US embassy cable - 05SANSALVADOR2144

C O N F I D E N T I A L SAN SALVADOR 002144 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/28/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, MARR, IZ, ES 
SUBJECT: EL SALVADOR:  LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY APPROVES IRAQ 
DEPLOYMENT EXTENSION 
 
REF: A. 2003 SAN SALVADOR 1885 
 
     B. 2004 SAN SALVADOR 2049 
     C. SAN SALVADOR 283 
 
Classified By: Acting DCM Mark Silverman, Reason 1.4 (d) 
 
1. (SBU)  El Salvador's Legislative Assembly voted late July 
28 to extend troop deployment to Iraq for an additional year. 
 The vote provides the legal basis for the planned August 11 
departure of the fifth contingent of 380 troops, and would 
cover a sixth contingent, should President Saca decide to 
keep Salvadoran troops in Iraq through Summer 2007. 
Forty-five ARENA, PCN, and PDC deputies voted to approve the 
one-year deployment, while 27 FMLN and 12 deputies from a 
recently-formed center coalition voted against the measure. 
 
2. (SBU)  Legislative Assembly authorization first passed in 
July 2003(Ref A), was renewed in July 2004, and now has been 
renewed for an additional year.  As with the July 2004 
extension renewal (Ref B), the Assembly President took 
legislative measures to limit debate on the vote in order to 
avoid costly criticism from the FMLN and other opponents in 
the lead-up to the 2006 legislative and municipal elections. 
The unpopularity of the deployment among certain parts of the 
population was a significant concern of the Government, as 
previous polls have shown that up to 60% of the population 
opposes the deployment (Ref C). 
 
3. (SBU)  El Salvador initially deployed troops in August 
2003 and since then four contingents have served with 
distinction.  Between August 2003 and September 2004 
Salvadoran soldiers served in Najaf under Polish command in 
the Multinational Division (MND).  The Salvadorans suffered 
major blows during the April 2004 Najaf uprisings when 15 
soldiers were wounded, and one killed.  In September 2004, 
for operational reasons, the Salvadoran contingent was moved 
to Al Hillah (still under the command and control of the 
Polish MND).  In addition to Special Forces, Marine and 
Commando elements, the third and fourth contingents have been 
task-organized with conventional forces such as civil 
affairs, doctors, engineers, and military poilce.  On 
November 12, 2004, Secretary Rumsfeld visited El Salvador and 
awarded six Bronze Stars to the Salvadoran security detail 
charged with protecting the Najaf CPA and credited with 
saving the CPA's life and the lives of his party during an 
ambush in March 2004.  El Salvador suffered a second fatality 
on June 27, 2005, this time due to a traffic accident. 
 
4. (C)  COMMENT:  Although the deployment was anticipated to 
take place without difficulty, Saca's seeking and receiving 
Legislative Assembly approval reduces the administration's 
vulnerability.  However, for the original July 2003 
authorization and the July 2004 extension, Saca enjoyed some 
center-party support, which has now disappeared.  Maintaining 
troops in Iraq comes with political cost to President Saca 
and his ARENA party, should additional casualties occur in 
the lead-up to the 2006 legislative and municipal elections, 
public support for the deployment would deteriorate further, 
and Saca and the Arena party's popularity would be marginally 
affected.  This said, President Saca enjoys high ratings in 
most other respects and has decided that supporting the Iraq 
coalition is important enough to bear the risks. 
Barclay