MEDIA REACTION U. S. FOREIGN POLICY, BUSH'S VISIT

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SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION U. S. FOREIGN POLICY, BUSH'S VISIT
TO AFRICA AND IRAQ; HARARE


1. The July 20 editions of the two
government-controlled weeklies - "The Sunday Mail"
and the "Sunday News" - carried lengthy articles
centering on United States foreign policy, President
George W. Bush's visit to Africa, and another urging
the United States to look to the United Nations for
a new resolution on Iraq. Excerpts follow:


2. Under headline "U. S., British definition of democracy
warped," the "Sunday Mail" printed the following opinion
piece by Munyaradzi Mugowo in which he argues:

". . .(President George W.) Bush and (Prime
Minister) Tony Blair's arrogation that the
Zimbabwean government has defied all democratic
norms is a statement that is both strange and lousy
seen in the light of the crisis of definition that
it unwarrantedly presents to the political
discourse. This definitional bigotry is deliberate
and functions on probabilistic logic, to further the
hidden foreign policy agendas of these world
bullies. . .It sounds absolutely awkward to define
as dictatorship and gross misrule, the Zimbabwean
government's opposition to U. S. habit of using
economic power to impose unjust policies as well to
manipulate the notion of political pluralism as an
excuse for craftily assisting the political
ascendancy of the opposition MDC (Movement for
Democratic Change). . .The view which the Americans
have of themselves as selfless humanitarians is a
mystification of their double standards which thrive
on their habit of deceitfully sacralizing (sic) non-
universal ideologies abstracted from a value system
peculiar to them which they globalize as a general
convention of good governance, in an effort to
mobilize overwhelming support, even from victims,
for their own self-interests pursuits. In view of
this, the voices of Bush and Powell, though feigning
a moral concern with the plight and welfare of `good
Zimbabweans' through honeyed words, baseless claims
and allegations which are nonetheless a clumsily
prepared salad of hatred of President Mugabe, myths
about the country and a string of libertarian
voodoos, not only set the tone, but also make an
upward adjustment to the volume of the Anglo-U. S.
foreign policy crusades in Southern Africa. On a
global scale, recent world events have plainly shown
that the U. S. has literally turned Washington into
an informal capital of the world, and Washington's
policies, doctrines and decrees, into more or less
sacrosanct prototypes upon which a world order
closely coterminous with any corpus of the U. S.
overseas commerce has been modeled. . .For reasons
much less moral than its claims, the U. S. has
solemnly sworn to patronize the system on the globe,
ousting alleged `dictators,' birthing and baby-
sitting infant Third World democracies, and raising
the `proper' way, weaned ones which have already
been engrafted into the U. S.-led `global village'
as its faithful satellites. . . ."



3. Under headline "Mbeki's diplomatic skills convinced
Bush," Bulawayo-based Chief Reporter, Hebert
Zharare, wrote the following op-ed in which he
asserts:

"Fears of being branded a racist, and President
Thabo Mbeki's diplomatic skills, were instrumental
in U. S. President George W. Bush's change of stance
on Zimbabwe after meeting the South African leader
two weeks ago. . .Mr. Bush surprised many,
particularly the opposition MDC (Movement for
Democratic Change),when he said he was of `one
mind' with President Mbeki on the issue of Zimbabwe.
The MDC expected Mr. Bush to intimidate President
Mbeki to change his `quiet diplomacy' approach
towards Harare and renew calls for the ouster of
President Mugabe. However, it was Mr. Bush who came
out of the meeting singing a different tune. . .The
American leader's divide and rule tactics of
dangling incentives to Zimbabwe's neighbors in a
ploy to coerce them to support his anti-Zimbabwe
call failed as the African leaders reaffirmed their
previous statements that Zimbabwean problems cannot
be solved by foreigners. . . ."


4. Under headline "Will the U. N. bail out George

W. Bush?" the "Sunday News" carried the following
feature article by Jim Lobe in which he states:

"Make no mistake: U. S. President George W. Bush is
in big trouble. Whereas a week ago, Americans were
talking about the dreaded `V' word - for Vietnam -
this week the dreaded `W' word - for Watergate - was
back in vogue, even as the `V' word was still in
use. Watergate plus Vietnam is about the worst
combination for a sitting president that anyone
could possibly imagine. And the almost daily
announcement on the news that another U. S. soldier
has been killed in an attack in Iraq. . .recalls
nothing so much as the daily reminders on the
evening news 23 years ago that killed the presidency
of Jimmy Carter. . .Short of a miracle - such as the
discovery of a cache of weapons of mass
destruction. . .or the return of robust U. S.
economic growth that can quickly bring the
unemployment rate down to five percent - there is
probably only one way that Bush can save his
presidency at this point. But the cost in personal
pride and policy will be extremely high. To save
his administration, Bush must now essentially
abandon the aggressive unilateralism (sic) that has
dominated his foreign policy since even before 11
September 2001; ask forgiveness from U. S. allies
who refused to join his `coalition of the willing'
in Iraq; and return to the United Nations Security
Council for a new resolution that will give the
world body control over the occupation. . . ."

SULLIVAN