US embassy cable - 03HARARE1842

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