US embassy cable - 03HARARE326

UNCLAS HARARE 000326 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/PDPA FOR DALTON, MITCHELL AND SIMS 
NSC FOE JENDAYI FRAZER 
LONDON FOR GURNEY 
PARIS FOR NEARY 
NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, KPAO, KMDR, ZI 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION IRAQ; HARARE 
 
  1.   Under headline "Bush abusing his office" the 
      government-controlled daily "Chronicle" 
      dedicated its February 18 editorial to declaring 
      that the current standoff between the United 
      States and Iraq is about the control of Iraqi 
      oil.  "(President George W.) Bush and his 
      Chihuahuas. . .want to persecute the people of 
      Iraq for their oil under the cover of human 
      rights," the editorial stated.  Adding "If 
      anything, we believe that it is the American 
      President who is guilty of abusing his office, 
      imposing his will on the rest of us and grossly 
      violating human rights."  Excerpts: 
 
  2.   "Those who espouse democracy would say that its 
      major tenet is the happiness of the greater number. 
      We believe that those who want to work against the 
      happiness of the greater number would largely be 
      viewed as dictators or autocrats.  We refer to the 
      unyielding stance taken by the President of the United 
      States, George W. Bush, who seems intent on defying 
      world opinion in his quest to pursue a parochial 
      agenda of war.  Bush and his Chihuahuas, among them 
      Tony Blair and John Howard, want to persecute the 
      people of Iraq for their oil under the cover of human 
      rights.  The world knows why Iraq is so important to 
      American foreign policy.  There is no need for Bush to 
      throw a blanket over world opinion because the crux of 
      the matter is that America is fighting to control 
      Iraqi oil and President Saddam Hussein stands accused 
      of standing in the way of that American dream.  We 
      believe the Americans should come clean on their 
      involvement in the Middle East, where they are 
      selective about the application of human rights.  If 
      anything, we believe that it is the American President 
      who is guilty of abusing his office, imposing his will 
      on the rest of us and grossly violating human rights. 
 
      "If there were elections to send criminals of 
      war to the International Court of Justice, we 
      believe that the world would have voted 
      unanimously through the international protests 
      directed at Bush et al.  The verdict would be a 
      foregone conclusion.  It is about time that real 
      criminals were taken to the Court because the 
      world could do better without them.  We are yet 
      to see whether Bush and his boys will go ahead 
      with their war plan against a defiant world 
      opinion that believes life is more important 
      than oil.  This will confirm a view that we have 
      long held, that, to quote London Mayor Ken 
      Livingstone; `George Bush has never given a damn 
      about human rights.'  The `war' is about oil." 
 
SULLIVAN