US embassy cable - 05SANSALVADOR2391

C O N F I D E N T I A L SAN SALVADOR 002391 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/23/2015 
TAGS: ES, IZ, MARR, PGOV, PREL 
SUBJECT: EL SALVADOR:  RETURNING TROOPS RELATE POSITIVE 
EXPERIENCE IN IRAQ 
 
 
Classified By: DCM Michael A. Butler, Reason 1.4 (d) 
 
1. (C)  SUMMARY:  Having been relieved by a fifth rotationof 
troops deployed to Iraq in support of coalition forces, El 
Salvador's fourth contingent returned to El Salvador August 
24-25.  Notwithstanding the loss of one of their comrades in 
a non-combat-related incident, the troops related generally 
positive experiences to a pollster with the nation's leading 
daily.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (C)  The fourth rotation of El Salvador's Cuscatlan 
Battalion began arriving home August 24, having been relieved 
by the fifth contingent.  The fourth battalion's sole fatal 
casualty was the non-combat-related June 27 death in a 
traffic accident of Carlos Amando Godoy Castro.  Including 
the fifth rotation of 380 recently-arrived troops in Iraq, 
approximately 1,900 Salvadoran troops--nearly 15 percent of 
its total armed forces--are now veterans of frontline 
experience in the field, with the benefit of having operated 
state-of-the-art military technology in conjunction with 
modern armed forces such as those of the United States and 
United Kingdom. 
 
3. (U)  Leading daily "La Prensa Grafica" conducted a poll 
among "Cuscatlan IV" soldiers shortly before their departure 
from Iraq.  Some 83 percent of those interviewed 
characterized their experiences in Iraq as either "Very Good" 
or "Good", with only one of 30 respondents indicating that 
his time in Iraq had been a "Bad" experience.  Approximately 
77 percent of those interviewed outlined that the worst 
problem they faced while in Iraq related to difficulties in 
language and communication.  (Note:  El Salvador is the only 
remaining Spanish-speaking nation with troops in Iraq, and 
the Cuscatlan Battalion is deployed as part of an 
international brigade, under Polish command, at a base where 
eight languages are spoken.  End note.)  Twenty-two of 30 
interviewees said that, having now experienced military 
service in Iraq, they would do the same thing over again, and 
93 percent were of the view that the "Salvadoran presence was 
necessary in Hilla" (the city in Babylon province in which 
they were deployed).  Not surprisingly, 70 perecent of those 
polled identified their families as what they missed most 
while overseas. 
 
4. (C)  COMMENT:  The degree to which Salvadoran soldiers 
portray their experiences in Iraq in an upbeat light is 
somewhat surprising, given the constant danger of attack and 
the privations that a military camp in the desert entail. 
(Note:  During the fourth contingent's February-to-August 
deployment, daily maximum temperatures in the Hilla area 
reached as high as 131 degrees Fahrenheit.  End note.)  Their 
positive experiences, together with the absence of more 
serious combat casualties, help lessen President Saca's 
exposure to one of his only political vulnerabilities--his 
unpopular dispatch of Salvadoran troops in support of 
Operation Iraqi Freedom.  END COMMENT. 
Barclay