US embassy cable - 03HARARE1846

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