Spain to pull troops from Iraq

Spain to pull troops from Iraq

Spain's incoming leader Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has indicated he will pull Madrid's troops out of the "disastrous" occupation of Iraq in a major swing from his predecessor's pro-American foreign policy.

The European Union (EU), concerned by growing signs that Thursday's Madrid train bombings may have been carried out by Islamist militants, called emergency counter-terrorism talks.

Zapatero's Socialists swept to office at the weekend in what some analysts said could constitute an alarming first case of Islamist militants influencing, by violence, the outcome of a major Western election. Zaptero himself called his triumph a first consequence of the Iraq war's unpopularity with Spaniards.

"The second will be that the Spanish troops will come back," he told a Spanish radio station on Monday.

"Mr Blair and Mr Bush must do some reflection and self-criticism... you can't organise a war with lies," he said in remarkably frank comments for the next prime minister of Western Europe's youngest democracy and fifth largest economy.

U.S. President George W. Bush called to congratulate 43-year-old Zapatero. "The two leaders said they both looked forward to working together particularly on our shared commitment to fighting terrorism," a White House spokesman said.

Zapatero, due to take office within the next month, repeated several times on Monday his campaign pledge to pull out troops unless the United Nations takes charge in Iraq by mid-year -- but added in his radio interview that scenario was unlikely.

Spain has 1,300 troops in parts of south-central Iraq. Critics of the government have argued that the Madrid bombings were the price Spain paid for backing the Iraq occupation.

RANCOUR REMAINS OVER ETA BLAME

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.

After Thursday's attacks Aznar's government initially blamed the armed Basque separatist group ETA, which denied involvement.

Sunday would go down in history as "the day when Islamic fundamentalism was seen as dictating the outcome of a European election," said Wilfried Martens, head of the European People's Party, an umbrella group for European conservative parties.

With almost all votes counted, the Socialists had won 42.6 percent of the vote to the PP's 37.6 percent.

With 164 seats in the lower house of parliament, 12 short of an absolute majority, Zapatero has said he intends to govern 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.

MARKETS HURT

The Spanish stock market dropped sharply on Monday amid mounting suspicions of al Qaeda involvement in the bombings and uncertainties over the Socialist party's economic agenda. Some 12 billion euros (8.1 billion pounds) was wiped from the value of leading companies.

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 priorities would be "fighting terrorism" and a more "pro-European" foreign policy.

The EU's Irish presidency announced that EU justice and home affairs ministers would hold emergency counter-terrorism talks in Brussels on Friday. Germany had requested the meeting.

Zapatero's surprise win has changed the EU's balance of power, robbing pro-U.S. supporters of the Iraq war, led by Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair, of an important ally. It may also open the way for compromise on a stalled EU constitution blocked by Aznar to defend Spain's voting power.

Aznar's closeness to Blair and U.S. President George W. Bush was unpopular at home. Zapatero said he wanted "cordial" ties with Washington but used the word "magnificent" to describe the relations he sought with France, Germany and other EU members.

On 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.

A senior U.S. official said on Monday he believed al Qaeda was involved. "I'm satisfied there are connections to al Qaeda," U.S. Homeland Security Undersecretary Asa Hutchinson said.

El Pais newspaper reported 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.

Terrorism works

i fear it's a matter of when, not if, it happens in this country.

Im using the tube tomorrow & im a little nervous.

I hope I dont see spences av!

One of the only things in our favour is the strength of our intelligence... and even that has been questionable at times (WMD in Iraq?).

I think despite all the immigration problems, we are safer than most of the continent (we are not land-locked for one example)... however I don't think we ca hold out for ever... the IRA have proved that.

One of my dissertation questions asks whether the reader believes they are safe from terrorism in this country... following the attack in spain I think my answers would be considerably affected.

At least were being pro active in the fight against it, see brid's thread

http://www.promisealways.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23587&highlight=terrorism

The majority of the spanish population didn't want to support the war in the first place, this isn't a case of terrorism winning - its a case of the people being heard.

If the Spanish government had actually listened to their people they'd of avoided this, just like the british givernment... by going to war for oil our government have made us a prime target.

Counter-terrorism measures never work, they work to an extent but by its very nature you can't prevent it, just look at the IRA situation - if we couldn't control it on a tiny island what fucking chance have we got of controling it on a glabal scale.

General Election next year isn't it??

I think Blair will get much more "attention" from Al Queda than Spain did

Primeminster Charles Kennedy

stranger things have happened, I'd put my house on it not being Michael Howard

A good Tory party could stamp out the BNP/NF

You sound a bit like a terrorist there Joe...

by implementing their policies for them??

Aye thats it

lol by stating the obvious I sound like a terorist?

You got me paul - I represent the weardale cell of al-queda

Mossad informer

lol, I agree on your tory comment though was talking to a very right wing taxi driver last night.... shitting bricks cos of the immigration population - he wasn't prepared to vote bnp cos they're thugs but wouldn't vote torie cos they're too weak a party.

If the conservatives could pull themselves out the hole they've created they could re-capture the votes they're losing the bnp... this doesn't mean taking on the white is right stance, but merely going back to their old fashioned British stance.

However in the current European climate I don't think this is enough to win labour, the world has moved forward and england is far more liberal and left wing than it used to be.