Reports: US Moves To Overthrow Zimbabwe, Iran, North Korea Governments [WWW.STOP

["David Quarter" <davidquarter@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

[from Rick Rozoff]
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1) Zimbabwe
2) Iran
3) North Korea

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/06/25/wzim25.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/06/25/ixnewstop.html

Daily Telegraph
June 25, 2003

US urges overthrow of Mugabe
By David Rennie in Washington


America yesterday offered Zimbabwe "generous
assistance" in exchange for its ruling Zanu-PF party
ousting President Robert Mugabe and agreeing to hold
free elections.

Making the offer, Colin Powell, the secretary of
state, admitted that "Robert Mugabe and his cohorts
may cry 'blackmail'." But he said they should be
ignored. The starving, oppressed Zimbabwean people
could not wait much longer for their "rescue".

Washington, working with Britain and the European
Union, has imposed a visa ban on Zimbabwean leaders,
frozen the government's overseas assets and sent
substantial aid through non-governmental channels.

Mr Powell is now proposing a direct bargain with
disaffected elements of Zanu-PF: join hands with the
opposition party in parliament and amend the law to
allow for Mr Mugabe's removal.

He said: "With the president gone, with a transitional
government in place and with a date fixed for new
elections, the United States would be quick to pledge
generous assistance to the restoration of Zimbabwe's
political and economic institutions, even before the
election."

Writing in the New York Times, Mr Powell called on the
world, in particular South Africa and its neighbours,
to take strong action "that fully reflects the urgency
of Zimbabwe's crisis".

He accused Mr Mugabe of political violence,
vote-rigging, economic mismanagement, "unchecked
corruption" and the cynical transfer of commercial
farmland to his cronies.

"In the long run President Mugabe and his minions will
lose, dragging their soiled record behind them into
obscurity. But how long will it take? How many good
Zimbabweans will have to lose their jobs, their homes,
or even their lives before President Mugabe's violent
misrule runs its course?"

Mr Powell expressed confidence that other donors would
be "close behind" Washington in rewarding a new
transitional government.

But the promise does not appear to have been fully
co-ordinated with London, the second-largest donor to
Zimbabwe. Britain is likely to be wary of any scheme
that could be portrayed by Mr Mugabe as a western plot
to impose change.

? Peta Thornycroft in Harare writes: A Zimbabwean
officer who led massacres of thousands of people in
Matabeleland in the 1980s told the high court in
Harare yesterday that he was offered thousands of
pounds to secure the security forces' support for the
opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai.

Air Marshal Perence Shiri, often described as the
"Butcher of Matabeleland", was giving evidence for the
state in the treason trial of Mr Tsvangirai, leader of
the Movement for Democratic Change, and two
colleagues.

They deny charges of plotting to assassinate Mr Mugabe
and stage a coup before last year's widely condemned
presidential election, which Mr Mugabe won.

Marshal Shiri, an army brigadier at the time of the
massacres, told the court that Job Sikhala, an MDC MP,
offered him 10 million Zimbabwean dollars (about
£7,500) to win over generals and the rank and file to
serve an MDC government.
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/06/25/wiran25.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/06/25 /ixnewstop.html

Daily Telegraph
June 25, 2003

Americans 'will back an attack on Iran'
By David Rennie in Washington





Americans would support a war to stop Iran acquiring
nuclear weapons, a poll showed yesterday.

The Washington Post/ABC survey's respondents backed
the use of force against Iran by 56 per cent to 38.

Last week, President George W Bush warned Iran: "We
will not tolerate the construction of a nuclear
weapon." Since the toppling of Saddam Hussein, such
presidential warnings are not taken lightly.

The support for action in Iran came despite evidence
in the same survey of mounting concern at continuing
coalition casualties in Iraq.

Only 51 per cent thought the number of military
casualties in Iraq was acceptable, down from 66 per
cent in early April.

But a majority of those surveyed also felt that the
military campaign in Iraq was justified.

More than 60 per cent said the war was justified, even
if weapons of mass destruction were never found.

More than two in three - 67 per cent - said they
approved of Mr Bush's handling of Iraq, down from 75
per cent in late April, just before the war was
declared over.

And 64 per cent said the benefits of the war to topple
Saddam Hussein outweighed its costs.

Washington's policy on Iran does not involve the
threat of the imminent use of force. For the moment,
the Bush administration continues to work closely with
the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United
Nations nuclear watchdog.

In contrast with the Bush administration's frustration
at the IAEA over Iraq, Washington has expressed
support for its recent report on Iran, which
criticised Teheran for failing to report imports of
fissile materials and demanded greater access to its
growing atomic programme.

The question being anxiously debated in Washington is
whether peaceful revolution in Iran will come before
the mullahs develop their own bomb.

Prominent conservatives have urged the Bush
administration to plan for the possibility of a
pre-emptive strike.
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http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/dh/Qnkorea-nuclear-us.RiCC_DuN.html

North Korean media says US planning to overthrow
regime


SEOUL, June 23 (AFP) - North Korea's official media
said Monday that Washington was consulting allies over
plans to isolate and overthrow the Stalinist regime.

Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)
said the United States was already mounting a blockade
and conducting psychological warfare.

It said North Korea was stepping up its nuclear
deterrent and would inflict "merciless" retaliation on
the United States.

"The proposal for international cooperation being
pushed forward by the US and its allies is, in
essence, aimed to tarnish the image of the DPRK (North
Korea), justify the US talk about the 'axis of evil,'
wantonly violate the sovereignty of those states which
incur its displeasure and carry out regime changes
there," KCNA said.

"The psychological warfare and blockade operation
persistently conducted by the Bush administration...
only compels the DPRK to increase its nuclear
deterrent force," KCNA said.

Washington says North Korea, dubbed part of an 'axis
of evil' by President George W. Bush, is engaging in
illegal activities including the export of narcotics
to earn money.

KCNA ridiculed the allegations and said Washington is
using them to win international support for its plan
to suffocate the bankrupt regime by mounting a
blockade.

"If the US and its followers infringe upon the
sovereignty of the DPRK even a bit, it will retaliate
against them with merciless strikes."

Washington is insisting on multilateral talks to
resolve the crisis but so far North Korea says an end
to the eight-month-old stalemate depends on direct
talks between Pyongyang and Washington.
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