Cablegate: Media Reaction - Iraq

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 001554

SIPDIS

STATE FOR R/MR, I/PP, WHA/BSC, WHA/PDA, INR/IAA, PM,
STATE FOR INL, INR/R/MR, NEA/PDA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KMDR KPAO OPRC PTER CI IZ
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION - IRAQ

On July 19, center-left "Diario Siete" (circ. 23,000)
carried a signed article by political scientist Boris
Yopo entitled, "Bush's Failure in Iraq." Quote:

"The strategy followed by Bush's foreign policy team
(in Iraq) was wrong from the beginning. The
intervention was illegal from the viewpoint of
international law...and has generated greater
insecurity at the global level, proof of which are the
recent bombings in Madrid and London. The intervention
has also added credibility to the belief in the Muslim
world that the U.S. is the `great Satan' and that there
is a `new Christian crusade' against Islam....
"Perhaps the main lesson from all this is that,
regardless of U.S. technological and military
superiority,...small groups cannot only plan attacks in
their own land (Afghanistan and Iraq), but can also
attack the centers of power of the U.S. and its close
allies.... The fight against terrorism calls for a
joint, long-term international effort...but also an end
of those elements that give these groups legitimacy:
unilateral interventions, the enormous social inequity
that persists in many parts of the world, and support
the creation of a Palestinian state and promote
civilized dialogue to strengthen moderate Islamic
sectors.... The situation in Iraq will take a few
years to stabilize. However...it is in the interest of
the international community to avoid a civil war
there...by contributing to the creation of institutions
and the election of authorities who have sufficient
legitimacy to propose a new national project, giving
room to social and religious diversity."

YAMAUCHI

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