US embassy cable - 03HARARE1544

UNCLAS HARARE 001544 
 
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.   Under headline "America's medieval barbarism" the 
      pro-government weekly "The Sunday Mirror" dedicated 
      its July 27 editorial to condemning the United 
      States for making public the pictures of Saddam 
      Hussein's two sons, Uday and Quasy, who were killed 
      in a gun battle in Mosul on July 22.  Excerpts: 
 
  2.   ". . .The U. S., which prides itself as a paragon of 
      civility, virtue and democracy, chose to stoop lower 
      than its butchered, murderous victims, arrogantly 
      flaunting its distasteful triumphalism (sic) by 
      exhibiting vanquished enemies as trophies, in a way 
      reminiscent of medieval barbarism.  It is equally 
      shocking that the so-called civilized democracies, 
      Australia and Britain, conveniently shelved their 
      reverence of international laws and conventions to 
      join the U. S. in celebrating its pyrrhic victory. 
      But, while the Bush administration has pointed out 
      that publishing the photographs did not contravene 
      the Geneva conventions, the whole world remembers 
      that in March, when dead U. S. soldiers were shown 
      by Iraqi television and Arab networks, Washington 
      condemned the broadcasts.  It therefore leaves one 
      wondering whether international conventions are 
      meant only for the weak, while the strong are at 
      liberty to bend them when ever doing so is to their 
      convenience. . .?  The ongoing guerilla-style 
      attacks on U. S. marines in Iraq is ample evidence 
      to Washington that the anti-colonial resistance in 
      that country is not the work of isolated pro-Saddam 
      `hold-outs,' but a popular expression of the general 
      anger of Iraqis against U. S. occupation." 
 
SULLIVAN