Cablegate: Psi Spawns Little Interest in Ecuador

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS QUITO 000884

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KNNP KPAO OIIP PARM PHSA EC
SUBJECT: PSI SPAWNS LITTLE INTEREST IN ECUADOR

REF: 61730

1. Regarding Reftel request for Embassy comment on the
utility of various Public Diplomacy tools in winning
Ecuador's support for the Proliferation Security Initiative
(PSI), we consider that placement of USG-drafted articles in
local print media the best weapon available. There simply is
not sufficient interest here in WMD non-proliferation efforts
and the PSI to justify investments in DVCs, expert visits,
NGO cultivation, and/or other PD strategies. Conventional
arms proliferation and regional security issues do have an
Ecuadorian audience, however, owing to the proximity of the
Colombian conflict and Ecuador's role as a conduit country
for FARC-bound weapons. We thus suggest that, for maximum
impact, any PSI articles for placement treat WMD
proliferation as one component of a broader arms trafficking
problem.
KENNEY

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