Carme Chacón is in Lebanon today on her second trip to visit Spanish servicemen and women on active duty overseas since taking office on April 14th.

Tonight she will fly to Sarajevo though there are no plans for her to visit Kosovo - for political reasons - on the grounds that Spain is refusing to recognise the former Yugoslavian republic's unilateral declaration of independence made last February.

Ms Chacón's visit to Lebanon also comes at a difficult time following recent local media speculation that Spanish troops are being used by Israel to spy on Hezbollah, an accusation that the Spanish government strongly denies.

There are currently 1,100 Spanish troops in Lebanon, 2,500 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and 600 in the Republic of Kosovo.

As during her recent visit to Afganistan, the heavily-pregnant Defence minister, who is expecting her first child in around seven weeks' time, is being accompanied by a team of doctors.
 
Pregnant Defence minister travels to Afghanistan to inspect troops
By: thinkSPAIN
Saturday, April 19, 2008

Spain's heavily-pregnant Defence minister is in Afghanistan today to visit Spanish troops in Herat. There are no plans, it seems, for Ms Chacón (37), who is expecting her first child in two months' time, to visit the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Qal-i-Naw.

There has been widespread media criticism of Ms Chacón's appointment since Mr Zapatero unveiled the make-up of his new cabinet last weekend, citing the new minister's age, inexperience, and the fact she is from Cataluña as her main potential failings. Furthermore, it has been argued that her advanced pregnancy would prevent her from undertaking the round of overseas troop inspections that are part and parcel of her new role.

Determined to prove her critics wrong, Ms Chacón decided to start with the furthest (5,800km) and most dangerous and is also reported to be planning a visit to the Spanish contingent in Lebanon while she is still able to travel.

The gutsy former Housing minister is being accompanied by the secretaries of state for Defence and Cooperation, Constantino Méndez and Leire Pajín respectively, as well as a team of doctors.

The party took off from Torrejón air base outside Madrid at 10pm last night on board an Airbus-310. After a gruelling ten-hour flight and a two-hour stopover in Kuwait, they transferred to a rather less comfortable Hercules C-130 transport plane for the final three-hour leg of their journey.

Without any kind of an overnight stay, the party will begin the journey home during the early hours of tomorrow morning.