Spain To Pull Iraq Troops ‘As Soon As Possible’

“I have given the order to the defense minister to take the necessary measures so that Spanish troops are withdrawn from Iraq as soon as possible and with maximum security,” Zapatero said in an address on Spanish television a day after formally taking office.

“It does not look like a U.N. resolution will match the content” of the Spanish demands for the continued presence of the troops, Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted the prime minister as saying.

Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr was quick to hail Zapatero’s decision, ordering his fighters not to attack Spanish troops, AFP said.

Zapatero had vowed following his Socialist Party’s election win last month to pull Spanish troops from Iraq unless they come under U.N. command by June 30 when their mandate expires.

U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Friday, April 16, pledged to give the United Nations a central role in the transfer of power to the Iraqi interim government, planned for June 30.

The move had been seen as a way to keep countries like Spain on board with the U.S.-led occupation, despite a recent surge in violence and hostage-taking in Iraq.

Zapatero gave no details on the timetable for the withdrawal, but government sources said the pullout could take place over about 50 days.

Egypt’s official news agency MENA said late Sunday that Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos had informed Egyptian counterpart Ahmad Maher that Madrid plans to pull its troops out of Iraq “within 15 days”, but Maher later said that no specific timeframe was mentioned.

Under former prime minister Jose Maria Aznar, Spain, along with Britain and Italy, had been one of the strongest supporters of Bush’s invasion of Iraq.

Reconsidering Positions

Zapatero’s decision immediately jolted the Bush administration with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice fearing that it would make other “coalition” nations with forces in Iraq would reconsider their positions.

“We know that there are others who are going to have to assess how they see the risk,” Rice told ABC’s This Week program on Sunday.

“We have 34 countries with forces on the ground. I think there are going to be some changes.”

But she added that “we know that the Spanish have been talking about, perhaps, pulling their forces out. I would not be at all surprised if they do”.

White House spokesman Ken Lisaius also said Washington wanted the Spanish withdrawal to be made in a “co-ordinated, responsible and orderly manner”, reported Reuters news agency.

Earlier threats of Zapatero has sent shockwaves through Washington, which faces now the possibility that other “coalition” governments might follow the Spanish lead.

Not Ready

Meanwhile, U.S. overseer in Iraq Paul Bremer said Sunday Iraqi forces will not be ready to take over security after the June 30 power transfer.

Bremer said that if the former Republican Guards of the ousted regime, the Fedayeen Saddam militia and Sadr’s Mahdi Army "are to be prevented from shooting their way into power, Iraq’s security forces must have help until they are fully equipped and trained”.

“This is what the coalition intends to do,” AFP quoted Bremer as saying in a statement.

“But it is clear that Iraqi forces will not be able, on their own, to deal with these threats by June 30 when an Iraqi government assumes sovereignty.

“Instead, Iraq and troops from many countries, including the United States will be partners in providing the security Iraqis need,” he added.

Eleven U.S. occupation troops were killed on Saturday, April 17, in resistance operations across Iraq – including five U.S. Marines killed in pitched battles near the Syrian border.

The deaths brought to 99 the number of U.S. troops killed in attacks since April, and push to at least 700 the number of troops killed since the start of the U.S.-led war to occupy oil-rich Iraq one year ago.