MEDIA REACTION WAR WITH IRAQ; HARARE

UNCLAS HARARE 000680 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: IZ PREL KPAO KMDR ZI SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION WAR WITH IRAQ; HARARE ¶1. Under headline "What liberation?" the pro- government weekly "The Sunday Mirror" dedicated its April 6 editorial to condemning the United States-led war against Iraq, charging that the war is "creating untold hardships" for the Iraqis. Excerpts: ¶2. ". . .Adamantly sticking to their self-serving perceptions as liberators of the people of Iraq, rather than the invaders that they are, the Americans and their allies have pushed into the Iraqi capital, where they have bombed out critical public amenities, creating untold hardships for the people they claim to have come to liberate. . . President Bush openly admitted to the American public that this could be a long war. This means that the longer it takes, the more suffering that would be visited upon the people of Iraq. It, therefore, defeats logic that Bush should announce the imminent `liberation' of the Iraqis when, in fact, they are set to suffer more hardships under Anglo-American occupation." SULLIVAN