VZCZCXYZ0004
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #0640/01 0951501
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 051501Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7741
INFO RHMFISS/CDR USSOCOM MACDILL AFB FL//SCJ2//
RULGPUA/USCOMSOLANT

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 000640 
 
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: MEDIA REACTION; IRAN SETS FREE 15 HOSTAGES; THE KIRCHNER 
ADMINISTRATION; 04/05/07 
 
¶1. SUMMARY STATEMENT 
 
Today's international leading stories are Iranian President Mahmoud 
Ahmadinejad's decision to set free the 15 British Marines; and the 
US academics' opinion of the Kirchner administration and Argentina's 
economic recovery. 
 
¶2. OPINION PIECES 
 
- "An End With No Winners" 
 
Graciela Iglesias, daily-of-record "La Nacion's" London-based 
correspondent, penned (04/05) "There was neither popular trial nor 
exchange of prisoners nor a spectacular rescue operation... 
Furthermore, no one expected a sudden 'pardon' and much less the 
exuberant release of the 15 Royal Navy members ordered by Iranian 
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. 
 
"Ahmadinejad deserves a round of applause just for having taken 
everyone by surprise. However, thinking that he is the big winner at 
the end of this unusual spat would be erroneous. In the framework of 
the complex relationship between Iran and the West, there are no 
absolute winners or losers. 
 
"There is no doubt that Ahmadinejad's 'magnanimous' gesture was a 
propaganda ploy ... He did it to give the world a lesson on the 
tyranny of 'imperialism,' the lack of justice in UN sanctions and 
'the degeneration of the Western morale'... 
 
"His decision was aimed at contrast with the US attitude in refusing 
to release five members of the Republican Guard who were captured in 
Iraq last January... 
 
"However, when one analyzes the situation beyond rhetoric it is 
clear that the Tehran government leaves this crisis empty-handed. 
 
"Iranian prisoners are still imprisoned and sanctions against Iran 
for refusing to suspend its nuclear program are still in force. Even 
more important, the crisis unveiled the deep internal disagreement 
in the formerly hermetic Iranian regime... 
 
"... Nevertheless, the crisis also unveiled several points of 
military weakness in the British Navy... and (political weakness) in 
the UK position on an international level. 
 
"UK PM Tony Blair's tacit threat of force did not go down well in 
the UN, to which London had to resort for its support, which was 
much less conclusive than expected... 
 
"The 'doves' in the PM's entourage interpreted all that happened as 
a sign that Iran reacts adequately to diplomatic pressures. 
According to 'hawks' both in Washington and London..., 'the world 
has now become a more dangerous place' because the 'British 
weakness' will encourage Iran to continue with its 'tactic of taking 
hostages in order to obtain results.'" 
 
- "Power and Capabilities" 
 
Marcelo Cantelmi, international editor of leading "Clarin," comments 
(04/05) "When Henry Kissinger did not hint, as he finally did, the 
need for a contact between Washington and Tehran to find a solution 
to the crisis in Iraq, a thought- provoking idea occurred to him 
about Iran. According to him, in order to obtain some progress, they 
had to persuade Iran to stop being a cause and become a nation. 
 
"It is a complex reflection. A cause is almost a dogma, while a 
nation entails a pile of responsibilities and prospects as well. 
 
"This transformation seems to be occurring in light of the way the 
crisis was solved. 
 
"Due to the Western shortfalls in the Middle East and the (Persian) 
Gulf, Iran is today much more powerful than five years ago. And that 
evolution is crucial. 
 
"Historian Hans Morgenthau pointed out that a nation always defines 
its interests in terms of power. In other words, capabilities define 
intentions and never the other way round. Iran, and not only Iran, 
seems to be adapting to that certainty." 
 
- "Argentina, According to US Analysts" 
 
Hugo Alconada Mon, Washington-based correspondent for 
daily-of-record "La Nacion," writes (04/05) "The anti-Bush rally led 
by Bolivarian Hugo Chavez in Buenos Aires last March 9 triggered one 
additional effect in the US - Argentina re-emerged in the analysis 
of academics and journalists whose field of expertise is Latin 
 
America... 
 
"Mark Falcoff, a veteran international academic from the American 
Enterprise Institute (a conservative think tank...), made the latest 
analysis. 
 
"Under the title "Argentina on Kirchner's Time," his view includes 
praise, criticism and also serious doubts about the country's 
political and economic future based on domestic reasons, regardless 
of what Chavez could do or refrain from doing, or the 'tense 
relationship with Washington.' 
 
"According to Falcoff, Kirchner and Chavez have a 'curious 
relationship,' in which the debate is 'who is using whom'... 
 
"... According to the editorials and stories published in recent 
weeks by 'The New York Times,' 'The Wall Street Journal,' 'The 
Washington Post' and other newspapers, Chavez's petrodollars 
purchase influence in Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua, 
among other countries. However, Falcoff and 'The Financial Times' 
are more cautious. Falcoff says that while the Argentine Government 
reaps benefit from the Venezuelan's dollars and few questions, 'it 
would be mistaken to think of Argentina as falling under something 
like a Venezuelan sphere of influence.' 
 
"One of the experts in Latin America from the Council on Foreign 
Relations, Julia Sweig, agrees with Falcoff. 'Kirchner had nothing 
to lose by having Chavez in Buenos Aires and doing that'... 'There 
is nothing like targeting George W. Bush to strengthen nationalism 
and exploit disagreement in the hemisphere.' 
 
"... Nevertheless, the AEI analyst emphasized the country's 
'significant economic recovery' of recent years and its relevance in 
the region and as a Mercosur partner. 'Even so, recovery is not 
complete and some indicators (such as low foreign investment, price 
controls, inflation rate, and political interference in the National 
Statistical Institute) give reason for concern.'" 
 
To see more Buenos Aires reporting, visit our 
classified website at: 
http://www.state.sqov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires 
 
WAYNE