Spain to bolster troops in Afghanistan

MADRID, Spain – Spain’s Socialist government approved a plan Friday to send hundreds of additional troops to Afghanistan to help NATO provide security for post-Taliban elections in September.

The proposal would increase the number of Spanish troops in Afghanistan from 137 to about 1,000 for the vote; some would be rotated out, leaving 540 in place at the end of the year.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero withdrew Spain’s troops from Iraq in April, calling the war and occupation a disastrous error that lacked U.N. approval.

Spain says Afghanistan is different because the foreign troop presence has a U.N. mandate and the legitimate goals of stabilizing the country and fighting remnants of the Taliban and al Qaeda.