MEDIA REACTION IRAQ; HARARE

UNCLAS HARARE 002269

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR INR/R/MR, AF/PD, AF/S, AF/RA
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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KPAO KMDR ZI
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION IRAQ; HARARE



1. Under headline "American war drums discord" the
independent weekly "The Sunday Mirror" used its
October 13 editorial to argue against an U.S. attack
on Iraq. Excerpts follow:


2. "As President George W. Bush presses ahead with
his plans to attack Iraq, there are more voices
opposing the war plan. . . But, even as the U.S.
Congress was passing the war vote, there are important
dissenting voices to the war plan. Indeed there are
some in the American Congress and House of
Representatives who believe that President Bush has
not proved that Iraq poses an imminent threat to the
USA. Even American intelligence officials have
confirmed that Iraq does not possess any means in the
form of missiles capable of reaching the USA. Iraq is
known to possess only short-range missiles capable of
reaching neighboring countries, but none of these are
capable of carrying nuclear weapons. But George Bush
has insisted that `Saddam Hussein and his outlaw
regime pose a grave threat to the region, the world,
and the U.S. Inaction is not an option, disarmament
is a must.' This has widely been seen as an American
excuse to topple Saddam Hussein, which, it seems,
President George W. Bush is determined to do.

". . .Another important voice against the
planned `Bush war' is that of the former U.S.
President Jimmy Carter who on Friday won this
year's Nobel Peace Prize. Carter has been very
critical of the Bush administration's drive to
wage war on Iraq without UN support, warning
that this would be `a tragic and costly error.'
The Chairman of the Nobel Committee, Gunnar
Berge, is reported to have said, `With the
position Carter has taken, the award can and
must also be seen as criticism of the line the
current U.S. Administration has taken on Iraq.'
Also important, a coalition of Church leaders of
more than 60 Christian organizations has
condemned the American and British plan to
attack Iraq. The Church leaders argue that the
threat posed by Saddam Hussein, though real, is
not imminent enough to justify military action.
The Episcopal bishop of Washington, John B.
Shane, summed up the Church leaders' feelings
and indeed that of many of us when he said:
`. . .In this case. . .I don't see the threat
from Iraq to the U.S. as an imminent threat, so.
. .military action against Iraq is
inappropriate.'"

SULLIVAN