MEDIA REACTION IRAQ; HARARE

UNCLAS HARARE 001519 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/PDPA FOR DALTON, MITCHELL AND SIMS IRAQ PD FOR SMITH, PINESS AND ROOKARD 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 REACTION IRAQ; HARARE ¶1. Under headline "U. S. shows unparalleled savagery, contempt for human life" the July 28 edition of the government-controlled daily "The Herald" carried the following article by Barry Grey, in which he criticizes the American Government for sanctioning the emblazoning of the corpses of Saddam Hussein's two sons, Uday and Qusay. Excerpts: ¶2. "The world was subjected to a gruesome and barbaric spectacle on Thursday when the Bush administration released photographs of the mutilated corpses of Saddam Hussein's sons, Uday and Qusay, ambushed and killed by American forces on July 22. . .The overwhelming majority of people around the world, and especially in the U. S., will feel only revulsion and shame at this exhibition of sadism. Whatever one thinks of the deposed Iraqi ruler and his sons. . .the actions of the Bush administration in slaughtering Uday and Qusay Hussein and then gloating over their dead bodies demonstrate that the ¶U. S. ruling elite has nothing to learn from its enemies when it comes to savagery and contempt for human life. . .The fact that those who wield power in Washington are blind to the mass revulsion that will arise in response to the showing of these photos highlights the insular and degenerate character of the American ruling elite. These traits are concentrated in the man who sits atop the government. The political calculations of Bush and his associates. . .are of the most crude and backward sort. It is no exaggeration to say they reflect a criminal mentality. Bush's inner circle was intimately involved in the decision to massacre the Hussein sons and release the photos of their corpses. . . ." SULLIVAN