The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, has indicated in an interview on TVE, reported by Europa Press, that the Government will wait until May to decide, in coordination with the Iraqi authorities, if it is possible to reactivate the Spanish military mission in that country.
Robles has detailed that, at this moment, there are no longer Spanish personnel deployed in Iraqi territory after the evacuation that it was forced to execute, an operation that she has described as "extremely tough and extremely dangerous", motivated by the war of the US and Israel against Iran and by the impact that this conflict is having on the States of the region.
Even so, the head of Defense has pointed out that it is being evaluated to resume the mission in Iraq, known as NMI, which has the support of the Iraqi Executive and whose command is held by a Spanish Lieutenant General.
"We are waiting for the month of May, in contact with the government of Iraq, to see if that mission can be carried out again," Margarita Robles has pointed out, also highlighting the "satisfaction" that the recognition and appreciation that the Iraqi Government shows towards the Spanish Armed Forces means for Spain.
The minister has insisted that the evacuation of between 200 and 300 military personnel deployed in two different areas of Iraq was "extremely tough and extremely dangerous." She specified that "it was not just a complicated, difficult evacuation, amidst cross-missile attacks," but also involved protecting the lives of approximately 1,200 or 1,300 people.
"When they tell you, it really gives you chills to see in what situation they had to evacuate, how many times they tried to leave Baghdad and it was not possible due to the missile crossfire that there was," exclaimed the minister, who has expressed her "pride" for the work carried out by these military personnel and by the 4,000 Spanish troops participating in peace missions in different parts of the planet.
In this context, he/she has admitted that it is especially painful for him/her to hear statements like that of the spokesperson for the Popular Group in Congress, Ester Muñoz, who compared the detention of a Spanish soldier in Israel with a routine Civil Guard checkpoint, and has criticized that there is not the "generosity to recognize the work of Spanish military personnel."