CIA Director Panetta apologizes to Argentina's president for "unstable" remark

I caught this at BoRev.
http://www.borev.net/2009/03/titulares_asininity_29.html
They link to "Spero News" (? --don't know them). Haven't seen it anywhere else.

The CIA's Panetta begs Argentina's forgiveness

Leon Panetta, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, called the Argentine ambassador in Washington to beg forgiveness of the Argentine people for questioning the Latin nation's political and economic stability.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
By Martin Barillas

Ambassador Héctor Timerman, Argentina’s representative to the United States, gave assurances on March 28 that a diplomatic flap between the two countries is now a “closed” matter. Argentine sensibilities were piqued earlier in the week by statements made by Leon Panetta, the newly minted head of the Central Intelligence Agency, that called into question Argentina’s economic and political stability. In his first on-the-record interview as intelligence chief, Panetta expressed concern that the current global economic crisis could destabilize not only Argentina, but also Venezuela and Ecuador.

Argentina reacted angrily. Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner figuratively took the U.S. Ambassador Earl Wayne to the woodshed and expressed her government’s outrage. In a press conference afterwards, Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana said “We consider the statements an unacceptable interference in the internal affairs of our country, even more so coming from an agency that has a sad history of interference in the internal affairs in the countries in the region."

According to diplomat Timerman, Panetta communicated with him by telephone on March 27 to oil the waters. According to the Latin diplomat, Panetta said that he had been “overwhelmed” by Argentina’s response. Timerman said that Panetta called to “beg forgiveness of President Cristina Fernández, the government, and all of Argentina” over the fracas. “I do not believe what I said and neither does the government of the United States. It was my mistake to repeat something that someone told me. It was not my intention to assume that thought as my own,” said Panetta according to Timerman.

According to Timerman, Panetta added “I have a great respect for Argentina and I am not concerned by the situation at this moment in Argentina. My mistake was to repeat what another person said. I wish to ask forgiveness of the government and the country” said the new CIA chief. The ambassador also took the occasion to give assurances that Obama Administration intends to have “the best relations with Argentina and to work together” in the hope that the recent frictions “will not be an impediment” to that relationship. Timerman added that the phone call is indeed a signal of improved relations with the U.S., saying Argentina is “the only country in the world to which the head of the CIA calls to beg forgiveness.”


Martin Barillas is a former US
Buzz up!Add to Newsvine Add to Facebook Add to DiggAdd to DeliciousAdd to Furl

http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?idCategory=33&idsub=192&id=18322&t=The+CIA%27s+Panetta+begs+Argentina%27s+forgiveness

under the title "Nominated for quote of the week" but that thread moves so fast that only a couple of hundred people read it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5164997


There was an amusing comment last week as the flap was ongoing by a poster in Buenos Aires; an imaginary phone conversation between Panetta and Cristina.

Panetta: "Hello."
Cristina: "Hello, this is Cristina."
Panetta: "Oh, hi. Cristina Aguilera. Nice to talk to you."
Cristina: "No, this is Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner."
Panetta: "Uh, who?"
Cristina: "Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. President of Argentina."
Panetta: "President of what?"
Cristina: "Argentina."
Panetta: "Sorry. You are the president of which institute?"

The poster was poking fun at Panetta, but at the same time it is sort of indicative of how many people in the United States are so uninformed about Latin America.

The good part is it looks as if more people are starting to tune into Latin America and the Caribbean, however, are finding out there's more to this than they've been told.

As for G.D., lotsa luck with any post there. Original posts fly through the place as if they're pasted on the sides of freight trains. Haven't seen anything move that fast since CNN used to have its great boards going 24/7.

It's a breathe of fresh air hearing one of these guys admitted he had simply passed on something he had been told in his original remarks.

Can hardly believe it. Now he needs to take that second step and start trying to find out more about the matter. At this point, it doesn't sound as if they've got sinister ulterior motives, like the republican scum before the last election.

Good for Argentina for not taking this crap lying down.

Thanks for the BoRev link. Super good. Saving that one for desert!