VZCZCXRO3783
PP RUEHRG
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P 101249Z JUL 08
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INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION PRIORITY 6972
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA PRIORITY 4667
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES PRIORITY 5699
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 4192
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ PRIORITY 6414
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA PRIORITY 3905
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO PRIORITY 7470
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO PRIORITY 2558
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO PRIORITY 0490
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE PRIORITY 8263
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO PRIORITY 6396
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO PRIORITY 2420
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BRASILIA 000943 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/03/2018 
TAGS: MARR PREL BR
SUBJECT: BRAZIL: LULA TAKES ON THE FOURTH FLEET 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Lisa Kubiske, reasons 1.4 (B and 
 D). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  During the Mercosul Summit in Argentina, 
President Lula together with other South American leaders, 
such as Bolivian president Evo Morales and Venezuelan 
president Chavez, criticized the re-establishment of the 
Fourth Fleet Chavez, with Lula at his side, called it a 
"threat" to the region and an attempt to grab the region's 
natural resources.  Lula questioned the U.S.'s intentions, 
suggesting that it resulted from recent oil discoveries along 
the Brazilian coast.  Brazilian news media is compounding the 
problem with sensationalist and often inaccurate reporting on 
the establishment of the Fourth Fleet.  Foreign Minister 
Amorim, upon Lula's request, called Ambassador Sobel in to 
request more information on the Fourth Fleet and to express 
his concern that the U.S. had not been as forthcoming as he 
would have liked.  Separately, Vice-President Alencar 
recommended that the U.S. promptly respond to Lula's comments 
before another myth relating to U.S. intentions in the region 
takes hold. End summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
Despite Media Inaccuracies, Brazil Issues a "Warning" 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶2. (U) The 2 July editions of daily newspapers O Globo, Folha 
de Sao Paulo and Valor Economico, among the most widely read 
national newspapers, contained articles with inaccurate facts 
about the establishment of the Fourth Fleet and reported 
criticism of it by Venezuela President Hugo Chavez and 
Brazilian President Lula during the Mercosul Summit in 
Argentina, with the former calling it a "threat" to countries 
in the region and a natural resource-grab on the part of the 
U.S.  President Lula suggested that its reactivation was due 
to Brazil's recent offshore oil discoveries and stated that 
he had already instructed Foreign Minister Amorim to request 
explanations from Secretary Rice. 
 
¶3. (U) The articles included a weeks' old quote from Minister 
Jobim who, on first hearing of the Fleet from the media, 
responded that "Brazil will not allow the Fourth Fleet to 
enter and operate within the limits of the (Brazilian) 
territorial sea.  This is not a boast, but a warning.  If it 
enters territorial waters, Brazil will have every right to 
protest and the U.S. will not want a diplomatic incident. 
Anyway, the reactivation shows an urgent need to re-equip and 
modernize the Brazilian Navy..." Moreover, some of the press 
articles reported, inaccurately, that the USS George 
Washington and 11 other vessels will make up the fleet, and 
Brazilian military analysts are quoted asserting that this is 
a U.S. move to reaffirm Latin America as its area of 
influence and to respond to Brazilian efforts to establish a 
South American Defense Council that would stand outside the 
U.S. orbit. 
 
¶4. (U) Negative press coverage of the Fourth Fleet continued 
into the weekend.  Various articles and opinion columns 
called the establishment of the Fleet an "arrogant" move by 
the U.S., and a diplomatic blunder.  In Jornal do Brasil on 5 
July, Senator Cristovam Buarque (Democratic Labor Party, PDT, 
government coalition; of the Federal District) indicated he 
had heard from unnamed American "leaders" that the purpose of 
the Fleet was to "control" governments the U.S. considered 
unfriedly.  (Note: On July 9 Ambassador Sobel met with four 
senators from the Foreign Relations and National Defense 
Committee who remained unsatisfied with the explanations 
Embassy gave and U.S. actions in establishing the Fourth 
Fleet. A read-out of this meeting will be reported septel. 
End note.) 
 
-------------------------------- 
"The U.S. Needs to Respond" 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) During Embassy Brasilia's July 2 Fourth of July 
reception, the Ambassador asked Vice President Alencar, along 
 
BRASILIA 00000943  002 OF 003 
 
 
with Brazilian Navy Chief Admiral Moura Neto, about Lula's 
remarks regarding the Fleet.  Neither Alencar nor Moura Neto 
knew the reasons behind Lula's remarks but noted that now 
that he had made them the U.S. needed a policy to respond to 
them.  Alencar, who had just made unexpected and effusive 
public remarks in support of our bilateral relationship, told 
the Ambassador that "nothing should be allowed to stand in 
the way of the U.S.-Brazil partnership." Alencar recommended 
that Secretary Rice place a call to President Lula explaining 
the purpose of the Fourth Fleet and how it is actually a 
positive vehicle for improved relations. 
 
