This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS HARARE 000950
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 "Washington and London acting
irresponsibly" the pro-government weekly the
"Sunday Mirror" dedicated its May 18 editorial
to calling on the United States and Britain "to
move out of Iraq and let the Iraqis to handle
their own affairs." Excerpts follow:
2. "Latest developments relating to the running of
post-Saddam Iraq should give the world every
reason to worry. . . While the suspension or
total lifting of sanctions would be desirable,
what is disturbing is the conditionality - that
Iraqi oil riches be under U.S./UK control for a
year - that the two countries are seeking to
impose. That in itself sounds like an admission
on the part of the two powers that they were not
prepared for a purely Iraqi administration
following the ouster of Saddam Hussein, a
possibility that gives rise to the fear that the
two could actually be intending to hold onto,
and plunder, Iraq's oil. Of vital importance is
for the U.S. and the UK to move out of Iraq and
let the Iraqis handle their own affairs."
WHITEHEAD