This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS HARARE 000357
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR AF/PDPA FOR DALTON, MITCHELL AND SIMS
AF/S FOR RAYNOR
NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER
LONDON FOR GURNEY
PARIS FOR NEARY
NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KPAO ZI
SUBJECT: PRO-GOVERNMENT PAPER HAILS FRANCE AS A
"SUPERPOWER"
1. Under headline "The Franco-African summit" the
pro-government daily "The Daily Mirror" dedicated
its February 20 editorial to hailing France for
shooting down plans for a war against Iraq and for
inviting Mr. Robert Mugabe to attend the
Franco-African summit in Paris, saying "France has a
clearer vision of present day international
relations than Britain and America." Excerpts
follow:
2. ". . .Of late, France appears to be gaining an upper
hand with its successful stand against Britain over
Zimbabwe, in the European Union over Turkey and
against the U.S.A. in the U.N. Security Council over
war on Iraq. The sum total of all these
confrontations appears to lead to the conclusion
that France has a clearer vision of present day
international relations than Britain and America
have. That is why other powerful nations such as
Germany, Russia and China are firmly behind France
especially on its stance against war on Iraq. Some
analysts have even said that there are now two
superpowers in the world, the United States on the
one hand, and the rest of the world led by France,
on the other. And if Mugabe's attendance of the
Franco-African summit means that Zimbabwe is aligned
to the latter superpower, why not?
SULLIVAN