting a new agenda 
for the FTAA and a deal with the EU... 
 
"In the past, the Argentine Governments often prioritized the trade 
association with the US over that of Mercosur. 
 
"... The impact of any trade or investment treaty depends on the 
general conditions of such a deal, which depend on the economic 
policy and expertise of every negotiating party." 
 
 
To see more Buenos Aires reporting, visit our classified website 
at: 
http://www.state.sqov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires 
 
GUTIERREZ