US eyes Latin America's help in Iraq, Afghanistan

The Colombian army has many U.S.-trained troops. Currently, only troops from El Salvador represent South America in 'Operation Iraqi Freedom', Honduras and Nicaragua having withdrawn in 2004

MANAGUA, Nicaragua, Oct 2 (Reuters) - The United States is pressing some Latin American countries to send troops to Afghanistan and Iraq for non-combat missions as the Pentagon struggles to transition those operations from war to reconstruction.

U.S. Gen. John Craddock, who heads the Miami-based U.S. Southern Command, said discussions were under way at a meeting of nearly all the Western Hemisphere's defense ministers on how Latin American experiences might be applicable in both war zones.

Colombia, for example, may send military personnel to Iraq to help secure some infrastructure, such as oil pipelines, Craddock said. Nicaraguan Army Gen. Moises Omar Halleslevens said his country may send a team to Afghanistan to remove mines.

Craddock said Latin American countries "may see a chance to help other countries overcome a problem they have faced in the past."

The move comes as violence in both Afghanistan and Iraq has kept infrastructure improvements in many areas from progressing. Those improvements are seen as vital to bringing the combat phase of operations to an end and returning the countries to some level of relative calm, U.S. military officials say.

They may also be critical to American plans to start bringing troops home, an issue that has garnered much attention in U.S. campaigns before November elections that will determine control of the U.S. Congress.

Read the rest at Reuters/Alternet

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