"Spain will withdraw its troops from Iraq as soon as possible" - GoFuckYourself.com

Jer · 04-18-2004, 05:57 PM

http://www.afp.com/english/newsml/st....3duga1et.html

BAGHDAD (AFP) Spain will withdraw its troops from Iraq as soon as possible, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said, dealing a new blow to the US-led coalition struggling to bring order to Iraq.

Ten US soldiers were killed in another tough 24 hours for US forces battling insurgent groups in several cities.

And the White House could only put a brave face on Zapatero's vow to carry out the pledge to pull the 1,300 Spanish troops from Iraq made following his Socialist Party's victory in an election last month.

"Spanish troops in Iraq will be withdrawn as soon as possible and with maximum security," Zapatero said in a nationally televised broadcast, a day after taking office.

He had originally said the withdrawal would go ahead unless there was a UN Security Council mandate for an international force in Iraq before the June 30 transfer of power to an interim government.

"It does not look like a UN resolution will match the content" of the Spanish demands on Iraq, the prime minister said.

Spain's Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos told his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Maher the troops would leave within 15 days, an Egyptian foreign ministry official said in Cairo.

US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Friday pledged to give the United Nations a "central role" in the transfer of power to an Iraqi interim government.

The move had been seen as a bid to keep Spain in the coalition, despite the recent surge in violence and hostage-taking in Iraq.

The Spanish contingent is part of a 9,000-strong Polish-led force controlling a southern sector of Iraq. It is the sixth-largest national contingent in the coalition. The United States has 135,000 troops in Iraq.

A White House spokesman, Ken Lisaius, said: "We will work with our coalition partners in Iraq and the Spanish government and expect they will implement their decision in a coordinated, responsible and orderly manner."

He added that the United States will continue its "close cooperation" with Spain "in fighting the war against terror."

A senior US State Department official said Washington had been told of the withdrawal plan after the Spanish cabinet met, but before Zapatero's public announcement.

Ten US soldiers were killed in separate attacks in Iraq at the weekend, but a mediator said he held "positive" talks with the US-led coalition on resolving a showdown with radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sard.

More than 90 US soldiers have now been killed in the upsurge of violence in April. More than 700 Americans have been killed in Iraq since the US-led invasion in March last year that ousted president Saddam Hussein.

On the ground, British troops on Sunday traded fire with Sadr loyalists in the southern city of Amara where residents reported mortar attacks on the governor's office and British positions.

A Sadr spokesman called for a UN peacekeeping force in Iraq and demanded the immediate withdrawal of US-led occupation forces, in an interview with Bulgarian television.

"It is in the interest of the whole world to send peacekeeping forces under the UN flag" to Iraq, said Qais al-Khazaali, spokesman for Sadr's Mehdi Army militia.

But "the occupation forces must withdraw from the occupied regions and must release political prisoners. The war will thus end," he said.

In Baghdad, the Shiite Dawa party said its representatives held a "positive" meeting with the US administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, to revive a stalled mediation over the standoff with Sadr in the holy Shiite cities of Najaf and Karbala.

"We feel that this contact was positive and that the coalition is prepared to resolve the crisis peacefully," said Adnan Ali al-Kazem, an aide to Dawa party chief Ibrahim Jaafari.

He said Dawa planned to meet with Sadr on Monday.

A spokesman for Sadr's office in Najaf, Qais al-Khazaali, on Saturday blamed the United States for the mediation breakdown and predicted US forces would "attack Najaf any moment now."

US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Myers said he did not believe it was necessary for US-led forces to enter Najaf.

"Right now he has been so marginalized, there's not a city under control of his militia," said Myers.

Separately, US national security adviser Condoleezza Rice confirmed a new book's account of pre-war planning that began just three months after the September 11 attacks in 2001.

At the time US officials said they were seeking a diplomatic way out of the standoff with Iraq over its alleged weapons of mass destruction.

But in a series of US television interviews, Rice said suggestions that a UN administration of post-war Iraq would have averted the insurgency that has claimed hundreds of lives this month was "a little bit naive."

Bush asked Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld about possible actions in Iraq just two months after September 11, while the United States was embroiled in the war in Afghanistan, Rice said.

"The UN is not the panacea here," she said.

"We planned for Afghanistan, we fought the war in Afghanistan. By the end of November, things started to wind down in Afghanistan, and I do think the president's mind was beginning to move to what else he would have to do to deal with the blow, with the threat that had emerged as a result of 9/11."

Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry told NBC television said the administration had "misled" the nation.

"Nothing is more important than how a president takes a nation to war, how a president decides to put young men and women at risk for our nation," Kerry said emphasising opposition abroad to US policies.

gornyhuy · 04-18-2004, 06:19 PM

They must be taking lessons from the French.

Dirty F · 04-18-2004, 06:24 PM

Holy shit, post 15 about it today. I wonder when its gonna stop.

Jer · 04-18-2004, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Battuss
Holy shit, post 15 about it today. I wonder when its gonna stop.

Sweet.

