VZCZCXYZ0023
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSG #0348 0591832
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 281832Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 1092

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 000348 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR R/MR, I/PP, WHA/BSC, WHA/PDA, INR/IAA, PM 
 
STATE FOR INL, INR/R/MR, NEA/IR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KMDR KPAO OPRC PTER IR CI
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION - IRAQ AND THE ROLE OF IRAN 
 
¶1. On February 28, business and financial "Diario Financiero" (circ. 
30,000) carried a column by Gabriela Mistral University assistant 
dean Ricardo Riesco, entitled, "Failing in Iraq Would be a 
Disaster."  Quote: 
 
¶2. "The collapse that characterizes any territorial fragmentation 
could have very serious consequences for the Middle East....  The 
imminent fragmentation of Iraq would leave a vacuum for Iran to fill 
with no counterweight.  This would make Iran the great agitator in 
the Arab-Israeli conflict, pressuring Syria and Jordan and creating 
maximum tension with Saudi Arabia....  It is difficult to imagine a 
more explosive scenario....  The U.S. presence in the area will only 
speed up this process.  Worst yet, it will allow radical Islamic 
groups...to acquire highly sophisticated military training, a 
graduate degree free of charge...as a result of having to fight a 
modern and sophisticated army such as the U.S. armed forces.  It 
should not strike us as odd that these highly trained Islamic 
soldiers will increase the threat of ultra-sophisticated terrorist 
attacks worldwide.  The new U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates 
proposed to Bush that he increase the number of men in the area to 
95,000 in five years as a preventive force.  This is a threat to 
world peace." 
 
KELLY