the people of Spain dont like the war so the army leave Irak. Président Zapatero dont like the idea U.S. want to start the war. Poland miliarer have 9,500 soldier leave Irak. many countrys know there are not avantage to have army in Irak.Briton feel there are avantage to be U.S. allie because of the oil. the U.S. invade Irak because of Oil and most countrys still depend for Arab oil. Russian fédération produserer oil for europiske countrys so they dont need Arab oil.

Spain left Iraq because they elected a socialist government that bows to terrorists. Poland, while they feel mislead on the WMD issue, has firmly stated that their troops will remain in Iraq. The US invation of Iraq was not for oil as your socialist governemnt and media would have you believe. Regime change was the official policy of the US signed into law by President Clinton. After 9/11 the reality of the situation, and 13 years and 17 broken UN resolutions, dictated acting upon it. And as for Russia they were making billions off the Oil for Food scandal and were owed Billions by Saddam for weapons purchases made in the 80's. How could Saddam pay you if he is out of power?

A Spanish Lesson
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

Published: April 10, 2004, New York Times
MADRID — A crowd is gathered under a drizzle outside the U.S. Embassy here in the capital of a country that has been one of America's closest allies. Perhaps the crowd has come to express solidarity with the American troops being shot at (along with Spanish troops) in the alleys of cities like Falluja?
Try again.
"Murderers," the crowd shouts at the embassy. "Murderers! Murderers!" That kind of anti-Americanism is now widespread around the globe, and it will be one of President Bush's most important legacies.
It's not just that the Bush administration's arrogance and unilateralism have led Pakistanis to give Osama bin Laden a 65 percent favorable rating, compared with 7 percent for President Bush (the latest international polls from the Pew Research Center make you want to cry). Even in traditional allies like Spain, which we now need to fix the mess in Iraq, the good will after 9/11 has dissolved into suspicion and hostility.
Mr. Bush is now recognizing what critics of the Iraq war pointed out from the beginning: We could win the initial invasion on our own, but to win the peace we need allies. The administration's ham-handed diplomacy has left the American troops in Falluja dangerously alone and exposed.
Spain's incoming prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, will almost certainly be pulling the 1,300 Spanish troops out of Iraq over the next few months. Ninety percent of Spaniards are against the Iraq war, and U.S. pronouncements about progress in Iraq have the same credibility as the cheery bombast of Saddam's last information minister.
"Iraq has become, thanks to the rashness of Bush, a monstrosity," warned El País, Spain's leading daily, in an editorial this week.
American conservatives had a field day after Mr. Zapatero's election, calling Spaniards wimps for reacting to the 3/11 train bombings by electing an antiwar candidate. But on the ground here, it's clear that accusation was deeply unfair.
Mr. Zapatero's last-minute surge of support had nothing to do with Spaniards knuckling under to Al Qaeda. Rather, Spaniards reacted to Prime Minister José María Aznar's dishonesty in blaming Basque terrorists for the bombing.
Take my Spanish family (my aunt married a Spaniard, and my five cousins were born and raised in Madrid). My aunt and uncle are conservatives who still voted for the governing party, but with disgust. As for my cousins, all swing voters, they ended up supporting Mr. Zapatero. Cousin Anna had initially decided not to vote, because she didn't like either candidate, but after the bombing she felt duty-bound to go out and participate in the democratic process and help elect Mr. Zapatero.
"I wanted to show that we would not be intimidated," she said, and that mechanism — an extraordinarily high voter turnout — was the primary one that resulted in Mr. Zapatero's election. Do Americans really think that Spaniards should have responded to the bombings by staying home apathetically on Election Day?
Accusing Spain of bowing to terrorism has exacerbated the Spanish alienation from the U.S., for this is a country that has lost 900 people to Basque terrorism over the years — and that Al Qaeda recently pledged to turn into "an inferno."
"You never get used to going to cemeteries; you never get used to embracing a widow," says one senior government official. "No one can accuse us of trying to find a way out. It's not only unjust, it's irritating and infuriating."
Still, Mr. Zapatero should announce that all 1,300 troops pulled out of Iraq will be immediately placed in Afghanistan. A major Spanish deployment there would make a huge difference in stabilizing that country, and it would underscore that Spaniards are willing to shed their blood to fight Islamic militants, so long as there is a U.N. mandate and a clear plan.
It wouldn't have taken much to maintain our friendship with our allies. Sure, there are cultural gaps: Europeans are bewildered that Americans can feel more threatened by Janet Jackson's breast than by unregulated handguns. But the Bush administration had to work hard to take all the good will accumulated over the decades since World War II and the Marshall Plan, and replace it with distrust and hostility. As my Uncle José, who is profoundly pro-American, puts it sadly: "There's so much anti-Americanism now. That is Bush's achievement."

