Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03HARARE1842
2003-09-15 05:19:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Harare
Cable title:  

MEDIA REACTION IRAQ; HARARE

Tags:  PREL KPAO KMDR ZI 
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150519Z Sep 03
UNCLAS HARARE 001842 

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


UNCLAS HARARE 001842

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. The United States-led mission in Iraq, including a

U. S. proposal for a new United Nations resolution
to attract more money and troops for Iraq, have
again come under fire in articles published in the
government-controlled mainstream newspapers.
Article excerpts follow:


2. Under headline "Iraq chaos: Bush was forewarned" the
September 8 edition of the government-controlled
daily "The Herald" carried the following news
analysis by Robert Fisk, in which he accuses the U.

S. of ignoring warnings "from sane and descent men"
against any Iraq invasion.


3. "How arrogant was the path to war. As President
(United States President George W.) Bush now
desperately tries to cajole the old United Nations
donkey to rescue him from Iraq. . .we are supposed
to believe that no one in Washington could have
guessed the future. Messrs Bush and (British Prime
Minister Tony) Blair fantasized their way to war
with all those mythical weapons of mass destruction
and `imminent threats' from Iraq. . .and of the post-
war `liberation,' `democracy' and map-changing they
were going to bestow upon the region. But the
record shows just how many warnings the Bush
administration received from sane and decent men in
the days before we plunged into this terrible
adventure. . .Wasn't Iraq invaded to destroy
terrorism rather than to recreate it? We were told
Iraq was going to be transformed into a democracy
and suddenly it's to be a battleground for more `war
against terror. . . .'"


4. Under headline "U. S. seeks funds to prop up war
against Iraq" the government-controlled weekly "The
Sunday Mail" (09/07) carried the following article
without any attribution on page 10:

". . .With available troops dwindling and money fast
running out, the Bush administration finds itself
forced to seek an international bailout for what has
become a political and human catastrophe. The
purpose of the U. N. resolution is to lend
pseudo-legitimacy to the colonial-style U. S.
occupation. It is designed to give particularly the
governments of Turkey, India and Pakistan cover for
deploying troops in the country. Whether such a
resolution will have the desired effect remains to
be
seen. . . ."


5. Under headline "Bush's begging bowl" the same
newspaper carried another article criticizing the United
States call for assistance in Iraq under its ghost column
"Under the Surface":

"It's reality time for the Texan gunslinger in Iraq.
All the American weapons of mass destruction have
failed to work and in the meantime, Saddam Hussein
says `hello' from somewhere in that oil-rich
country. And as if that is not enough, the American
and British occupation soldiers are dying in
worrying numbers. If only George W. Bush had
listened! Now because it's reality time, Bush
suddenly realizes the importance of the U. N. and
whatever he meant by international community. The

U. S. is spending US$4 billion of taxpayers' money
on military costs in Iraq and because the resources
are dwindling fast, Bush is begging for
contributions from the international community to
sustain the unjust war. He is even begging for
experts to see how they can deal with the
deteriorating situation in Iraq. Poor Bush!"

SULLIVAN