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ATFA Co-chairs call on Secretary Shannon to Stand Firm with Argentina, the Threat It Poses to the U.S.
Press Release
April 09, 2008

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Contact: media@atfa.org
1-888-662-2382

ATFA Co-chairs call on Secretary Shannon to Stand Firm with Argentina, the Threat It Poses to the U.S.

Letter Requests 'Thorough Review of Bilateral Security Programs between the U.S., Argentina'

WASHINGTON, DC Today, American Task Force Argentina (ATFA) Co-chairs Dr. Robert Shapiro and Ambassador Nancy Soderberg sent a letter to Assistant Secretary Tom Shannon requesting he discuss the global impact of Argentina's repudiated debt to U.S. bondholders, Argentina's close ties with dictator, Hugo Chavez, and the threat this relationship poses to U.S. security.

In the letter, Dr. Robert Shapiro, former Undersecretary of Commerce for President Bill Clinton and Ambassador Nancy Soderberg, former Ambassador to the UN, write to Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Tom Shannon, as he departs for Argentina identifying the debt to bondholders as an underlying issue to the country's current political upheaval resulting from energy and food shortages, strict government price controls, and labor disputes.

In addition to the concerns over the country's repudiated debt and current labor crisis, the letter addresses Argentina's ill-advised international policy by identifying President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's relationship with anti-American Hugo Chavez and his support of Colombia's terrorist organization, the FARC, as ever more threatening.

"Argentina must understand that its relationship with Hugo Chavez comes at a cost to its relationships with responsible international actors. As a non-NATO ally, Argentina has access to grants of surplus U.S. military hardware," write Shapiro and Soderberg. "In addition, irresponsible efforts to detract public attention from the underlying domestic problems, such as President Fernandez statements reclaiming the Falkland Islands, will only serve to weaken Argentina's international standing."

The letter concludes with the following: "Given Argentina's increasingly irresponsible international behavior, we urge you to conduct a thorough review of bilateral security programs between the U.S. and Argentina to evaluate whether they are appropriate in light of Argentina's behavior."

To view the complete letter, click here. (Adobe PDF)

Made up of an alliance of organizations, ATFA's leadership includes its two co-chairs, the Honorable Robert J. Shapiro, former Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs in the Clinton Administration and Ambassador Nancy Soderberg, Ambassador at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York from 1997 to 2001. The Executive Director is Mr. Robert Raben, former Assistant Attorney General during the Clinton administration.

For additional information, please visit our new website at www.atfa.org, or contact media@atfa.org, or +1-888-662-2382.

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