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Spain plans quick pull out of Iraq
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-04-19 08:46
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said Sunday he had given orders for Spain's 1,400 troops in Iraq to come home as soon as possible.
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| Spain's new Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero delivers a statement at Moncloa Palace on April 18, 2004. [Reuters] |
Zapatero made the surprise announcement in a televised statement a day after being sworn in as prime minister following his Socialist party's upset victory in a March 14 general election held in the shadow of the Madrid train bombings.
Zapatero had said previously he would pull out the troops if the United Nations did not take charge in Iraq by June 30. He said he was acting now because there was no prospect of a U.N. resolution being adopted that met Spain's conditions.
A government source said the withdrawal operation would take "at least a month and a half to two months" and declined to say when it would start.
The troops, now numbering 1,400, will be moved out to Kuwait by bus in a complex operation, the source said.
Zapatero's decision creates more problems for the United States whose forces are locked in the fiercest fighting in Iraq since last year's war toppled Saddam Hussein. U.S. combat casualties in Iraq topped 500 Sunday.
Spanish bases in Diwaniya and Najaf in south-central Iraq have come under sporadic attack during the recent upsurge of violence there and several Spanish troops have been wounded.
Zapatero, a strong opponent of the U.S.-led war, said he had given new Defense Minister Jose Bono "the order to do what is necessary for the Spanish troops in Iraq to come home in the shortest possible time and the greatest possible safety."
About 1,000 people gathered in central Madrid Sunday night for a noisy celebration of the news.
"If you kill people overseas, they'll kill you here. It was illegal. We Spaniards don't want war," said administrator Esteban Fernandez, 41, drawing a link between the Iraq war and last month's Madrid bombings that killed 191 people.
EFFECT ON OTHER COUNTRIES
The White House had hoped Zapatero would reconsider his campaign pledge if the United Nations took a bigger role in Iraq. But Zapatero said there was no indication there would be "a substantial change in the political and military situation in Iraq" by June 30.
The United States expects other nations with forces in Iraq to reassess their position after Spain's decision, U.S. President Bush's national security adviser said Sunday.
Condoleezza Rice, speaking on ABC's "This Week" before the decision was announced in Madrid, said: "We have 34 countries with forces on the ground. I think there are going to be some changes."
White House spokesman Ken Lisaius said Washington wanted the Spanish withdrawal made in a "coordinated, responsible and orderly manner."
Zapatero called British Prime Minister Tony Blair earlier to tell him of his decision, a Downing Street spokesman said. The British government "recognizes and expected this announcement" as it had been a pledge by the Spanish government, he said.
The Spanish government source said members of Zapatero's team had spoken to leaders from 12 countries in the last 10 days about the decision. Countries briefed included the United States, Britain, Germany and Italy, the source said.
Zapatero called an urgent meeting of parliament to brief legislators. The session is expected to be held Tuesday.
Spanish soldiers in Iraq were taken by surprise.
"We found out about the news through the media...It's already night here, so I don't think the news will have reached many people," a Spanish officer in Diwaniya, south of Baghdad, told state radio.
TRAIN BOMBINGS
Voters swept former Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's pro-U.S. Popular Party from power in the March election. Aznar sent the Spanish troops to Iraq after the war, even though the U.S. intervention was deeply unpopular with most Spaniards.
The elections were held three days after the bombing of four Madrid commuter trains. A videotape purportedly from al Qaeda said the attacks were a response to Spanish support of U.S.-led military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Opposition leader Mariano Rajoy condemned Zapatero's decision, saying it made Spain more vulnerable to terrorism.
"This decision, taken so hurriedly ... makes Spain look unreliable to its international partners," he told a news conference.
Zapatero said Spain would remain a faithful ally and fulfil its international commitments, especially those involving international peacekeeping missions.
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos travels to Washington this week to brief Rice and Secretary of State Colin Powell, Spanish news reports said.
Newspaper El Pais said he would offer to replace Spanish troops in Iraq with humanitarian and reconstruction aid.
At least 10 Spanish military personnel have been killed in Iraq since last August, including seven intelligence agents killed by guerrillas last November.
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