MEDIA REPORT U. S. UNDER FIRE; HARARE

UNCLAS HARARE 002346 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/PD, AF/S, AF/RA NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER LONDON FOR GURNEY PARIS FOR NEARY NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KPAO KMDR ZI SUBJECT: MEDIA REPORT U. S. UNDER FIRE; HARARE ¶1. Under headline "Bush wants to create space for decision strike on Iraq" the October 28 edition of the government-controlled daily "The Herald" carried the following op-ed by Chinondidyachii Mararike on page 8: ¶2. "Will the U.S. go ahead and launch military strikes against Iraq or will Saddam Hussein comply with Bush's ultimatum that `Iraq complies with all the relevant UN resolutions.?' Surely these are not the right questions to ask. What is right to ask is why now, and after months of dilly-dallying, has Bush seen it fit to seek UN approval for America's so-called war on terrorism? Is the issue simply that of weapons inspections or is there a greater and even more sinister agenda than the inarticulate Bush is either able or willing to articulate? ". . .The point then is that Bush's 12 September 2002 speech to the 190-member UN General Assembly was intended to provide international cover for American unilateralism, and thus give legitimacy to Bush's need for a regime change not only in Iraq but in other states that stand up against U.S. domination and control. ". . .Surely if Bush had concern for upholding human rights then his government would not support, arm and underwrite the Israeli army to mount military campaigns against innocent Palestinians. And if America has respect for the rule of law then it would understand the Zimbabwean government's commitment to correcting the injustices of colonialism and contemporary U.S.-supported neo-colonialism and not impose punitive sanctions against our entire leadership. I think it's time somebody reminded Bush, and his `blind' Caucasian American followers, that America is not the only superpower in the world but that people in countries continuously resisting U.S. imperialism are in fact the superpowers. . . ." SULLIVAN