Posted on 07/01/2004 9:23:31 AM PDT by areafiftyone
MADRID, July 1 (Reuters) - Spain plans to roughly double its peacekeeping forces in Afghanistan to a maximum of 1,040 troops, subject to parliamentary approval, Defence Minister Jose Bono said on Thursday.
Spain, which withdrew its forces from the international coalition in Iraq earlier this year after the Socialists won power, would send up to 893 fresh troops and bring home 328 of those already posted in Afghanistan, Bono said.
Spain's parliament is due to vote next week on the proposal, which would have a total cost of 54 million euros ($65.76 million).
Bono said the troop figures were final and would not increase even if NATO commits its new elite force to operations in Afghanistan, as the 26-nation alliance discussed at a summit this week in Istanbul.
Make that 2 Taco Bell lunches to go, please.
Screw Spain. The whole world now knows them as cowards.
Especially considering how the rats in France have blocked NATO support for Afghan elections, this would be a good thing.
Didn't I read something this morning about AQ memos that said they were sure the Spaniards would "cave" and pull troops if they were attacked.
Looks like AQ had sized them up pretty well. Now the Spaniards are just trying to do damage control to their image.
Frankly, it would be fine if Spain would just stay home. While I support their Troops and thank them for their sacrifices, their Government is too stupid to play with the Big Dogs.
I feel sorry for those who voted against the present administraton of Spain. The shame.
Peacekeepers are worthless. Send Matamoros.
Lets take this opportunity to propose what can be called the One Inch of Dirt theory. After someone like Spain has dug themselves into a hole a mile deep, sometimes they will realize the hole they are in and try to fill it with a little dirt. At this point we ought to avoid the temptation to dump on them and let them know that they are doing something right, while still pointing out that they are a mile deep in the hole minus one inch.
This actually is a good line of argument on some leftists, since their desire for approval works for you as long as they believe that they could meet your standards eventually.
Yup it was posted on Free Republic yesterday.
OK, OK, you're right. I'm glad that they're making the effort.
Did they get the AQ memo?
If they want to help in Afganistan, fine. Additional bodies could be useful. It will not increase their country's security.
The only way Spain can redeem itself from the accurate assessment of their weakness is to return to Iraq.
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