It appears we're facing the political equivalent of a rout. Now it's only a question of how far it goes and how many other nations lose heart and quit. In addition to having contributed 1300 troops of its own, Spain led about another thousand troops contributed by nations like Honduras and El Salvador. It won't be very surprising if they all give up now, too. The real question will be whether it spreads beyond the Spanish-speaking nations involved in the coalition.Den Beste is understandably irritated at another government showing weakness toward terrorism, but he is exaggerating a bit. I would hardly call one or two more withdrawals a rout. Further, I do not believe all the Spanish speaking nations will leave. According the Washington Post, Salvadoran Defense Secretary Gen. Juan Martinez said Tuesday that the country would keep its troops in Iraq no matter what. "We have to follow through with what our government decided"
I also want to set the record straight on Nicaragua before people start saying the Nicaraguan government is soft on terrorists. Nicaragua sent about 115 soldiers, mostly sappers and medical personnel, last September to join the brigade. Those troops have since returned, and the government announced last month that it could not afford to send a second contingent. Nicaragua did its part to support the USA, to the extent it could afford to do so, and decided it was done a month before the terrorist attack in Spain. I greatly appreciate the help of the Nicaraguans and the Salvadorans. I also appreciate the help of the Spanish and the Hondurans, although I agree with Den Beste that once you show the terrorists that you will try to appease them, you are asking for more trouble.
By the way, if you have not visited the USS Clueless in a while, Den Beste has had some good posts on the Middle East recently. I especially enjoyed his comments on the Iraqi Constitution.
Thanks for the info. This is the kind of detail that never, ever shows up in "news" services.
Well said, Hidalgo. I'm fascinated by how John F. (for Fraudulentcoalition) Kerry and his media chorus are now singing "Those right-wing nuts are breaking up that Old Gang of Mine."
For a dirt-poor country like Nicaragua to send 115 troops is just incredible. Why we are not picking up the tab for this and future deployments baffles me.
It's easy to criticize wavering allies but we definitely haven't done enough to reward those that have stood with us.
Nice blog, just wanted to say I found you through Google
Steven den Beste? Yup, you keep good company. Challenging, well-reasoned and carefully-written to get the key points across to thinking readers everywhere...
On of my standard-bearers, my heros...
Oh, and shame about Spain...