General Petraeus Highlights “the Extraordinary Work" that Spanish Service Persons are Carrying Out in Afghanistan

 

General Petraeus together with Colonel Sevilla

General Petraeus praised the Spanish labour

Arrival at the airport in Qala-i-Naw

Editorial Staff/Madrid

US General David H. Petraeus, commander of the International Security Assistance Force, on 16th May visited Base “Ruy González de Clavijo" in Qala-i-Naw (Afghanistan), where he praised the labour undertaken by Spanish military personnel in Badghis province.

General Petraeus was received at the Qala-i-Naw airport and accompanied to the base by Italian General Carmine Masiello, commander of International Security Assistance Force Regional Command West, and by Colonel Juan Sevilla, commander of the Spanish force deployed in Badghis. The US general emphasised that the Spanish service persons were promoting a climate of stability so that the Afghan Government could exercise its responsibility, and he underlined the extraordinary work in security that they are carrying out in the region.

According to the commander of the International Security Assistance Force, Badghis is the province where the most insurgents have decided to lay down their arms and make use of the reintegration programme promoted by Afghan authorities.  Moreover, he stressed the speed with which Base "Ruy González de Clavijo" had been constructed and praised its quality and design, the distribution of living and service areas, as well as the logistic area.

Later, General Petraeus and General Masiello, along with Colonel Sevilla, travelled by helicopter to the locality of Bala Murghab, in the north of Badghis, where they attended an assembly, or shura, with the governor and dignitaries from the district.  At its conclusion, the US general sent a message to the insurgent forces: "Those who do not choose the road to integration will find us confronting them, along with the Spanish and the Italians". On the way back to Qala-i-Naw, General Petraeus met with the provincial governor, Mr. Delbar Jan Arman, who expressed gratitude for the aid of the International Security Assistance Force troops, and, in particular, he praised the Spanish on maintaining security.