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U.S. Fears Spanish Pullout From Iraq: Report
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“I
think the military intervention in Iraq was a political error for
the international order,” Zapatero
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LONDON,
March 16 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The threat of
Spanish Prime Minister-elect Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to pull out
troops of Iraq has sent shockwaves through Washington, which faces now
the possibility that other “coalition” governments might follow
the Spanish lead, a British paper reported Tuesday, March 16.
If
Zapatero translated his threats into action, the U.S. could no longer
use their presence as evidence of international support for the
occupation of Iraq, The Telegraph said.
“This
means a lot to an administration that stresses at every opportunity
that it is not acting alone as anti-war feeling is present in
virtually every country in the “coalition”.”
In
doing so, the paper added, Zapatero would rip “a substantial hole in
the cloak of diplomatic cover over cloaking the U.S. occupation”.
Zapatero
vowed Monday, March 15, to pull out the 1,300 Spanish troops of Iraq
by the end of June, the date the United States has promised to hand
over power to a provisional Iraqi government.
“The
war in Iraq was a disaster, the occupation of Iraq is a disaster,”
Zapatero said. “It has only caused violence.”
The
Telegraph cited mounting pressures on Italian Prime Minister
Silvio Berlusconito withdraw Italian forces after 19 Italians were
killed in an attack in Iraq last December.
It
said departure of Spain and Italy could lead to a “stampede” of
remaining partners, with only Britain and Australia likely to stay the
course.
The
most substantial European nations occupying Iraq are Britain, Italy,
the Netherlands, Poland and Spain.
Fearing
a spate of defections, U.S. President George W. Bush Tuesday called
for international solidarity with the Iraqi people in view of the
Spanish threat after talks with Dutch Prime Minister Jan-Peter
Balkenende.
"It's
essential that we remain side by side with the Iraqi people as they
begin the process of self-government," Bush said, according to
Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Ironically
enough polls showed that a majority of the Dutch people also wanting a
withdrawal of the Dutch contingent in Iraq.
To
them, Bush said: "I would ask them to think about the Iraqi
citizens who don't want people to withdraw because they want to be
free.
"And
I would remind the Dutch citizens that al-Qaeda has an interest in
Iraq for a reason. And that interest is they realize this is a front
in the war on terror."
The
U.S. leader did not directly mention the threat by Spain to withdraw
its 1,300 troops.
Zapatero
used his victory speech Monday to hit out at the “lies” used to
launch the Iraq war, urging Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair
to practice “self criticism”.
Zapatero
was speaking just hours after his Socialist Party (PSOE) dealt the
conservative Popular Party (PP) of outgoing prime minister Jose Maria
Aznar a
surprise defeat in general elections colored by last
Thursday's bombings of crowded Madrid commuter trains that
killed 200 people and wounded 1,500.
Berlusconi
Isolated
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Berlusconi
is facing mounting pressures at home to withdraw Italian troops
from Iraq
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Meanwhile,
Italian newspaper said Tuesday that Aznar’s defeat has isolated
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Europe and raised fears of
Italy becoming marginalized, reported AFP.
“Aznar
has left behind many orphans, starting with Silvio Berlusconi, whom he
helped join the European Popular Party, giving him European legitimacy
and with whom he was allied in recent years as far as foreign
affairs,” said the economic daily Il Sole 24 Ore.
“It
is obvious that the [political] earthquake in Spain could increasingly
sideline Italy in the Europe that matters and makes decision”.
The
daily Corriere della Sera agreed: “Following the defeat of
the Spanish conservatives, Berlusconi knows that he is increasingly
isolated in the European Union.”
La
Stampa said Aznar's defeat in the polls were a “surprise to the
cavaliere”, as Berlusconi is called.
Le
Repubblica said that Aznar's defeat had dealt a blow to the
pro-American camp in Europe.
“With
a Spain now called upon to join in the dialogue between France,
Germany and Britain, European foreign policy is going to regain its
autonomy and will be carried out in a spirit of cooperation rather
than cow-towing to the United States,” it said.
It
said Italy and Poland, which like Spain backed the U.S.-led invasion
of Iraq, were now marginalized and lacked the political credibility
and weight to change this process.
Voter
Backlash
Australian
Prime Minister John Howard also conceded he could face an anti-war
backlash at this year's Australian elections similar to the protest
vote that toppled Spain's conservative government in the aftermath of
the Madrid bombings.
Asked
if his government might face a voter backlash because of its support
for the Iraq war, Howard told an Adelaide radio station: “That is
one of the many things people will take into account in going to the
polls later this year.”
But
he said he had no regrets about his decision to go to war in Iraq,
adding: “It was in my view the right thing to do,” AFP reported.
He
also said a majority of Australians would not want their government to
be “intimidated, cowed and bullied” into changing its position on
foreign policy issues because of terrorist threats.
“We
are essentially a target for terrorists because of who we are rather
than what we've done,” he said. “I don't think we're as big a
target as some other countries because we don't have terrorist cells
operating in Australia.”
Anti-War
Rally
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Anti-war
protesters block one of the entrances to the White House
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In
Washington, some 200 protestors, including families of soldiers killed
in Iraq, gathered in front of the White House to demand an end to the
U.S. occupation of the oil-rich country.
The
peaceful protest outside Bush's official residence came five days
before the one-year anniversary of the U.S.-led war, which began March
20, 2003.
Drums
rolled after each demonstrator took a turn reading into a microphone
the names of soldiers and Iraqi civilians killed in the conflict, said
AFP.
Then,
the readers laid the list of names in a black-and-white coffin.
The
protestors quoted U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney's claim that Iraq
possessed weapons of mass destruction, the chief rationale for the
U.S. invasion.
“Honor
the dead and end the war,” the protestors chanted as they approached
a police cordon in front of the White House.
“Come
one, let's show some accountability,” one demonstrator shouted.
“I
lost my brother in Iraq in January. He was 33,” John Walker said.
“This war is unjustified. ... If it had been justified, I would not
be here.”
The
White House protest came a day after several hundred relatives of dead
soldiers protested at an Air Force base in Dover, Delaware, the
landing spot for military airplanes carrying the bodies of troops
killed in Iraq.
Deaths
on the weekend in Iraq raised to 274 the number of U.S. soldiers
killed in action since Bush declared the war to occupy Iraq over on
May 1, according to an AFP count.
A
U.S.A Today/CNN/Gallup survey on February 2 showed Bush's popularity
down 11 points in a month to below 50 percent for the first time in
his presidency.
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