Update: Latin American Troops to Assist with Iraq Peacekeeping

Update: Latin American Troops to Assist with Iraq Peacekeeping

By Dave Weinreb, intern, CIP

Military forces from Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic will assist US, British and Spanish troops in their efforts to maintain law and order in Iraq. Their mission will concentrate on peacekeeping, medical and minesweeping efforts and will not bring them into direct conflict with Iraqi resistance. According to the Associated Press the Latin American soldiers will be stationed in the city of Najaf where they will be under the command of the Spanish forces. Najaf is where the “fewest fatal incidents have occurred” [1] and is considered the region with the “least upheaval in Iraq” [2] .

The contingent is comprised mainly of 840 doctors, nurses and engineers from all four countries although El Salvador is sending 287 regular soldiers as well as 40 officers and 43 other personnel for peacekeeping efforts. Soldiers from all nations involved in the peacekeeping have been trained by the United States to deal with a variety of possible scenarios including the possibility of confronting “hostile environments” [3] .

Authority for the mission was given on May 29^th, 2003 and the troops are scheduled to arrive in Iraq within the next six weeks. The Latin Americans’ mission is slated to last one year. The financial burden for all nations, including those of the Latin American contingent, will be assumed by the United States, with an initial price tag of $430 million worldwide.

During the war the Latin American section of the “coalition of the willing” was made up of these four countries as well as Colombia, Costa Rica and Panama. [4]

Sources:

Yahoo! News (AP), 19 June 2003 http://espanol.news.yahoo.com/030619/1/kmjd.html

The Straits Times, 25 June 2003 http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/world/story/0,4386,196293,00.html

Americas.org, May-June 2003 http://www.americas.org/News/Features/200304_MayJune/Iraq-LatinAmerica2.htm

[1] 19 June 2003. “En seis semanas viajan tropas hondureñas a Irak” Associated Press, Yahoo! Noticias

http://espanol.news.yahoo.com/030619/1/kmjd.htm

[2] Ibid

[3] Ibid

[4] May-June 2003. “Iraq and Latin America” Americas.org

http://www.americas.org/News/Features/200304_MayJune/Iraq-LatinAmerica2.htm