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Spain threatens Iraq troop pull-out
(BBC News, 15 March 2004)
Spain's Socialist Party prime minister-elect says he will pull troops out of Iraq - unless the UN takes charge. . . . Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said: "The war in Iraq was a disaster, the occupation of Iraq is a disaster." . . . He called for a grand international alliance against terror and an end to "unilateral wars". . . . The Socialists won a shock poll victory after voters appeared to turn on the government over its handling of the Madrid bombings that killed 200 people. . . . Spain supported the US-led war on Iraq despite much domestic opposition. It currently has 1,300 troops in the Polish-led multinational force in the central-south sector. . . . At a news conference in Madrid, Mr Zapatero said his priority will be a "systematic fight against terrorism of all kinds". . . . He again reiterated his opposition to the US-led war in Iraq, but said his government would maintain what he described as "cordial relations" with Washington. . . . However Mr Zapatero said President Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair needed to "engage in some self-criticism" over their decision to invade Iraq. . . . Mr Zapatero said Spanish soldiers would be pulled out if there was no change in Iraq by the 30 June deadline for transfer of sovereignty. . . . Socialists won 42% of the vote, while the centre-right Popular Party won 38% in Sunday's general election, held in the wake of the Madrid train bomb attacks that killed 200 people. . . . The BBC's Chris Morris, in Madrid, says the bombings did more than shock Spain to the core; they proved to be the decisive factor in the general election that ousted the government. . . . Mr Zapatero was - until Thursday's bombings - considered an outsider for Spain's top job. . . . While Mr Zapatero said his first priority was to tackle terrorism "in all its forms", he is thought likely to do it in a very different way than the outgoing government. . . . A larger than expected 77% of the electorate turned out to vote in the wake of last Thursday's attacks. . . . Our correspondent says the late swing to the Socialists raises one disturbing thought - if al-Qaeda was responsible for Thursday's attacks, it appears to have had significant influence in changing the government of a leading Western democracy.

[COMMENT: Another way to look at it is how a Spanish friend of mine put it, "... a clear example, in my opinion, of how the people, when consciouss of what is going on, can take control." Let's hope the US voters can become consciounscious this November without first having to experience any more violence.]

posted by LoZo 4:24 PM