Colombia sends troops to Afghanistan - first Latin American country

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Deutsche Presse-Argentur

Colombia sends troops to Afghanistan - first Latin American country
Aug 7, 2008, 9:05 GMT

Madrid - Colombia will become the first Latin American country to participate in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, the Spanish daily El Pais reported Thursday.

The Colombian unit comprising about 100 soldiers will be integrated into a Spanish force based in Qal-i-Naw in northwestern Afghanistan, the report said.

The Colombian soldiers, whose participation has been under negotiation for months, were expected to arrive in Afghanistan in the spring of 2009.

Spain will provide the Colombian troops with training, infrastructure and even equipment, according to El Pais. Many of the soldiers of the Spanish army serving on missions abroad are already Colombian immigrants.




Read more: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/americas/news/article_1422071.php/Colombia_sends_troops_to_Afghanistan_-_first_Latin_American_country

[dipsydoodle]

1. Making connections I guess

Drug connections.

[DCKit]

2. Well, that's a hell of a thing to say.

Great catch. I would have gone for the Uribe-BFEE connection first, but you leapt straight to the most logical conclusion.

The world hasn't (yet) been flooded with the record amounts of heroin that have been produced over the past few years, so it must be sitting in storage somewhere, stranded. All that's needed now is a distribution apparatus.

I would add to your charge the obvious training potential and opportunity of having those troops in Afghanistan - much easier and far more secure than training them directly in the U.S. or exporting "advisors" to Colombia and risk being found out.

Finding out *who* Colombia sent, their rank, past duties and political connections would probably make a interesting read.

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. that was my first thought...

my 2nd thought was an image of a bunch of coked up Blackwater trained mercenaries:
Guns, drugs and screaming paranoia....Hunter S. woulda loved it.

[Texano78704]

4. $5.5 billion in military aid

And all we get are 100 soldiers? There are more US soldiers in Colombia than what the Colombian government is sending to Afghanistan.

[AlphaCentauri]

5. are they going to provide hands on training for death squads?

the colombian army is good at it

[Bacchus39]

6. seems the Taliban are already quite adept at that

and I doubt the Colombian soldiers will be initiating a drug producing program.

[AlphaCentauri]

8. Good time for military join exercises, the Taliban and the Colombian army

after all they have many things in common

[ensho]

7. all that bullying, bribing, blackmailing, threatening and murdering

paid off for the neo cons - they got fresh meat for one of their money makers, Afghanistan.

Colombians better look around.

[rcsl1998]

9. .