VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #2637/01 3322140
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 282140Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6609
INFO RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHMFISS/FBI WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 002637 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
WHA FOR A/S SHANNON, DAS DUDDY, DMCCARTHY 
WHA/BSC FOR BARNES, FRIEDMAN, MOSS 
NEA/IR FOR HWOOSTER 
S/CT FOR ARNOLD SIERRA 
NSC FOR JOSE CARDENAS 
FBI FOR CTD IRAN-HIZBALLAH UNIT AND OIO AMERICAS UNIT 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/28/2016 
TAGS: PTER KJUS PREL PGOV AR FBI
SUBJECT: AMIA SPECIAL PROSECUTORS CALL ON AMBASSADOR 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Wayne for reasons 1.4(b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (C)  Summary: On November 27, AMIA prosecutors Alberto 
Nisman and Marcelo Martinez Burgos called on the Ambassador 
to express their deep appreciation for the USG's support for 
their investigation and publicly for our public support 
following the release of their report.  They noted that their 
investigation continues, looking particularly into the Tri 
Border Area (TBA) and Buenos Aires networks that facilitated 
the 1994 attack.  They stated that the Interpol delay in 
emitting the "Red Notices" was an inconvenience but not 
unexpected, given the case's history.  Nisman said he wished 
his own government was more forthcoming in voicing support 
but did see as positive the fact that the Foreign Ministry 
was pulling together an interagency group (including the 
Prosecutors) to discuss next steps.  Ambassador assured the 
Prosecutors of continued U.S. support, briefly describing our 
diplomatic efforts, and encouraged them to work with the 
Judge and Argentina's Interpol representative to respond 
aggressively to Iran's efforts to derail the capture notices. 
We also noted the upcoming 3 1 talks in Buenos Aires, stating 
that this would be an excellent opportunity for Argentina to 
brief on the AMIA issue and solicit support.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (C)  Drs. Alberto Nisman and Marcelo Martinez Burgos, lead 
prosecutors in the AMIA case, called on the Ambassador 
November 27 to discuss the status of the case.  DCM, A/LegAtt 
and PolOff sat in on the meeting.  Nisman thanked the 
Ambassador for the USG's valuable support to their 
investigation and for the public statements of support 
following the release of their investigative report October 
¶25.  Nisman stated that he wished he could get a similar show 
of support from his own government.  He noted that his team 
continues to work on the investigation and is focused 
particularly on trying to uncover more information about the 
Islamic networks operating in the TBA and in Buenos Aires at 
the time. 
 
¶3. (C) Ambassador asked if Nisman had seen some of the 
negative press that has come out that basically described 
Nisman's report as a recirculation of the previous 
investigation and based on intelligence files and the 
testimony of unreliable witnesses.  Nisman said that he had 
quietly responded to the authors of the press articles. To 
the Ambassador he very strongly defended the investigation, 
the report and the strength of evidence and witnesses. He 
noted that several of the witnesses were former senior Iraqi 
government officials, e.g. Bani Sadr, with direct knowledge 
of events surrounding the conception of the attack.  He 
explained that not a single intelligence file was cited as 
evidence in his report; rather that the intelligence served 
to support the evidence gathered through other sources, or to 
generate new leads that were later corroborated via 
independent evidence. 
 
¶4. (C) Turning to Interpol and the capture notices, the 
Ambassador asked if Nisman and Martinez Burgos knew if anyone 
had responded to the Interpol Secretary General's 
notification that he would not be issuing Red Notices until 
both Iranian and Argentine authorities had an opportunity to 
express their views.  Nisman said he did not think anyone 
had.  The Ambassador noted how important it was for Argentina 
to reach out for support and start building an international 
coalition.  He said that it often takes significant urging, 
even of our best friends, to build this kind of support.  The 
Ambassador explained that he had raised the AMIA case, and 
made the same points, to the Foreign Minister, and to the 
Interior and Justice Ministers as well.  A/LegAtt stressed 
the importance of engaging quickly with Interpol and not 
leave the field open to the Iranians to have the last word. 
 
¶5. (C) The Ambassador explained that the U.S. would be 
working quietly here, in Washington and in capitals to build 
support for Argentina's legitimate right to disseminate the 
capture notices and to seek to bring terrorists to justice. 
The Ambassador stressed the importance of reaching out to the 
countries represented on the Interpol Executive Committee to 
make sure they were aware of Argentina's position.  Nisman 
said that he would talk to Judge Canicoba Corral and to 
Argentina's Federal Police Interpol Chief to discuss 
responding to the Secretary General. 
¶6. (C) Nisman also noted that the Foreign Ministry had been 
talking to them and other agencies and has put together an 
interagency process to look at the issues.  Nisman offered 
that he was going over to the MFA that afternoon for a 
meeting.  He said that he and Martinez Burgos had offered 
their services to help inform other governments and were at 
the MFA's disposition.  Ambassador noted that he had made the 
same suggestion to senior officials in several of his 
meetings as a way to explain to governments, first hand, the 
strength and complexity of the case against the indicted 
individuals.  PolOff noted the upcoming 3 1 meeting in Buenos 
Aires and that it would be an excellent opportunity to raise 
the AMIA issue and solicit support.  Nisman said he believed 
that 3 1 would be one of the issues of the MFA meeting. 
 
¶7. (C) Comment:  Nisman was very appreciative of the public 
expressions of support he had received from the U.S., and 
others and said that this was very important, particularly 
for the GoA, to feel it had international support.  He asked 
the Ambassador and USG to do all it could to solicit more 
such support from other countries.  It is discouraging that 
apparently no one in Buenos Aires had thought to respond 
officially to the Interpol Secretary General, but we believe 
we have energized Nisman to work with the Judge and the 
Argentine Interpol representative to at least consider it. 
A/LegAtt will follow up with the Interpol representative to 
see where things stand.  It is encouraging, however, that the 
GoA is starting to discuss in a coordinated fashion how to 
initiate a diplomatic effort.  Embassy will continue to 
engage here to support those efforts, including contact in 
the next days with the MFA. 
WAYNE