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Spanish leader pulling troops from iraq { April 18 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/18/international/europe/18CND-MADRID.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/18/international/europe/18CND-MADRID.html
April 18, 2004
Spanish Leader Pulling Troops From Iraq
By MARLISE SIMONS
MADRID, April 18 — Spain's new Socialist prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, announced today that he was ordering Spanish troops to leave Iraq "as soon as possible."
Mr. Zapatero, speaking just 24 hours after he was sworn in, said he had ordered Defense Minister José Bono to "do what is necessary for the Spanish troops stationed in Iraq to return home" in the shortest possible time. Mr. Zapatero said he had made his decision because it was unlikely that the United Nations would be playing a leading role in Iraq any time soon, which had been his condition for Spain's 1,300 troops to remain.
The prime minister spoke briefly at the Moncloa Palace shortly after appointing his cabinet. His new foreign minister, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, is leaving for Washington this week for meetings on Wednesday with Secretary of State Colin L. Powell; Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser, and members of Congress. Iraq is expected to figure prominently in his discussions.
The trip will begin with a stop on Tuesday in Ireland, the current holder of the European Union presidency.
Mr. Zapatero's move, though a serious setback, comes as no surprise to the United States. Two high officials of the new Spanish government, in a briefing for reporters, said that since Mr. Zapatero's election victory on March 14, intense consultations had been held with heads of state or top officials of 12 nations. Mr. Bono made an undisclosed visit to Washington early this month and met with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. Spain conferred also with Britain, Italy and Poland, which also have troops in Iraq.
A Defense Ministry official said at a briefing that the Spanish withdrawal might take one month.
The officials said that the new government made its announcement on its first day to avoid being drawn into a debate and to avoid possible complications in the field. They did not want any future event, such as hostage taking or the death of any soldiers to to be used to misinterpret Spain's motives.
At the White House today, officials sounded resigned to Spain's withdrawal from their coalition. "We knew from the recent Spanish election that it was the new prime minister's intention to withdraw Spanish troops," said Sean McCormack, the spokesman for the national security council. He said the White House expected Spain "to carry out the decision in a coordinated, responsible and orderly manner."
But officials made little secret of the fact that the decision was a bitter moment for Mr. Bush. They fear it will make it more difficult to continue to internationalize the forces in Iraq as the June 30 date approaches for the transfer of sovereign power to the Iraqi government. Ms. Rice said in an interview on Fox News Sunday that she was concerned that terrorists could draw "the wrong lesson from Spain," and attempt other attacks aimed at dividing the coalition.
Nonetheless, Mr. McCormack said, "we are grateful to the other coalition partners for their recent expressions of solidarity."
John Kerry, the likely Democratic candidate for president, issued a statement today in Washington about Spain's announcement. "I regret Prime Minister Zapatero's decision," he said. "Rather than losing partners, I believe it's critical that we find new coalition partners to share the burden in Iraq," the statement said.
The new Spanish government has been accused by the outgoing leadership and by American conservatives of capitulating to terrorists in its plan to withdraw the troops. Elections were held here three days after terrorist attacks on March 11 left 192 people dead and more than 1,400 wounded.
But on the eve of the elections, many Spanish voters apparently turned against the conservative government of José María Aznar, who had a narrow lead in the polls, because they felt it was less than truthful about the terrorist attacks, insisting on blaming Basque separatists while evidence was already strongly pointing to Islamist militants.
Richard Gardner, a former American ambassador to Spain, here on a private visit, called the troop pullout bad news and said, "Let's hope it does not trigger other withdrawals." He added: "Now it is important that Spain demonstrates its willingness to assume a larger share of the military burden in Afghanistan, the Balkans or other areas."
A European diplomat called the pullout a serious setback for Washington because Spain's presence was more important symbolically than in a military sense. The United States has been eager to maintain the international veneer to the increasingly beleagered coalition force that is dominated by the 130,000 troops in Iraq.
Italy, which has about 3,000 soldiers in Iraq has said it will stay the course. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi late last week said that an Italian withdrawal was "absolutely out of the question."
On Wednesday, Iraqi insurgents killed one of four Italian security guards who had been traveling with an American supply convoy. They threatened to kill the others unless Italy withdrew its troops from Iraq.
The new Spanish foreign minister, Mr. Moratinos, a career diplomat with long experience in the Middle East, is making the hasty trip to Washington to explain that the new government had no choice but to bring the troops home. A senior Socialist Party official said the minister would stress that the decision by Mr. Zapatero was not anti-American, but rather the fulfillment of a pledge he had been making for the past year. He is also expected to discuss a future role for Spain in Iraq, such as training Iraqi police or helping in reconstruction.
Mr. Zapatero said today that "driven by the deepest democratic convictions, the government cannot and will not act against the popular will or behind the backs of the Spanish people." Earlier, during his inaugural speech, he had told Parliament that no Spanish troops will be deployed without parliamentary approval. Mr. Aznar had not put the decision to Parliament last year, even though opinion polls consistent reported that up to 90 percent of Spaniards were against sending troops to Iraq.
On the ground in Iraq, an early withdrawal of Spanish troops would create an awkward problem for the United States military command, if it occurred before there has been a resolution of the current confrontation with the rebel Shiite cleric, Moktada al-Sadr. When Mr. Sadr's militiamen began their uprising across southern Iraq two weeks ago, their first major target was a Spanish garrison on the outskirts of the Shiite holy city of Najaf.
American commanders spoke with admiration of the Spanish troops' resilience, and performance of the Spanish provided an important morale boost to the American commanders, who have bridled at suggestions that the United States is increasingly isolated in the conflict here.
With the Spanish troops now set to leave, that logic risks being reversed. But senior American officers, anticipating the move, have said that the occupation force, drawn from more than 30 nations, can readily adjust, at least militarily, to the withdrawal of a single country, however stalwart that nation's contingent has proven under fire.
Dale Fuchs in Madrid, John F. Burns in Baghdad and David Sanger in Washington contributed reporting for this article.
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company
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