El Salvador’s soldiers have served the effort to spread democracy through the world with great distinction. Not only are Salvadorans always there when a tyrant is in need of dislodging – side by side and doing heavy lifting with the U.S., they are well-known for their courage and heroism. Salvadorans do what they do not because they are interested in benefits, but because they are committed to freedom. They are true idealists in today’s world. Ask any U.S. military man, he will know all about it.

Here is a great interview with a Salvadoran soldier who passionately defends the cause for spreading freedom on his mission in Iraq.

Bear in mind that as international as their mission is, Salvadoran soldiers are great patriots. They are often accused by leftists of being mercenaries-for-America but this charge is blatantly false. They don’t get paid like U.S. soldiers, and if they get killed, their death benefits to their families are sadly limited. They could easily enlist in the U.S. army if they wanted, and get citizenship besides, but most prefer to enlist in the Salvadoran army, sending a freedom message to Iraq that is more distilled and powerful. El Salvador, is one of the countries that already has demonstrated to the world that free and fair elections, as well as democracy itself, are possible even after decades of despair and warfare. They did this in our lifetimes.

Think about what that must mean to a country like Iraq.

The patriotic heroism of the Salvadorans is also alive because there is a new spirit in El Salvador. Democratic reforms have led to great economic reforms there. Those reforms are spreading around the region. That’s leadership.

The currency stabilized. Salvadorans are buying homes and moving back from abroad. Investors are coming there. El Salvador is becoming worth living in again and its lessons are worth sharing with the world. And because it’s worth living for, it’s also worth dying for. That’s the root of their courage that so puts the false glory claims of terrorists to shame.

CAFTA makes El Salvador’s horizon even brighter, but make no mistake, El Salvador was a star before CAFTA was passed and part of the reason CAFTA was passed at all was the fact that El Salvador was so impressive on its own.

El Salvador, quite simply, is a democratic nation of heroes.