04-18-2004, 05:57 PM	#1
Jer God is Brazilian Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Brazil Posts: 10,601	"Spain will withdraw its troops from Iraq as soon as possible" http://www.afp.com/english/newsml/st....3duga1et.html BAGHDAD (AFP) Spain will withdraw its troops from Iraq as soon as possible, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said, dealing a new blow to the US-led coalition struggling to bring order to Iraq. Ten US soldiers were killed in another tough 24 hours for US forces battling insurgent groups in several cities. And the White House could only put a brave face on Zapatero's vow to carry out the pledge to pull the 1,300 Spanish troops from Iraq made following his Socialist Party's victory in an election last month. "Spanish troops in Iraq will be withdrawn as soon as possible and with maximum security," Zapatero said in a nationally televised broadcast, a day after taking office. He had originally said the withdrawal would go ahead unless there was a UN Security Council mandate for an international force in Iraq before the June 30 transfer of power to an interim government. "It does not look like a UN resolution will match the content" of the Spanish demands on Iraq, the prime minister said. Spain's Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos told his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Maher the troops would leave within 15 days, an Egyptian foreign ministry official said in Cairo. US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Friday pledged to give the United Nations a "central role" in the transfer of power to an Iraqi interim government. The move had been seen as a bid to keep Spain in the coalition, despite the recent surge in violence and hostage-taking in Iraq. The Spanish contingent is part of a 9,000-strong Polish-led force controlling a southern sector of Iraq. It is the sixth-largest national contingent in the coalition. The United States has 135,000 troops in Iraq. A White House spokesman, Ken Lisaius, said: "We will work with our coalition partners in Iraq and the Spanish government and expect they will implement their decision in a coordinated, responsible and orderly manner." He added that the United States will continue its "close cooperation" with Spain "in fighting the war against terror." A senior US State Department official said Washington had been told of the withdrawal plan after the Spanish cabinet met, but before Zapatero's public announcement. Ten US soldiers were killed in separate attacks in Iraq at the weekend, but a mediator said he held "positive" talks with the US-led coalition on resolving a showdown with radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sard. More than 90 US soldiers have now been killed in the upsurge of violence in April. More than 700 Americans have been killed in Iraq since the US-led invasion in March last year that ousted president Saddam Hussein. On the ground, British troops on Sunday traded fire with Sadr loyalists in the southern city of Amara where residents reported mortar attacks on the governor's office and British positions. A Sadr spokesman called for a UN peacekeeping force in Iraq and demanded the immediate withdrawal of US-led occupation forces, in an interview with Bulgarian television. "It is in the interest of the whole world to send peacekeeping forces under the UN flag" to Iraq, said Qais al-Khazaali, spokesman for Sadr's Mehdi Army militia. But "the occupation forces must withdraw from the occupied regions and must release political prisoners. The war will thus end," he said. In Baghdad, the Shiite Dawa party said its representatives held a "positive" meeting with the US administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, to revive a stalled mediation over the standoff with Sadr in the holy Shiite cities of Najaf and Karbala. "We feel that this contact was positive and that the coalition is prepared to resolve the crisis peacefully," said Adnan Ali al-Kazem, an aide to Dawa party chief Ibrahim Jaafari. He said Dawa planned to meet with Sadr on Monday. A spokesman for Sadr's office in Najaf, Qais al-Khazaali, on Saturday blamed the United States for the mediation breakdown and predicted US forces would "attack Najaf any moment now." US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Myers said he did not believe it was necessary for US-led forces to enter Najaf. "Right now he has been so marginalized, there's not a city under control of his militia," said Myers. Separately, US national security adviser Condoleezza Rice confirmed a new book's account of pre-war planning that began just three months after the September 11 attacks in 2001. At the time US officials said they were seeking a diplomatic way out of the standoff with Iraq over its alleged weapons of mass destruction. But in a series of US television interviews, Rice said suggestions that a UN administration of post-war Iraq would have averted the insurgency that has claimed hundreds of lives this month was "a little bit naive." Bush asked Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld about possible actions in Iraq just two months after September 11, while the United States was embroiled in the war in Afghanistan, Rice said. "The UN is not the panacea here," she said. "We planned for Afghanistan, we fought the war in Afghanistan. By the end of November, things started to wind down in Afghanistan, and I do think the president's mind was beginning to move to what else he would have to do to deal with the blow, with the threat that had emerged as a result of 9/11." Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry told NBC television said the administration had "misled" the nation. "Nothing is more important than how a president takes a nation to war, how a president decides to put young men and women at risk for our nation," Kerry said emphasising opposition abroad to US policies.

04-18-2004, 06:19 PM	#2
gornyhuy Chafed. Join Date: May 2002 Location: Face Down in Pussy Posts: 18,041	They must be taking lessons from the French. __________________ icq:159548293

04-18-2004, 06:24 PM	#3
Dirty F Too lazy to set a custom title Industry Role: Join Date: Jul 2001 Posts: 59,204	Holy shit, post 15 about it today. I wonder when its gonna stop.