INDEPENDENT NEWS

Cablegate: Media Reaction; Israel's War; Brazil's Incorporation Into

Published: Mon 7 May 2007 03:33 PM
VZCZCXYZ0007
OO RUEHWEB
DE RUEHBU #0887/01 1271533
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 071533Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8067
INFO RHMFISS/CDR USSOCOM MACDILL AFB FL//SCJ2//
RULGPUA/USCOMSOLANT
UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 000887
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; ISRAEL'S WAR; BRAZIL'S INCORPORATION INTO
THE OECD; RUSSIA'S MANIPULATION OF THE MEDIA; 05/07/07; BUENOS
AIRES
1. SUMMARY STATEMENT
Weekend international stories include the outcome of Israel's war
against Hezbollah; Brazil's incorporation into the OECD; and
Russia's prevailing manipulation of the mass media.
2. OPINION PIECES AND EDITORIALS
- "The lives of others"
Daily-of-record "La Nacion's" international columnist Jorge Elias
writes (05/06) "... Israel won the war against Hezbollah just like
the US won the war against Iraq - without success. In the eyes of
the Arabs, Hezbollah maintained intact its ability to defy
Israel.... Based on this hypothesis, Hezbollah may not have won the
war, but it seduced the minds and particularly the hearts of the
Arabs...
"The war had an unforeseen side damage, which neither Olmert nor
Bush was able to predict. Israel's power in the region was based on
its overwhelming military power... In a jiffy, Nasrallah, a marginal
leader, showed Israel's shortfalls in coincidence with another war,
the war against Hamas in the Palestinian territories...
"... (Israeli PM) Olmert was accused of negligence and
irresponsibility for having declared war...
"... The punishment of civilians in the vain hope that they would
then repel both Hamas and Hezbollah acted against Israel. In a way,
Bush created a reward/punishment system through his pre-emptive
war... Did Olmert have the margin not to act as Sharon would have,
regardless of his own lack of prudence and lack of experience? The
committee investigating his administration's performance concluded
that he had not measured consequences. Just as in Iraq, the lives of
others and the consequences did not matter."
- "Brazil joins the OECD"
Centrist "Perfil" newspaper (05/06) carries an opinion piece by
contributor Jorge Castro, who writes "Brazil will start its
incorporation into the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD)...
"... Brazil was the Latin American country receiving the largest
amount of Foreign Direct Investment in 2006...
"Its international reserves went up to 110 billion dollars...
"Under these circumstances, Brazil has now decided to join the OECD,
the US-led association gathering the most advanced countries in the
world from an economic, financial and technological point of view...
A country's international participation does not necessarily
coincide with its foreign policy. A specific decision to join could
involve more than one foreign policy (e.g., a system of regional or
international alliances)...Last month, Brazil signed a strategic
deal with the US to jointly develop a world bio-fuels policy. Now,
it will join the OECD.
"Brazil's decision to join the OECD was made public last week, while
President Hugo Chavez announced Venezuela's withdrawal from the WB
and the IMF, to which he could add the abandonment of the OAS if it
condemns the Chavist regime for the withdrawal of RCTV's license.
"Seemingly, South America has two options related to the region's
insertion into the world - one bets on isolation and rejects
globalization and its power structure. The other one reinforces its
ties to advanced capitalism through increasing its exports and
systematically seeking FDI and an increased productivity rate."
- "Russia manipulates the media"
Daily-of-record "La Nacion" editorializes (05/07) "The prevailing
opinion is that authoritarianism is back in the Russia of Vladimir
Putin. An elite in the president's entourage, which seems to have
formerly belonged to the KGB, has already taken hold of the most
important mass media in an attempt to form and maintain a favorable
opinion of the president...
"The news manipulation has long been a classic instrument of
authoritarianism, which is aimed at making whatever the government
does appear very positive while hiding its failings or shortcomings
in a thousand ways. This is frequently accompanied by the
demonization of the opposition leaders... This perverse and always
dangerous prescription inevitably leads to the loss or restriction
of essential individual freedoms."
To see more Buenos Aires reporting, visit our
classified website at:
http://www.state.sqov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires
WAYNE
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