Cablegate: Media Reaction On Iraq March 3/22-24/03

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

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 000762

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 MARCH 3/22-24/03

1. "El Heraldo" moderate Tegucigalpa-based daily 3/22:
Apuntes: "The European Union, the Republic of China and
Vladimir Putin have discovered that Bush can count on the
complete support of the Senate, including that of senators
who were against the Iraq invasion." "The U.S. is the empire
no matter who is in power, and the `empire' won't stop until
it consolidates its rule of the planet.unless, of course, a
bipolar world re-emerges with the Europeans or Chinese on
one side and the U.S. on the other."

2. "El Heraldo" "Shock and Awe" 3/24: The unpopular invasion
of Iraq is in its most devastating phase - the `Shock and
Awe' phase, which equals `terrorism' according to some of
the posters held by protesters. There are many people who
lived the terror and lost dear ones on September 11
participating in the protests against the war. They better
than anyone understand the pain and damage caused by
terrorism --the longer this war lasts, the bigger will be
the number of victims." Now that the U.S. has broken
international law with the invasion, we have no choice but
to pray for this nightmare to end sooner than later so that
the Iraqi people can stop suffering."

3. "El Heraldo" 3/22, "Pandora's Box" by Noe Pineda
Portillo.
"The attempt to force the U.N. Security Counsel to authorize
military action opened a large breach between the U.S and
the countries that supported a diplomatic resolution."
Before opening the Pandora's box, the U.S. and England
should have listened and pondered the U.N. role, and
understood that the world is a system of nations.

" Bush believes that those who criticize its unilateral war
against Iraq are opposed the U.S. That is a false
assumption. It is public knowledge that Saddam Hussein is a
dictator even with his own family. But it is up to the
International Court of Justice to look for a resolution
through a course of action like they did with Milosevic. A
one-sided war will not only bring terrible economic
consequences, it'll increase Islam reaction around the
world, exacerbating fundamentalism to a real terrorist
threat around the globe."

4. El Heraldo 3/24 - in their daily section called "Today's
villain," "Today's Hero,--"the Villain was "Fidel Castro:
For taking advantage of the war against Iraq to send to
prison those who oppose to his communist regime." The Hero
was Pacifism: "For bringing hope to people around the world
and standing against those who love death, pain and
destruction."

Palmer

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