"I wanted to show that we would not be intimidated," she said, and that mechanism — an extraordinarily high voter turnout — was the primary one that resulted in Mr. Zapatero's election. Do Americans really think that Spaniards should have responded to the bombings by staying home apathetically on Election Day?
Accusing Spain of bowing to terrorism has exacerbated the Spanish alienation from the U.S., for this is a country that has lost 900 people to Basque terrorism over the years — and that Al Qaeda recently pledged to turn into "an inferno."
"You never get used to going to cemeteries; you never get used to embracing a widow," says one senior government official. "No one can accuse us of trying to find a way out. It's not only unjust, it's irritating and infuriating."

Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the Spanish bombings because their troops were part of the coalition in Iraq. By electing a government that would remove their troops shows that the Spanish were intimidated and bowed to the will of Islamist terrorists. The Spaniards did the right thing by going to vote...however they voted the wrong way for the world and the right way for the terrorists. Sadly this type of response to terrorism on gives terrorists more reason to plan and execute other attacks in other nations. It also gives the Basque Separatist party reason to increase their attacks...possibly this time without warning.

I pray that I am wrong for the innocent civilians that would be affected by such atrocities. However I do feel that Prime Minister Zapatero has made a critical blunder in the ongoing war against terrorism.

Well we certainly know who are friends are when the road gets rough, don't we?

The whole thing comes down to this, it's much easier to vent your rage at someone he won't hit back than it is to a thug. That's why our Embassy in Spain had crowds outside of it shouting "murderers, murderers!" See, when the Spanish are mad at the U.S., we'll try to make peace. When the Spanish do something the Al-queda doesn't like, such as supporting America in its efforts in Iraq, they respond by blowing up trains. So, in the point of view of many citizens in Spain, blame the U.S. We won't do anything about it.

The whole thing disgusts me. I sometimes wish that America could close off its dealings, in every single way, with every other govt on the planet and shrink back to its own shores and be protected by our oceans. No matter what happened elsewhere. When thugs like Hussein, Gadafi, Kim Jong Il, whoever it is running China and terrorist organization like Al-queada start kicking the world's ass, and we in the U.S. get asked for help, we can say we tried, but apparently you'd rather have your ass kicked by thugs rather than help us do what is right. You guys must enjoy it. I can see no other explanation. Dammit.

Mr. Zapatero's last-minute surge of support had nothing to do with Spaniards knuckling under to Al Qaeda. Rather, Spaniards reacted to Prime Minister José María Aznar's dishonesty in blaming Basque terrorists for the bombing.

You did read this part of my post, didn't you?

I live in Spain and on March 11th you did not need to be a genius to figure out that it had not been ETA. All you had to do was look at the facts and change channels. While Aznar and Acebes were busy blaming ETA on Spanish networks, CNN and the BBC were pointing out the reasons why it had NOT been ETA.

Once again Aznar was caught in one of his lies and this time right before an election.

Well, Aznar tried to blame Basque seperatists when it was Al-Queda. Big deal. It doesn't change the fact that al-queda gave you guys in Spain a swift kick between the legs and you guys tucked your tail between your legs and ran like a scalded dog. Instead of hunting al-queda, you people will sit and cry and blame the U.S. Will you Spanish people sing "Kumbaya" next?

We here in the U.S, like you in Spain, suffered a terrorist attack. We in the U.S. UNLIKE you people in Spain have gone out and KILLED terrorists, toppled govt's that supported them and we aren't going to stop till the terrorists know better than to screw with the United States.

You in Spain will mourn your dead, blame the U.S. and cry like babies when the terrorists come to blow up more trains. You are spineless, and you disgust me.

First of all: Why Basque “separatists” and not Basque “terrorists”?

