MEDIA REACTION 9/11; HARARE

UNCLAS HARARE 001846 SIPDIS INFO SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMNUNITY 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 9/11; HARARE ¶1. Under headline "U. S. foreign policy to blame for September 11 attacks" the government-controlled daily "The Herald" (09/11) carried an op-ed by Caesar Zvayi on page 8, in which he accuses President George W. Bush of "busy stepping on more toes" after the terrorist attacks in the country on September 11, 2001. Excerpts: ¶2. "Today the Americans at home and in the Diaspora are commemorating the events of September 11, 2001. On this historic day that shook the world, the myth that the U. S. is an impregnable fortress was shattered when four hijacked commercial airliners slammed into the World Trade Center's Twin Towers. . .and the Pentagon. . .The choice of targets was a mockery to U. S. pride, as the financial, military and executive nexus of the country had been invaded without challenge. Even though the attacks claimed approximately 5 000 lives, it is widely believed that. . .the U. S. Government embarked on the so-called `War on Terror,' apart from disguised imperialism, the reason was the embarrassment that was brought to a superpower by a small group of suicide bombers from Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network. . .Whilst the loss of innocent lives in any conflict is deplorable and regrettable, it should not be used as a smokescreen to belittle the real issues that motivate the attacks.. . .It is the U. S. foreign policy of aggression which attracts reprisals and attacks from various religious and political groups. These attacks are unlikely to stop, until the U. S. begins to value the sanctity of lives other than American, and stop viewing the loss of such lives as `collateral damage.' The attacks are bound to escalate until the U. S. realizes that `the rights of man come from God not from man' as enshrined in the 1776 Declaration of Independence, and that, `all states, great or small are equal,' according to the preamble to the U. N. Charter. The U. S. must stop its imperialist drive of attempting to add informal stars to the `star spangled banner. . .' As the U. ¶S. nationals commemorate September 11, they should ask themselves what they have done in the past two years to ensure that such attacks will never again be visited on the American people since it is evident. George Bush has been busy stepping on more toes." SULLIVAN