Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez sees no reason to have the 302 Dominican soldiers stationed in Diwaniya, Iraq. Speaking to the press after the Sunday resurrection mass, he said the Dominican government had only acquiesced to send the troops to please the United States. News reports indicate there are 134,000 US troops in Iraq, 8,200 from the United Kingdom and about 14,680 combat troops from 29 other countries. The Cardinal described the presence of the Dominicans in Iraq thus as ?insignificant.?
The cardinal also said that the DR runs the risk that Islamic extremist groups make it pay for helping the US, such as happened in Spain. ?I would like that our poor soldiers return as soon as possible,? he said when asked by journalists after the mass.
President Mejia when interviewed on the matter in New York City said that the troops would remain in Iraq. ?The commitment of the government with the United States is until June. We are allies of the United States. In June we will see what happens,? said Mejia. While no Dominican casualties have been reported, the Quisqueya Task Force II troops have been under fire in Iraq.