VZCZCXYZ0001
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #0498/01 1201357
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 301357Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3619
INFO RUCNMER/MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE
RUEHMU/AMEMBASSY MANAGUA 0168
RHMFISS/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 000498 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/29/2029 
TAGS: PREL MASS MARR ASEC KSUM PGOV AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINE FM TAIANA ON MOD EVICTION AND OTHER 
ISSUES 
 
REF: (A) BUENOS AIRES 0375 (B) BUENOS AIRES 0405 

 
Classified By: Ambassador Wayne for reasons 1.4 (b) & (d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  In response to the Ambassador's April 22 
letter asking Argentine FM Taiana to intervene with the MOD 
to help find suitable office space for the Military Group in 
advance of its eviction from MOD headquarters (ref A), Taiana 
said he had spoken with MOD Nilda Garre and suggested the 
Ambassador follow up on her suggestion that office space 
might be available at the Argentine Military Geographical 
Institute (IGM).  Taiana praised President Obama's 
performance at the Summit of the Americas, said he wanted to 
make U.S.-Argentine relations ""a positive story,"" and asked 
for work on a U.S. gesture to President Cristina Fernandez de 
Kirchner (CFK) to belay press reports of negative relations. 
He said Bolivian President Evo Morales wanted to signal a 
desire for better relations with President Obama.  He thanked 
the Ambassador for alerting him to the imminent release in 
Washington of two reports and commented that he agreed on the 
need for Argentina to ""pick its fights"" better.  End summary. 
 
New Offices for Military Group 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (C) Following up on his unanswered March 31 letter to MOD 
Nilda Garre regarding the Military Groups's eviction from MOD 
headquarters and two other MOD facilities, the Ambassador had 
sent FM Taiana an April 22 letter requesting MFA assistance 
since the 1964 military assistance agreement had been signed 
with the MFA.  The letter noted our desire to build on 
positive, forward movement in bilateral relations in the wake 
of cooperation in the G-20 and at the Summit of the Americas 
(SOA) but informed FM Taiana that the MOD had asked the 
Military Group to vacate its offices by May 4, despite a 
commitment at the last Bilateral Defense Working Group 
meeting to put this and other issues related to updating our 
1964 agreement on the agenda for a subsequent BWG meeting. 
The Ambassador met one-on-one April 29 with Taiana, who gave 
his response to the Ambassador's letter.  Taiana said he had 
spoken privately with Garre, who said she wants to continue 
collaboration but felt the U.S. had ignored for months her 
stated desire to remove foreign tenants from MOD facilities 
and thus apparently had asked that a date be fixed to move 
ahead.  The Ambassador explained that the Embassy had not 
ignored or forgotten the MOD's desire but simply had nowhere 
else to locate the Milgroup (and it had not received any 
official notification).  The Ambassador reviewed our 
arguments for complying with the 1964 agreement for the GOA 
to provide office space for the Military Group and thus 
facilitate bilateral cooperation, and he noted that senior 
MOD and DOD officials had previously agreed to address this 
issue in regular bilateral consultations during 2009. 
 
¶3. (C) FM Taiana said MOD Garre had suggested there might be 
office space available for the Military Group at the Military 
Geographical Institute (IGM), not far from the Embassy.  But 
Taiana was not empowered to offer this.  He encouraged the 
Ambassador to call Garre in advance of the May 4 deadline for 
eviction and make clear we were looking to work with her 
toward a solution. 
 
Bilateral Relations 
------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Taiana expressed annoyance that ""Clarin"" and ""La 
Nacion"" newspapers and other media kept harping on supposed 
snubs of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (CFK) by 
President Obama or other alleged signs of USG indifference 
toward Argentina.  ""We want the story to be positive,"" he 
said, noting that CFK in all her private and public remarks 
has been full of praise and admiration for President Obama. 
Taiana said he hopes, via some kind of contact between CFK 
and President obama, to show that relations are positive, as 
he had discussed with WHA Assistant Secretary Shannon.  He 
said CFK, in her opening address at the Summit of the 
Americas (SOA) in Port of Spain, had sought to strike a 
balanced tone between extremes on political spectrum in Latin 
America, and in his view she succeeded.  He noted the 
positive feedback she got from hard-left leaders as well as 
moderates at the SOA.  He contrasted her speech with that of 
Nicaraguan President Ortega, which was all about the past. 
 
¶5. (C) Taiana said he thought the SOA atmosphere in general 
had been very positive.  He said it was so positive that no 
one at the SOA wanted to fight over the wording of a Summit 
declaration document even though many did not like parts of 
it, so the leaders came up with the ""elegant"" solution of 
 
having PM Manning as host sign on behalf of all the leaders. 
Taiana contrasted this with the 2005 Mar del Plata SOA, where 
delegations fought for hours over a paragraph. 
 
¶6. (C) President Obama's April 18 meeting with the dozen 
South American (UNASUR) leaders was ""the best meeting"" he had 
ever seen between an American president and Latin leaders. 
He was very impressed by President Obama's sincerity and 
active listening.  Taiana said Bolivian President Evo Morales 
seemed on edge, rattled perhaps by a recent foiled attempt on 
his life.  Taiana speculated that Evo may also have been ill 
at ease at the SOA because he was accustomed to being the 
only racial or ethnic ""minority"" face at these meetings, a 
distinction he had to share with President Obama in this 
group.  Taiana said he understood Morales had subsequently 
called Brazilian President Lula, saying that he really wanted 
better relations with the United States and seeking Lula's 
assistance in that regard.  The Ambassador noted that Morales 
had said as much in his interview with Argentine daily 
""Clarin"" on April 28.  (Comment:  Lula may have shared this 
last bit with the Argentines during his April 24 visit to 
Buenos Aires.) 
 
¶7. (C) The Ambassador spoke briefly with CFK on the evening 
of April 27 after a ceremony commemorating the peaceful 
resolution of the Chaco War between Paraguay and Bolivia 
(septel).  She said she thought the Summit of the Americas 
had really changed the atmosphere in the region and that she 
wanted to continue to work with President Obama and others to 
move in positive directions in post-summit work. 
 
Scorecards 
---------- 
 
¶8. (C) The Ambassador advised Taiana that the following day 
in Washington the Department was scheduled to release the 
Country Reports on terrorism for 2008 and USTR the Special 
301 Report on intellectual property rights protection. 
Taiana raised his intemperate April 3 letter to the 
Ambassador protesting the USG's Investment Climate Statement 
on Argentina.  He expressed relief that his letter had not 
been leaked, and he said he was worried that Washington might 
perceive the GOA as excessively thin-skinned or whiny if it 
complained about every unfavorable remark.  The Ambassador 
noted the American refrain about the ""need to pick your 
battles"" carefully.  Taiana laughed and said he fully agreed; 
he just needed to convince ""them."" 
 
Bio Note 
-------- 
 
¶9. (C) Taiana was in a friendly mood.  He told the Ambassador 
he took his family with him to Washington for the Antarctic 
Treaty ceremony in early April, and that it was a delightful 
""homecoming"" for him and his family to visit old haunts, 
since they had spent several years living in the Washington 
area when he worked on the Inter-American Human Rights 
Commission.  He clearly wants to put bilateral relations on a 
firmer and stable footing but recognizes the challenges and 
noted the fact that Argentina is in electoral campaign season 
at present. 
 
WAYNE