VZCZCXYZ9914
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSO #1005 2611830
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 181830Z SEP 06
FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5780
INFO RHEHNSC/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 6838
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO PRIORITY 7438
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC 2572

UNCLAS SAO PAULO 001005 
 
SIPDIS 
 
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 ETRD BR
SUBJECT: SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA: AFGHANISTAN, NATO ROLE, 
ANTI-TALIBAN OFFENSIVE; POPE'S STATEMENT ON MUSLINS; WESTERN 
HEMISPHERE: US ACTIONS IN PARAGUAY; SAO PAULO 
¶1. "Relapse In Afghanistan" 
Leading national circulation daily liberal Folha de S. Paulo 
 
editorialized (9/18): "Compared with Iraq, Afghanistan is a kind of 
garden of delights. The US intervention was successful. The hated 
Taliban regime was deposed and replaced by a government that 
acquired legitimacy through democratic elections. Unfortunately 
there are signs that the situation is also deteriorating in 
Afghanistan.... The main reason to explain Taliban's regrowth is the 
weakness of Hamid Karzai's government, which even being supported by 
NATO troops has failed to impose its authority outside Kabul. The 
responsibility is largely attributed to Western nations, which did 
not deploy enough soldiers. Taliban is still not popular in the 
South, where it imposes itself by fear. The situation, however, may 
be changed especially if NATO continues acting with rigor in actions 
against the militias. Bombs missing the target have devastated the 
prestige of the Karzai government. If the US and its allies fail to 
correct the mistakes, they will run the risk of being involved in a 
quagmire not only in Iraq, but also in Afghanistan." 
¶2. "Mohammed's Sword" 
Leading national circulation daily liberal Folha de S. Paulo (9/16) 
editorialized: "Like anyone else, the Pope has the right to say 
whatever he thinks. Likewise, Muslims who feel insulted by the 
pontiff's words have the right to question him. What is not 
acceptable is that a legitimate protest deteriorates into violence. 
In regards to the merit of the question, none of the parties seem to 
be exempt from any sin so as to be able to throw the first stone. 
Joseph Ratzinger's speech was not aimed at rousing the Arabs' anger, 
but rather at inviting Islam for an inter-religious dialogue. The 
paradox begins here. It's hard to believe that a public and 
experienced man like any pope should be has inadvertently used 
politically incorrect citations.... But it is unquestionable that 
Islam historically expanded itself using violence and obtained 
conversions by means of the scimitar's edge. Incidentally, this is a 
point that approximates Islam and Christianism, especially 
Catholicism.... This additional misunderstanding between the 
Catholics' leader and Muslim groups shows how much the 
inter-religious dialogue must evolve." 
¶3. "Another Battlefront" 
Leading national circulation daily liberal Folha de S. Paulo's 
political columnist Eliane Cantanhede commented (9/17): "As a result 
of developments involving Hugo Chavez's Venezuela, Evo Morales' 
Bolivia and Nestor Kirchner's Argentina, Brazil has not paid 
sufficient attention to its backyard, i.e., its neighbor Paraguay. 
As a result, the US has not lost time and has already set a foot in 
Colombia and is stepping another one in Paraguay. The difference is 
that the Colombian base is military and justified by the fight 
against drug trafficking. The recently created base in Paraguay is 
involved in civic and social actions and follows the Cuban 
occupation strategy: through medical doctors, dentists, vaccines and 
medicines. President Nicanor Duarte is not a fool. He shoots aiming 
at every direction, sometimes flirting, sometimes explicitly 
blackmailing. And he has succeeded in attracting the US attention, 
provoking Brazil and allying with Venezuela.... The same 
anti-imperialistic feeling shown by some Brazilian sectors regarding 
the US is disseminated in the Paraguayan society in regards to 
Brazil.... Brazil and Argentina have just agreed to create a 
cooperation fund aimed at developing Mercosul's minor partners - 
Paraguay and Uruguay - that can be seen as an effort to recover both 
nations from Uncle Sam's benevolent claws." 
 
McMullen