VZCZCXYZ0014
OO RUEHWEB
DE RUEHSO #0022 0161801
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 161801Z JAN 08
FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7829
INFO RHEHNSC/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 8976
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO PRIORITY 8541
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC 3007
UNCLAS SAO PAULO 000022
SIPDIS
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 ETRD BR
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: PRESIDENT BUSH'S MIDDLE EAST VISIT; SAO
PAULO
"Weak Results"
Liberal, largest national circulation daily Folha de S. Paulo (1/16)
editorialized: "President George W. Bush concludes today his
eight-day visit to six Middle East nations with a poor balance
regarding ambitious US projects for the region.... Bush is still
trying to compensate for the effects of the invasion in Iraq in
2003... and he wants to promote a scenario of stability that does
not lead to further oil price hikes.... The weakness of leaders
[such as Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian National
authority's President Mahmoud Abbas] prevents their commitment to
the concessions necessary to advancing the peace process. In Kuwait,
Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, Bush kept harping on
the risks of Iran's aggressive regional strategy. But the
presidential rhetoric was undermined by friendly fire: the recent
report released by the US intelligence services on the suspension,
in 2003, of the Iranian project to build a nuclear bomb. Actually,
Bush has not even achieved much more modest goals such as preventing
Iran's rapprochement with Egypt, a nation where he will conclude his
Middle East visit today."
White