VZCZCXYZ0009
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSO #0290 1381623
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 181623Z MAY 09
FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9222
INFO RHEHNSC/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 0373
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO PRIORITY 9147

UNCLAS SAO PAULO 000290 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE INR/R/MR; IIP/R/MR; WHA/PD 
 
DEPT PASS USTR 
 
USDOC 4322/MAC/OLAC/JAFEE 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KMDR OPRC OIIP XM XR XF BR
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA:  PAKISTAN, MILITARY 
OFFENSIVE AGAINST TALIBAN, AFGHANISTAN, AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN 
STRATEGY; GLOBAL ECONOMY:  FINANCIAL MARKET CRISIS; ANTI-TERRORISM 
EFFORTS:  GUANTANAMO CLOSING; DETAINEE POLICY; SCO PAULO 
 
"U.S. debt becomes unsustainable" 
 
Main editorial in center-right O Estado de S. Paulo (5-17) states: 
"....the replacement of the dollar may be difficult, but this does 
not make the U.S. imbalance less serious.  The adjustment will 
depend on a rebound of U.S. public accounts, which have already been 
promised by President Barack Obama.  The sooner it begins the better 
for all.  If the adjustment is delayed and is put in place due to a 
crisis in confidence, the cost will be disastrous for all." 
 
"Afghanistan swamp" 
 
Editorial in center-right O Estado de S. Paulo (5-17) says: "The 
replacement of the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, Army 
General David McKiernan, attests to the increasing deterioration of 
the seven-year-war that the U.S. has waged against the Al 
Qaeda-Taliban axis.....Afghanistan ousted Iraq as the first priority 
for the Pentagon ........ Washington is again paying for the cursed 
heritage of the Bush era.... [Bush] left the war to its own fate to 
take care of his obsession with Iraq.  This monumental mistake kept 
the U.S. from delivering a devastating blow against its real 
[threatening] enemies and created conditions for the fanatic Taliban 
to redo their bases among the Afghan tribes.  And, if Iraq is a 
muddy place, Afghanistan is a swamp." 
 
"Obama in practice" 
 
Editorial in liberal Folha de S. Paulo (5-16) notes: "After a 
resounding start, with measures of symbolic impact in the sense of 
repairing damages caused by the Bush Administration, Barack Obama 
begins to pull back.  Yesterday the White House confirmed it would 
resume the controversial military court trials of those accused of 
terrorist practices .....Seen in perspective, the pull-back does not 
bring any news.....[but] it is embarrassing, though, that the trend 
[of democratically-elected presidents] is repeated with Obama, 
herald of the 'change'." 
 
"It's neither G20, nor G8. It is G1" 
 
Op-ed in liberal Folha de S. Paulo (5-17) by Clovis Rossi states: 
"The Barack Obama Administration unveiled a plan to regulate its 
derivatives....Regulating all financial products was the main 
decision of the G20 with regards to the elaboration of a new global 
financial framework.  The fact that the U.S. is leading the way is 
institutional and politically significant....With regards to 
leadership and the ability to have initiative, there is not a G20 or 
even a G8.....It's really the G1.  But we can call it United States 
of America." 
WHITE