Posted on 07/02/2004 7:19:08 PM PDT by The Bandit
MADRID, Spain -- Spain's Socialist government approved a plan Friday to send hundreds of additional troops to Afghanistan to help NATO provide security for post-Taliban elections in September.
The proposal would increase the number of Spanish troops in Afghanistan from 137 to about 1,000 for the vote; some would be rotated out, leaving 540 in place at the end of the year.
The Cabinet also approved a proposal to send an undetermined number of police to join the U.N. force in Haiti.
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero criticized Spain's previous, conservative government for sending troops to Iraq without consulting Parliament.
He called a special plenary session for Tuesday to debate the Afghanistan and Haiti deployments, then vote on them.
The vote is non-binding, because the government has power to send troops abroad without lawmakers' approval. However, Zapatero stressed when he took power in April that he would consult with Parliament on any such mission.
Zapatero withdrew Spain's troops from Iraq in April, calling the war and occupation a disastrous error that lacked U.N. approval.
Spain says Afghanistan is different because the foreign troop presence has a U.N. mandate and the legitimate goals of stabilizing the country and fighting remnants of the Taliban and al-Qaida.
The Socialist government has been under pressure from the United States and NATO to contribute more troops Afghanistan after withdrawing the soldiers that former Premier Jose Maria Aznar had sent to Iraq.
At the NATO summit this week in Istanbul, Afghan President Hamid Karzai appealed to alliance leaders to "please hurry" and send more peacekeepers to help protect against terrorists, private armies and drug gangs ahead of historic elections this fall.
NATO leaders agreed during that summit to expand its forces from 6,500 to 10,000 soldiers over the election period.
The U.S.-led force currently has 20,000 troops in Afghanistan, though most are pursuing Taliban and al-Qaida insurgents in the troubled south and east of the country.
The Spanish deployment to Haiti is subject to negotiations with the United Nations.
The U.N. force took over last week from a U.S.-led force created following the violent popular uprising that forced President Bertrand Aristide to resign and flee his impoverished Caribbean country in late February.
Ooooops forgot the link, but can find it from any news site.
Hmmm... Karzai is saying the elections are going to be delayed... :(
Let's hope the boogeyman doesn't scare them away.
Well, well, well. This is Spain's way of saying, "Damn, we screwed up. The voters won't let us go back to Iraq, but we'll relieve pressure by sending troops to Afghanistan."
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