VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #1871/01 2341235
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 221235Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5619
INFO RHMFISS/CDR USSOCOM MACDILL AFB FL//SCJ2//
RULGPUA/USCOMSOLANT

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001871 
 
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: US-ARGENTINE BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP; ARGENTINA'S DECISION 
NOT TO SEND TROOPS TO THE BORDER BETWEEN ISRAEL AND LEBANON; MIDDLE 
EAST WAR; SGP REVIEW; TRI-BORDER; FORMER ECONOMY MINISTER LAVAGNA'S 
STATEMENTS ABOUT MERCOSUR AND CHAVEZ; US-URUGUAYAN FTA; VENEZUELAN 
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS 08/16/06 
 
 
¶1. SUMMARY STATEMENT 
 
Today's leading international stories include Argentina's decision 
not to send troops to the border between Israel and Lebanon, and its 
impact on the US-Argentine bilateral relationship; the SGP review in 
relation to Argentina; Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay's decision to 
create the Intelligence Regional Center on the Tri-Border; former 
Argentine Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna's statements that 
Mercosur should "put a brake" on Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez; 
the likelihood of an FTA between the US and Uruguay; and the 
upcoming Venezuelan presidential elections. 
 
¶2. OPINION PIECES AND KEY STORIES 
 
- "The US again tests the Kirchner administration's foreign policy" 
 
Eduardo van der Kooy, political columnist of leading "Clarin," 
writes (08/16) "The Kirchner administration's foreign policy will be 
facing two acid tests. In both of them, Washington's influence can 
directly or indirectly be seen. The US-Argentine bilateral 
relationship is going through a time of indifference, but not 
tension. 
 
"The first topic is related to the war in the Middle East, which has 
just entered a precarious and sluggish truce. The UN Security 
Council has asked for 15,000 international troops to avoid 
repetition of clashes on the border between Israel and Lebanon. One 
request was made to Argentina, which rejected it, and the other one 
to Brazil. 
 
"The second issue is related to Brazil's announcement of the 
creation of an Intelligence Regional Center for the control of the 
Tri-Border... 
 
"Truly enough, the request for troops for the Middle East was made 
by the UN, but Washington made feel its pressure during the last few 
hours... The cease fire in the Middle East is too fragile. 
 
"This was one of the reasons why the Argentine Government decided 
not to send peace keeping troops. Israel is not certain that a new 
round of clashes may not occur... Hezbollah insists on proclaiming 
its victory and this will also contribute to destabilization in the 
area." 
 
- "Argentina will not send troops" 
 
Daniel Gallo, columnist of daily-of-record "La Nacion," writes 
(08/16) "Argentina will not send any troops to the international 
peace-keeping force on the border between Israel and Lebanon... An 
Argentine Government official close to FM Jorge Taiana said 'We will 
not be part of said force.' 
 
"This decision has not been notified yet to UN Secretary General 
Kofi Annan, who had requested for Argentina's participation. 
 
"... Two important reasons led the Government to make this 
decision... On the one hand, Blue Helmets will be on the border 
between Israel and Lebanon under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. This 
is a peacekeeping  force that will impose peace by force, with the 
possibility of victims. Under these circumstances, the Congress will 
hardly approve sending troops. 
 
"In addition to this, another situation was taken into account - 
Hezbollah is held responsible for the criminal attacks launched in 
Buenos Aires in 1992 and 1994. This situation could make the 
Congressional debate even tougher." 
 
- "Commercial sanctions are closer" 
 
Silvia Naishtat, on special assignment to La Jolla for leading 
"Clarin," comments (08/16) "4,500 kilometers away from 
Washington..., Jeffrey Davidow, former US Ambassador to Venezuela 
and Mexico during the Clinton and Bush administrations, current head 
of the Institute for the Americas, and one of the major experts in 
the relationship between Washington and the region, said 'Argentina 
will likely be eliminated from the General System of Preferences.' 
 
"The news about the loss of those preferential tariffs took the 
Argentine Foreign Ministry by surprise... For Buenos Aires, it means 
political rather than economic damage - thanks to the GSP, Argentine 
exports for 616 million dollars are sent to the US per year, but 
many small companies will find it hard to get over it. 
 
"Roberto Echandi, head of the Center for Investment and Trade, 
 
 
 
 
described the GSP as a regime of awards and sanctions... According 
to Echandi, rejection of the FTAA is what caused this trade 
retaliation, 'although Venezuela's entry into Mercosur is another 
reason.' 
 
"... According to Uruguayan Economy negotiator Alvaro Ons, there are 
other reasons. 'One should attribute it to disagreement with 
Washington at WTO negotiations.' 
 
"Asked about what Argentina can do about it, Jeffrey Davidow 
answered 'Nothing, there is no possibility of negotiation because 
the GSP is a unilateral benefit granted by Washington, and it can be 
removed just as easily as it was granted.'" 
 
