Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03HARARE1846
2003-09-15 05:21:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Harare
Cable title:  

MEDIA REACTION 9/11; HARARE

Tags:  PREL KPAO KMDR ZI 
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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

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