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Politics : Israel to U.S. : Now Deal with Syria and Iran -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ed Huang who wrote (4399)	3/15/2004 10:47:51 AM
From: Thomas M.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22250

The people of Spain opposed the illegal invasion of Iraq all along, and now they have decided to act on their belief. Note the title of this article is misleading. This "socialist" government will have a devout free-marketeer running the economy. Spanish Socialists May Pull Troops from Iraq By Daniel Flynn MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's incoming leader Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said Monday he would probably pull Madrid's troops out of the "disastrous" occupation of Iraq (news - web sites), in a major swing from his predecessor's pro-American foreign policy. Zapatero said his Socialists' surprise win in Sunday's general election -- overshadowed by the Madrid train bombings that killed 200 people -- was the first consequence of the unpopularity among Spaniards of the Iraq war. "The second will be that the Spanish troops will come back," he told a Spanish radio station. "Mr. Blair and Mr. Bush must do some reflection and self-criticism... you can't organize a war with lies." Zapatero repeated a campaign pledge to pull out troops unless the United Nations (news - web sites) takes charge in Iraq by mid-year, but added in his radio interview that scenario was unlikely. Spain has 1,300 troops as part of a Polish-led international division in parts of south-central Iraq. A U.S. spokesman said Monday the Spanish soldiers played a "critical" role in efforts to stabilize violence-wracked Iraq. Most commentators saw Zapatero's shock election victory as driven by anger over Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's handling of the suspected al Qaeda attack on Madrid commuter trains last Thursday that also wounded 1,500 people. But the 43-year-old Socialist leader played that down. "In Spain the people wanted change," he told a news conference. Of the 1,500 wounded in Thursday's atrocity, 240 remained in hospital, 11 of them fighting for their lives. "SPAIN PUNISHES GOVERNMENT" The once pro-Aznar El Mundo newspaper slammed the outgoing Popular Party (PP) government for entering the Iraq war and playing down evidence of al Qaeda's role in Thursday's bombings. "Spain punishes the PP and places its confidence in Zapatero," the paper said on Monday's front page. With almost all votes counted, the Socialists had won 42.6 percent of the vote to the PP's 37.6 percent as voters turned out in large numbers to reaffirm their faith in democracy. With 164 seats in the lower house of parliament, 12 short of an absolute majority, Zapatero has said he intends to government through dialogue with other groups. He ruled out the possibility of a coalition with regional parties. But the PP will remain by far the largest single force in the upper house or Senate, potentially making it difficult for a Socialist government to pass legislation. The Spanish stock market dropped sharply amid mounting suspicions of al Qaeda involvement in the bombings and uncertainties over the Socialist party's economic agenda. But in a nod to investors in Spain, Zapatero lined up well-known free-marketeer Miguel Sebastian as his chief economic advisor. Sebastian is tipped to take the economy ministry. Zapatero said his immediate priority would be "fighting terrorism" and promised to improve ties with the rest of Europe. Aznar's closeness to U.S. and UK leaders George W. Bush and Tony Blair was unpopular in Spain. Zapatero said he wanted "cordial" relations with the United States but hoped to restore "magnificent" ties with France, Germany and other EU members. After Thursday's attacks Aznar's government initially blamed the armed Basque separatist group ETA, which denied involvement. Then, hours before polling began Sunday, the government revealed it had a videotape, purportedly from Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda, saying it carried out the attacks in retaliation for Spain's support for the U.S.-led war on Iraq. El Pais newspaper reported Monday that Spanish police suspected the bombings were carried out by the same radical Islamist group, with indirect ties to al Qaeda, which killed dozens in a series of blasts in Casablanca last year. The paper said the suspected link between the Moroccan and Spanish attacks was Jamal Zougam, one of three Moroccans arrested in Spain in connection with the Madrid blasts. Two Indians have also been arrested in Madrid. In further bad news for Aznar, U.N. diplomats said Monday they expected Spain to explain its insistence only hours after the attack that the Security Council condemn the bombing as the work of ETA, despite the reservations of some nations. news.yahoo.com