Second: A nation’s Prime Minister lying (once again) in order to win an election IS a big deal. To go against the will of 90% of the people is a VERY big deal.

Third: You do know that almost all of the terrorists involved in the train bombings are either dead or in prison, don’t you? And as stated in the article, Mr. Zapatero should send more troops to Afghanistan.

Fourth: I’m not blaming the US for the March 11th terrorist attacks. I’m blaming the criminals who perpetrated the attacks. I can only imagine that the people protesting outside the US Embassy are protesting about a war which they do not support and did not wish to be dragged into in the first place.

And Darth Be’lal… I am proud to be an American and I am also proud to be able to call these people, which you consider to be spineless and disgust you, my friends.

Noel,

Let me apologize for my last post. It wasn't tactful, nor was it personal. What you read was a very strong personal belief in how I feel on issues, not a desire to slam people. I don't like that.

What I believe is that the Western Civilization is at war with radical islam (please be sure to read the word RADICAL). Now, liking or disliking Bush, I really don't care about. But the Western World had better stick together or, to say the least, we are going to suffer more terrorist attacks. Everytime a politician goes on about how Bush lied about Iraq, or they are going to withdraw support for the war in Iraq, it's going to give aid and comfort to those who don't wish for a democracy to bloom in the middle east. Western style democracy in the Mid East will do much more for world peace than any amount of Bush bashing, but it won't be easy, and it doesn't help to blame america for recent events. The terrorists have major stakes in keeping muslims uhappy with the West in general and America in particular.

WE CANNOT LOSE THIS WAR. The price is too high.

Hi, I'm spanish and i'd like to expres my opinion:

1st: ETA is a terrorist group, not only separatist.

2nd:George Bush didn't invade irak to liberate iraki people, or to find weapons of massive destruction. It is an illegal war...

3th: America can't fight terrorism bombing inocent people...

4th: decisions shouldn't be taken only by the goberment but by the people too, and it was an Aznar(ex-prime minister) decision to send spanish troops to irak.

5th: spanish troops will go back if UN takes control of the country, but we wont help America to control oil producction while iraki people dies.

6th: You(americans) can't work problems out shooting like cowboys. If you want to fight terrorism try to help countries to get out of their poverty. Stop america's imperialism whick keeps millions of people in poverty only for economic interests.

7th: stop watching cnn and you will notice that america is not the goodie...


I apologize for the possible grammatical mistakes...

As Noel said, Aznar's govt commited a major mistake by trying to manipulate the opinion, using such a dreadful event to try to win the elections ! They were rightfully sanctionned by the electors.
The spanish people were in their huge majority opposed to the war ; Aznar should have respected that and he deserved to be thrown away.

Sure, the fact that the bombing in Madrid led to an unexpected change of government in favor of the anti-war gives a strange feeling. But I don't think that this is a victory for terrorists. It is a defeat for those who, like Aznar, want to manipulate people and democracy, by using fear of terrorism as a political asset. Bush and Blair could be next.

Originally posted by astrapol2
As Noel said, Aznar's govt commited a major mistake by trying to manipulate the opinion, using such a dreadful event to try to win the elections ! They were rightfully sanctionned by the electors.
The spanish people were in their huge majority opposed to the war ; Aznar should have respected that and he deserved to be thrown away.

Sure, the fact that the bombing in Madrid led to an unexpected change of government in favor of the anti-war gives a strange feeling. But I don't think that this is a victory for terrorists. It is a defeat for those who, like Aznar, want to manipulate people and democracy, by using fear of terrorism as a political asset. Bush and Blair could be next.

Actually all the Spanish people have done is proove to Al Qaeda and terrorist organizations that they can influence a countries elections by using the force of terror.

I will admit that Aznar's government should not have been so quick to try and point the finger of blame at the Basque terrorist organization, and that the majority of Spaniards wish to appease terrorists. But by appeasing them is going to get them nowhere. Europeans need to only look at their own recent history to see where the policy of appeasement has gotten them. They tried it with Hitler and failed and only through direct confrontation were they able to beat the Nazis.

Hoping that terrorism will go away because you ignore it or give in to it will only embolden those who perpertrate it to ask for more. Only through direct confrontation and total defeat will you win this war on terror.