US embassy cable - 03TEGUCIGALPA1652

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 001652 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR WHA/PDA (BUCKLEY), WHA/CEN, PD TASK FORCE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OIIP, PREL, KPAO, PGOV, IZ, HO 
SUBJECT:  MEDIA REACTION ON IRAQ, JULY 11, 2003 
 
 
1. Editorial in Tegucigalpa-based moderate daily "El Heraldo" on 
7/11 entitled "The situation in Iraq and our soldiers". "The 
death of three American soldiers yesterday confirms that the 
Iraqi resistance against the invasion is getting stronger, 
increasing the insecurity for foreign troops and the concern for 
Washington and London. This concern should also be shared by the 
Third World countries sending troops to Iraq, like Honduras." 
 
"Beyond the moral and legal implications of contributing to the 
occupation of a sovereign territory after a war that wasn't 
approved by the U.N., sending our soldiers to Iraq considering 
the current circumstances is exposing those fellow countrymen to 
an unnecessary risk, backing a cause that it is far from being 
fair or humanitarian." 
 
"Even accepting that we obviously depend on the world's 
superpower and that our governments are extremely willing to 
fulfill the wishes of Uncle Sam, even those that go against 
international law, this time we should wait that a civil 
government takes over in Iraq and the U.N. organizes a real 
pacification force before sending our troops. This will calm down 
the Iraqi resistance and provide the moral and legal 
justification to send our soldiers. Meanwhile, let the British 
and Americans pay the price of the invasion." 
 
 
Palmer