---------------------------------- 
Amorim Calls Ambassador Sobel 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) On July 3, Foreign Minister Amorim requested 
Ambassador Sobel meet with him to seek clarification on the 
Fourth Fleet.  Amorim said that President Lula had asked him 
to contact Secretary Rice, which he was doing through the 
Ambassador.  Amorim stressed Brazil's concerns regarding the 
Fourth Fleet by going over the sensitivities Brazil has with 
regard to intrusions on the country's sovereignty.  In 
particular, he noted the case of the alleged American grade 
school textbook map of the Amazon region that suggests the 
region would be internationalized.  (Note: It is an 
unfortunate and revealing testament to the perseverance of 
the myth of American designs on the Amazon that the Brazilian 
Foreign Minister would reinforce his concern over the Fourth 
Fleet by citing this long-discredited hoax.  We will provide 
material to Amorim's staff demonstrating that the textbook 
and the map are forgeries.  End note) 
 
¶7. (C) Echoing Lula's comments linking the Fourth Fleet to 
oil discoveries along the Brazilian coast, Amorim raised his 
concern over comments, which he suggested had come from U.S. 
officials, that one of the purposes of the Fleet was to 
protect strategic resources in the region, to "include oil". 
(Note: We are not aware of U.S. government officials having 
made such comments.  End note).  Referring to the "excellent 
relations" between our two countries, Amorim said that 
transparency was essential to maintaining these good 
relations, and a lack of transparency could be exploited by 
those seeking to create problems. 
 
¶8. (C) Ambassador Sobel responded by explaining that the 
Fourth Fleet has no offensive capability, that no ships are 
permanently assigned to it, that it consists of a planning 
staff based in Florida, and that it will enhance our 
capability to do joint exercises, provide disaster relief, 
and plan peacekeeping operations, among other missions. 
Furthermore, the Ambassador added, it is intended to 
demonstrate our commitment to enhancing our partnerships in 
Latin America.  Amorim stopped the Ambassador to clarify: "So 
this is a fleet without ships?", he asked.  The Ambassador 
assured him it was, and Amorim noted that, although he now 
understood this was a "virtual" fleet, this was not the 
impression given, and the "apprehension" was heightened 
because it is the United States creating the fleet. 
 
¶9. (C) Amorim stressed that this was a politically sensitive 
issue, and based on friendly and open relations, he was 
surprised that he had received no communication on this issue 
from the State Department.  When asked about the Fourth Fleet 
during Mercosul, President Lula turned to Amorim to ask him 
for guidance, who was forced to reply that he only knew what 
had appeared in the press.   The Ambassador noted that 
Admiral Stavridis had briefed Admiral Moura Neto and the 
Brazilian military on the Fourth Fleet, but acknowledged that 
we had failed to brief the Foreign Ministry.  Amorim ended by 
noting that he would tell President Lula that he had talked 
to Ambassador Sobel and that the Secretary Rice would be 
sending comprehensive material on the Fourth Fleet.  He 
stressed that more detailed information and a call from 
Secretary Rice on this matter would be welcome, adding that 
he was prepared to reach out to her on the issue. 
 
 
BRASILIA 00000943  003 OF 003 
 
 
------------------------------------ 
Post Public Affairs Response 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶10. (C) Mission Brazil is in the process of implementing a 
public relations effort to counteract these stories, and we 
are reaching out to our government counterparts to do the 
same.  The Mission placed an op-ed on the July 7 edition of 
daily newspaper O Globo clarifying the Fleet's purpose, and 
sent a letter to the editor from Admiral Stavridis which was 
published in Folha de Sao Paulo on July 8, and in Valor 
Economico and Jornal do Brazil on July 9.  We hope to send 
Brazilian reporters based in Washington and New York to the 
Fourth Fleet inauguration on July 12.  Mission is translating 
Department of Defense public information materials on the 
Fleet into Portuguese and preparing information packets for 
Brazilian defense reporters.  And the Ambassador will be 
prepared to address the issue during three upcoming press 
roundtables in Brazilian, Rio de Janeiro, and Sao Paulo. 
 
 
SOBEL