|
Aznar on surprise visit to troops in Iraq
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar paid a surprise visit to Iraq Saturday, flying in with his defense minister to inspect Spanish troops deployed in the south of the country, national radio reported. Aznar left Madrid on Friday for Kuwait where he went by helicopter to Diwaniyah, the radioâs special correspondent said, becoming the third top western politician — after US President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld — to travel to the war-torn country in three weeks. Aznar was a staunch backer of the US-led invasion of Iraq, and contributed some 1,300 troops despite virulent public opposition to the attack without a UN mandate. A delegation of 17 people, among them the Spanish Defense Minister Federico Trillo, accompanied Aznar for this visit of several hours to the city 160 kilometers southeast of Baghdad. The prime minister was to lunch with Spanish soldiers and meet with local authorities before flying back to Madrid in the afternoon. On December 12, the Spanish government decided to prolong the stay of the troops by six months. Spain has lost 10 men so far since it deployed soldiers and intelligence officers to Iraq — the most serious attack coming on November 29 when seven intelligence agents died in an ambush.Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-12-20 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=23076 |