VZCZCXYZ0020
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #1232/01 1761521
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 251521Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8498
INFO RHMFISS/CDR USSOCOM MACDILL AFB FL//SCJ2//
RULGPUA/USCOMSOLANT

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001232 
 
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
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION; MIDDLE EAST; HUGO CHAVEZ; LATIN AMERICA IN 
THE US ELECTION CAMPAIGN; 06/25/07 
 
 
¶1. SUMMARY STATEMENT 
 
Weekend international opinion pieces cover the US and Israel's 
strategy on the Middle East; the decline of Venezuelan Hugo Chavez's 
popularity in opinion surveys; and the inclusion of Latin America in 
the US election campaign. 
 
¶2. OPINION PIECES AND EDITORIALS 
 
- "Middle East - 'the worse, the better' strategy" 
 
Oscar Raul Cardoso, international analyst of leading "Clarin," 
writes (06/23) "How can we understand that the confrontation between 
Hamas and Fatah... and the virtual separation of the Gaza Strip and 
the West Bank make up a 'window of opportunity for peace' over which 
President George W. Bush was so enthusiastic when he received 
Israeli PM Ehud Olmert in Washington? There is something about this 
perspective that smells like poorly grounded opportunism. 
 
"The armed confrontation in the Palestinian territories has been 
encouraged by both Israelis and Americans since Hamas' election 
victory..., although the final territorial division was not in their 
plans, neither was the suspicion that Hamas' extremists could go 
that far. 
 
"... It seems now that this disaster seems to enable Jerusalem and 
Washington to bet on the Palestinian 'moderates' and ignore (without 
even blushing about it) that Hamas' election mandate is still valid. 
They will do it for the first time starting next Monday in the 
Egyptian tourist resort of Sharm el Sheik by accepting an invitation 
from President Hosni Mubarak. 
 
"... Is it advisable that 'moderates' are seen as such by 
Palestinians themselves and by the rest of the Arab world? We could 
say so and also that the money they are promised from the West and 
Jerusalem will serve to show an example of the benefits rendered by 
moderation to those who still do not believe in it. 
 
"However, we should not alter the natural order of priorities. 
Regardless of the Palestinians' economic weakness, their central 
problem is not money-related, but the transformation of their 
national identity into a State; and as long as no formula places a 
priority on this issue, no real progress will be made, with or 
without Hamas." 
 
- "Socialism of the 21st century" 
 
Daily-of-record "La Nacion" carries an op-ed piece by writer Mario 
Vargas Llosa, who opines (06/23) "... According to an eloquent 
opinion survey carried out by Caracas' Hinterlaces Institute that 
was published by 'Veja' magazine, 78 per cent of Venezuelans 
disapprove of Chavez's anti-US feeling; 85 percent of them condemn 
the political financing of other countries; 86 per cent do not want 
a Cuban-styled socialism; and also 86 per cent are against the 
seizure of private property. 
 
"Furthermore, 40 percent of Venezuelans who voted for Chavez in the 
elections last December today declare that now they would vote 
against him. 
 
"Therefore, there is still hope for Venezuela, and we can assert, 
without any fear of being wrong, that the 'socialism of the 21st 
century'... will soon pass into history as one more invention of 
those absurd dictatorships that are so plentiful in Latin America's 
history. 
 
"What made millions of Venezuelans vote for Hugo Chavez so many 
times during recent years? The prevailing corruption in the 
political system and the inability of governments to fight poverty 
and social inequality... However, instead of voting for freedom, 
they put a sword to their throats by supporting a government that 
tripled the crime rate in five years, increased inflation, wasted 
public resources by funding Marxist extremism all over the 
hemisphere while giving life to the Cuban semi-corpse. Above all, it 
is a regime that has added new and more damaging forms of corruption 
to the many forms the country already had. 
 
"Now, Commander Chavez knows that his unpopularity is growing by the 
day and this is why he is rushing to close the few remaining 
Venezuelan media outlets that still denounce his abuses. What 
happened with RCTV is only the beginning of a process that, just 
like in Cuba, will end up putting all Venezuelan mass media under 
the control of the Government, save, perhaps, two or three 
exceptions - allegedly independent companies (like Venevision...) - 
to maintain the farce of informative pluralism. However, if one 
takes into account the courageous reaction of students and people 
who formerly supported the regime, this incident could also be the 
 
beginning of the end of the Chavist revolution." 
 
- "Latin America is almost absent from the US election campaign" 
 
Hugo Alconada Mon, Washington-based correspondent for 
daily-of-record "La Nacion," writes (06/24) "Iraq, Iraq, Iraq... and 
also, Iran and North Korea. These are the obvious foreign policy 
priorities for those fighting to enter the White House. 
 
"Only after this, do they tackle the (US) ties to Europe, China, the 
Middle East, Africa and the rest of the world, including Latin 
America. And only two, Barack Obama and John McCain, have mentioned 
Argentina. 
 
"The rejection of George W. Bush, his views, his policies and his 
legacy has become basic instinct among opponents and also among 
Republicans. 
 
"If there was any doubt, the dozen Democratic and Republican 
candidates with serious potential for taking office in 2008, either 
as president or VP, took distance from Bush. Republicans clearly 
distanced themselves from him during last May's debate. They 
mentioned Ronald Reagan 19 times for his leadership, his ability and 
his view. They only mentioned Bush once. McCain stands alone in 
maintaining that troops should stay in Iraq. 
 
"McCain, who is running third among Republicans, made the first and 
most critical comment about Argentina during the only lecture he has 
given so far to explain his view on Latin America, in which he 
called Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez a 'dictator.' 
 
"The senator lashed out against 'the chaotic Tri-Border Area, which 
he called 'a paradise for smugglers and radical groups,' and he 
recalled that 'Iran launched terrorist attacks in Argentina.' 
 
"Democrat senator Barack Obama made a minor gesture towards 
Argentina - he promised that he would reestablish US ties to the 
region in an article published by the prestigious magazine Foreign 
Affairs. 
 
"... Both political parties reject Chavez outright ... and everyone 
agrees to condemn Fidel Castro." 
 
To see more Buenos Aires reporting, visit our 
classified website at: 
http://www.state.sqov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires 
 
WAYNE