LAS MIL Y UNA NOCHES DEL GOBIERNO ARGENTINO. Repercusión de los atentados terroristas de 1992 y 1994 en la política exterior del país

The Argentine foreign policy concerning the Middle East, especiallysince the terrorist attack on the Israeli Embassy in 1992 and onAsociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) in 1994, can be comparedto the behavior of King Shahryar’s young wife in the well known Arabianstories of the “One Thousand and One Nights”. The successiveadministrations have acted very much like “Scheherazade” and havenarrated different stories which have been alternately heard by Iran,Syria, Israel, the United States or the Jewish community in our country;they, at different moments, have resembled the king whom it isnecessary to keep distracted to prevent the undesirable event fromactually taking place.The eagerness of former president Carlos Menem to play centerstage involved Argentina in a very sensitive complex conflict in a countrythat holds the largest Jewish community of Latin America.Since the terrorist attacks, the Menem (second term in office)and the De la Rúa and Duhalde administrations upheld a kind of discourseintended to demonstrate political support but without clearexplanation of the events. The present Kirchner Administration hasnot been able to perform differently. Notwithstanding the eloquentspeeches delivered, the attack has not been explained and relationswith Iran continue to be tight