VZCZCXYZ0001
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #2747/01 3481848
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 141848Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6753
INFO RHMFISS/CDR USSOCOM MACDILL AFB FL//SCJ2//
RULGPUA/USCOMSOLANT

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 002747 
 
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 TIES; AMIA BOMBING CASE AND IRAN; 
GSP; DEATH OF PINOCHET; 12/13/06; BUENOS AIRES 
 
 
¶1. SUMMARY STATEMENT 
 
Leading international stories today include US Assistant Secretary 
of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Tom Shannon's statement that 
the US is working 'fantastically' with the Argentine Government; the 
current state of the Argentine-Iranian ties following an Argentine 
court decision to charge eight former Iranian government officials 
with the AMIA bombing case; the Argentine Foreign Ministry's 
statement announcing that the US Congress extended Trade Benefits 
Regime applied to a number of Argentine exports for two years; and 
the aftermath of the death of former Chilean dictator Augusto 
Pinochet. 
 
Leading "Clarin" and business-financial, center-right "InfoBae" 
report on yesterday's PAS press conference with US Speaker Terrence 
O'Brien, Deputy Director at the California Energy Commission, on 
California's initiatives to encourage energy efficiency and new 
energy sources and its efforts to protect the environment. 
 
¶2. OPINION PIECES 
 
- "US hints at better dialogue with the (Argentine) Government" 
 
Leonardo Mindez, on special assignment in Washington for leading 
"Clarin," writes (12/13) "The USG official in charge of regional 
affairs, Tom Shannon, stated that improved dialogue with the 
Kirchner administration during recent months 'reflects our 
understanding that Argentina has strategic importance,' and he 
appeared confident that the bilateral relationship would be 
'strengthened'. 
 
"During a break at a conference at the Council of the Americas in 
New York, Shannon mentioned his talks with Kirchner and Ministers 
Alberto Fernandez and Julio De Vido last September... and the 
arrival of the new US Ambassador to Argentina, Earl Anthony Wayne, 
as some of the factors that allowed for improved feelings between 
Washington and Buenos Aires. 
 
"Shannon said 'We cleaned up our (bilateral) agenda and that was 
useful.' 'Sometimes one gets lost in rhetoric and we should 
acknowledge that we share strategic interests, and that those 
interests are at last reaching the surface again.'" 
 
- "Kirchner, the focus of criticism and cautious praise in the US" 
 
Hugo Alconada Mon, Washington-based correspondent for 
daily-of-record "La Nacion," writes (12/13) "During a seminar, US 
Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Tom Shannon said 
yesterday that the US is working 'fantastically' with the Argentine 
Government. During the same seminar, two former Latin American 
Foreign Ministers criticized President Nestor Kirchner for his 
'leftist populism.' 
 
"The seminar, which was entitled 'Regional politics the year after 
elections,' was organized by the Council of the Americas, the same 
forum which hosted Kirchner's dinner with Shannon, Wall Street 
businessmen and analysts last September. 
 
"Shannon opened the event with a speech and Q&A session that lasted 
for 53 minutes, during which he carefully avoided referring to 
Argentina or Kirchner. His message carried a general tone. He said: 
'The time has come for us to connect with the region in a friendly 
way and to play a significant role in its development.' 
 
"The Bush administration's representative for Latin America added 
that 'all countries, with a couple of exceptions, acknowledge that 
it is necessary to establish a relationship with the US.' Without 
mentioning President Hugo Chavez, he immediately referred to him - 
'The most obvious exception is Venezuela, whose confrontation, based 
on political reasons, does not reflect reality.' 
 
"... Shannon chose to highlight the bilateral relations (between the 
US and Argentina), which 'have good dialogue, confidence, 
frankness,' and 'are working fantastically in Haiti, at the UN, in 
many areas,' and he predicted that, with the arrival of US 
Ambassador Earl Wayne, the bilateral relationship will be 
'deepened.'" 
 
- "'There are no grounds for a protest'" 
 
Left-of-center "Pagina 12" reports (12/13) "The (Argentine) 
Government did not turn a deaf ear to Iran's warning that 'Argentina 
has entered a dangerous game' - the Argentine Foreign Ministry told 
the Iranian Charge d'Affairs in Buenos Aires, Mohsen Baharvand, that 
it considers 'unacceptable' the terms in which Argentine 
representative to Tehran Mario Quinteros was summoned following the 
(Argentine) Judiciary's decision to order the capture of former 
 
Iranian President Ali Bahramaie Rafsanjani and other seven suspects 
in connection to the AMIA bombing case. The Foreign Minister also 
told Baharvand of the Argentine 'concern' over the Iranian 
administration's initiative to make a historical revision of the 
Holocaust." 
 
- "No war over peanuts" 
 
Left-of-center "Pagina 12's" columnist Fernando Krakowiak writes 
(12/13) "The US Congress extended the GSP, which benefits a number 
of imports from developing countries. In early August, the USG had 
said that it was planning to remove those advantages for Argentine 
exports, but they were finally maintained. 
 
"There was speculation in the Argentine Government that the eventual 
removal of the GSP could have been linked to President Kirchner's 
closeness to his Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chavez, and to 
Argentina's rejection of the FTAA... Nonetheless, Foreign Ministry 
sources told 'Pagina 12' that the changes introduced 'will not alter 
the trade benefits for our country.' During 2005 and under the GSP, 
Argentina's exports to the US climbed to 616.5 million dollars, 
which accounts for 15 percent of total exports to the US." 
 
¶3. EDITORIALS 
 
- "Chile, the memory of a dictatorship" 
 
An editorial in leading "Clarin" reads (12/13) "The death of former 
dictator Augusto Pinochet has made both Chile and Latin America 
resort to their historic memory in order to differentiate the 
tragedies and traumas of the past from the current and future 
challenges. 
 
"Pinochet was the best example of a Latin American dictator taken to 
the extreme... The historic context of the time favored him - during 
the Cold War, Latin America was a scenario of clashes between 
insurgency and counter-insurgency groups that led to the rise of 
anti-Communist military dictatorships, which were permitted, if not 
supported, by the US. 
 
"... Pinochet's death has closed a gloomy chapter of Latin America's 
history, which will perhaps be analyzed, discussed and researched, 
but should never be repeated." 
 
To see more Buenos Aires reporting, visit our 
classified website at: 
http://www.state.sqov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires 
 
WAYNE