- "What have we done in war?" 
 
Fabian Bosoer, columnist of leading "Clarin," writes (08/16) "... 
Perhaps the US electorate is on the verge of waking from the 
prolonged neo-conservative dream. Perhaps the glue that put together 
the global war on terrorism, the invasion of Iraq and the GWOT's 
sense of historical mission has started to crack... 
 
"Perhaps, many in the US are wondering whether they have done enough 
regarding this war, and perhaps there is an increasing feeling that 
something else (or something different) should be done to get out of 
the war in some other way." 
 
- "Tri-border - Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay coordinate 
espionage" 
 
Eleonora Gosman, Sao Paulo-based correspondent for leading "Clarin," 
writes (08/16) "Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay agreed to make more 
effective their joint actions against the alleged Islamic terrorist 
group that is reported to be acting on the Tri-border. The 
governments of the three countries have just created the 
Intelligence Regional Center... 
 
"The measure should not be surprising, because it is a response to a 
big pressure from the USG, which believes the area is a financial 
base of allegedly terrorist Arab organizations. The Intelligence 
Regional Center includes Argentine, Brazilian and Paraguayan 
investigative agents who will jointly act in the region." 
 
- "Uruguayan commercial expansion also includes China and India" 
 
Business-financial, center-right "InfoBae" reports (08/16) "The 
ruling party in Uruguay, Frente Amplio, rejected the FTA that 
Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez is negotiating with the US. 
 
"While the ruling coalition rejected an FTA with the US outside of 
Mercosur, the opposition has supported it in a determined way. 
 
"... According to Uruguayan Economy Minister Danilo Astori, the new 
international strategy promoted by the Uruguayan government not only 
includes an FTA with the US, but also with China and India." 
 
- "Lavagna warned Mercosur to subject President Chavez to control" 
 
Conservative "La Prensa" reports (08/16) "Former Argentine Economy 
Minister Roberto Lavagna said that Mercosur should 'put a brake' on 
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez so that the Mercosur's agenda 'does 
not fully change' and he rejected the proposal to create a South 
American army, which he labeled 'foolish.' 
 
"Asked about the possibility that the Vazquez administration signs 
an FTA with the US, Lavagna said that 'sufficient flexibility should 
be granted to Uruguay, if it wants, to seek other trade deals 
without leaving Mercosur. Out of all Mercosur member countries, 
Uruguay has been precisely the one whose exports to its Mercosur 
partners have increased the least.'" 
 
¶3. EDITORIALS 
 
- "Venezuelan presidential elections" 
 
Daily-of-record "La Nacion" editorializes (08/16) "Next December 3, 
Venezuela will again hold presidential elections. The opposition has 
just proclaimed Manuel Rosales as the candidate who will compete 
with current President Hugo Chavez in a political adventure that 
seems particularly complex. 
 
"... The upcoming presidential elections are important not only 
because Venezuela could recover its lost Republican direction and 
return to democracy through it but also it could put an end to a 
 
 
 
 
petrodollar-supported totalitarian leader's interference in the 
domestic affairs of the entire region." 
 
- "The cease fire in the Middle East" 
 
Leading "Clarin" editorializes (08/16) "The cease fire in Lebanon 
imposes a major responsibility and effort on the involved parties to 
undo the escalation of violence and resume a road for peace. 
 
"... The consequences of the confrontation should highlight that 
clashes cannot afford to be repeated. It is clear that no country 
may stay defenseless vis-`-vis the systematic attack against its 
people. At the same time, there are no winners in a war whose main 
victims are unarmed civilians. 
 
"The UN and the world leaders have the challenge to influence the 
two sides to effectively implement the program of pacification, the 
return of life conditions to normal, and the deactivation of clashes 
that still prevail in the region." 
 
- "The world craves for a lasting peace" 
 
An editorial in conservative "La Prensa" reads (08/16) "The fragile 
truce in the Middle East still holds the hope to reach a lasting 
peace, which is the wish of the international community but also of 
the suffering peoples that are the target of recurring battles 
engendered in an ancestral confrontation... 
 
"Since the most aggressive sectors of the Palestinian community took 
power..., the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip and the West 
Bank was the prelude to a strong reaction from Israel... 
 
"The suffering of the peoples of the Middle East should stop, and 
for this purpose a serious commitment from the international 
community, particularly from the most powerful countries like the US 
and the EU, is crucial. Far from seeing peace as their main 
objective, these powers are boosting a war that only favors the 
businesses of powerful sectors. They are not aware of the fact that 
only through tolerance and the sustainable development of the area, 
genuine growth will be achieved and this will benefit all." 
 
To see more Buenos Aires reporting, visit our 
classified website at: 
http://www.state.sqov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires 
 
MATERA