President Saca visits Iraq

Salvadoran president Tony Saca visited the country's troops in Iraq yesterday. According to the AP:
Salvadoran President Tony Saca paid a surprise visit Wednesday to his country's troops in Iraq and later said they were in good health and high spirits.

"I want to tell the Salvadoran people that morale was very high," Saca said in a statement after he spoke to soldiers in Kut.

Salvadoran troops are doing peacekeeping and humanitarian work in the southern city. With about 380 soldiers, El Salvador is the only Latin American nation still part of the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic have withdrawn troops.

Saca, who was dressed in sand-colored military garb, became the first civilian president of El Salvador to wear the uniform of a commander general of the armed forces, according to LaPrensa. LaPrensa has a photo gallery of the visit here.

Comments

Five Salvadoran troops have been killed in Iraq. They, along with the 650,000 plus Iraqis and 3400 U.S. troops died in a war justified on Bush and Cheney's lies and deceit, an invasion and occupation that seeks to control Iraq's oil reserves. What bone will Bush and the U.S. toss Saca for the visit?
Anonymous said…
I hope Saca stays there and sends back our "soldiers". Humanitarian and peacekeeping with a rifle at hand and while serving in envoys guarding Halliburton. That is terrible, just like Bush's idea of "democracy by the gun, missile, white phosphorus and death squads".
Anonymous said…
The bone thrown to all Presidents of the republic is the temporary work permits given to Salvadorans to work in the USA. Thus the families are destroyed. Money comes into El Salvador makes the rich richer as the people flock to the commerical centers to buy overpriced imported food and goods. The local ecomony is broken due to all of this.
Hodad said…
the 3rd comment is oh so true,shameful but true
El-Visitador said…
"the people flock to the commerical centers to buy overpriced imported food and goods"

Mr. self-righteous here must use a computer made in El Salvador, since he finds imported goods so disagreeable.

I find it wonderful that people are able to purchase imported stuff, and I hope Salvadoreans are always to purchase life-enhancing imported devices, books, medicine and technology.
Rusty said…
I hope one day El Salvador is advanced enough as an economy to produce many of the products its citizens use, and possibly export some of those products to other countries, instead of exporting its young men and women around the world, breaking up families and creating social disfunction.
Anonymous said…
el-visitador completely misses the point. To what advantage is there for the people to purchase over priced goods? And why must we import books, medicine and anything else we can produce here? Is he suggesting that the people of El Salvador are unable to do so? Are we nothing more than cheap labor for other countries?
Anonymous said…
Salvadorian troops are there for a reason. In El Salvador we say " dando y dando," which means to give and return. The USA helped alot during the civil war, here in El Salvador and alot of people were terrified specially during "the offensiva." Saca has send the troops to Iraq because of this, to give back all of USA's support that has been given on the Salvadorian government. I do not support the war in Iraq, but I do support Saca's decision. Unless you have lived here in El Salvador, you can prove me wrong.
Anonymous said…
The assistance given by the Americans during the civil war was to ensure the massacre of 70,000 innocent people by death squads, la guardia and the armed forces. Yes, I lived in El Salvador and remember all too well the horror of bombings of pueblos. Much the way it was done in Viet Nam and now in Iraq.
Anonymous said…
Hey I know this is currently irrelevant to your "discussion" but does anyone know where i can buy a good computer or computer stuff in el Salvador?