War
on Iraq Archives War
on Iraq [Home]
Spanish Leader Rebuffs US Leaders on Iraq Pullout (Reuters, March 18, 2004) Spain's incoming prime minister on Thursday rebuffed calls from U.S. political leaders to reconsider his pledge to withdraw Spanish troops from Iraq and set new conditions for keeping them there. . . . Socialist leader Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's pre-election pledge to withdraw Spain's 1,300 troops from Iraq has become a burning international issue since his shock win in a general election on Sunday. . . . On Wednesday, expected U.S. Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry also urged Zapatero to reconsider, saying he should "send a message that terrorists cannot win by their acts of terror." . . . "Perhaps John Kerry doesn't know but I am delighted to explain to him that my commitment to the return of the troops dates from before (last week's bombings)," Zapatero said in an interview with Spain's Telecinco television. . . . "If the United Nations doesn't take up the reins of the situation, if there isn't a rethink of the chaotic occupation in Iraq, of course the Spanish troops are coming back to Spain," he said. . . . Spanish troops were sent to Iraq by outgoing center-right Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, a close U.S. ally who firmly backed Bush's Iraq policy despite widespread opposition at home.
posted by LoZo 3:18 PM
|