THIS is what a REAL president does. TAKE NOTES MR BUSH..

[radwriter0555]

Spain's PM-elect pledges withdrawal from Iraq

MADRID (AFP) - In a clear break with politics of the government his party defeated, Spain's leader-in-waiting, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, vowed to withdraw troops from Iraq (news - web sites) and criticised US President George W. Bush (news - web sites) for last year's Iraq campaign.

"The war in Iraq was a disaster, the occupation of Iraq is a disaster," Zapatero, 43, told Cadena Ser radio.

Socialist Party (PSOE) leader and future prime minister Zapatero vowed to keep his pre-election pledge that barring new developments in Iraq before June 30 -- the date the United States has promised to hand power over to an Iraqi provisional government -- Spain's 1,300 troops in Iraq "will return home".

Zapatero was speaking just hours after the PSOE dealt the conservative Popular Party (PP) of outgoing Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar a surprise defeat in general elections coloured by last Thursday's bombings of crowded Madrid commuter trains that killed 200 people and wounded 1,500.


The country's general state of shock and fears of further attacks, coupled with uncertainty as to who to blame for the attacks, combined to depress the stock market both in Spain and across major foreign markets as share prices plunged.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040315/wl_mideast_afp/spain_vote_attacks_040315191223

[GainesT1958]

1. Apparently the Spanish people don't approve...

Of their political leaders LYING to THEM, either!x(

B-)

[radwriter0555]

2. apparently THEIR elections are run by REAL CITIZENS too, not PNAC

patriots out for profiteering and gain.

[Andy_Stephenson]

14. No rigged voting machines either

wonder what that is like?

[BOHICA06]

3. Cut and Run ...

might send the wrong message to the folks that are killing your people.

Somehow he has to make clear how he will ferret out and punish those that bombed the trains and how he will stay engaged in the pursuit of terrorist in Afghanistan.

[DrZhivago]

4. bullshit, he is not responsible for the attacks or the troops being there

and he will prevent further attacks by distancing himself from us. If these attacks are really Al-Qaeda expect london to be the next target

[BOHICA06]

6. But as the Leader of Spain

He now has the responsibility of law enforcement and national defense. It will be on his watch that the responsible are brought to justice and National Honor (as offensive a term as it might be) is maintained/reestablished. Tough Job - no matter what.

[NV1962]

17. "National Honor"? Whazat?

Please.

Upholding the Law, that's his job. Dignidad nacional is the result of doing just that.

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Offshore Bush]

7. I've read that shameful opinion at

*cough* other forums today. Terrorism can't be defeated by getting rid of "terrorist sponsoring nations." All it takes is for one Muslim, whether formally connected to a terrorist group or not, to make a bomb and blow it up. Therefore the only way to defeat terror is through international cooperation to raise the standard of living in terror-prone areas like Palestine. Bombing campaigns intended to "shock and awe" are what the wrong fucking message is.

[BOHICA06]

16. But from the Terrorist view ...

they just made Spain their B!tch. The new PM has to counter that or it becomes the reality.

[Offshore Bush]

19. Yeah, right.

Terrorists want more than anything to provoke more military actions. They don't want an internationalist West; they want total revolution in Arab states; and the only way they can achieve that is by provoking more sinister actions by the West. Quite frankly, I think what you're saying is a load of nonsense.

[BOHICA06]

21. Well to counter their (the radical Islamics)

heart's desire, Spain's PM ought to keep his word and withdraw the 1300 or so from Iraq - double their number and plop them down with the multinational force in Afghanistan. But don't retire the field, stay in the fight.

[Bandit]

8. That way of thinking is what got them bombed.

I doubt that if they pull out they will ever get bombed again ...by Al Qaeda anyway. Some CIA hit team may do something out of revenge but the Terrorists will not bother them again.

[Jacobin]

10. If you look back for the past two thousand years

NO ONE, from Alexander the Great, to Richard the Lionheart, to Napoleon Bonaparte to the British in the 1920's has ever successfully occupied a Middle East country for very long. EVER.

It is simply a matter of time before we are run out by insurgents. Whether we leave sooner, or whether we leave later....only the body count will matter. We are infidels, no matter whether we are the U.S. or a "multinational group" of infidels and they will not allow us to stay and "help" them.

[guscano]

5. The start of the reaction of the american media

First of all I think that at this moment there is little uncertainty as who perpetrated the coward attacks of Madrid. Mr. Zapatero said he would withdraw the troops from Iraq if he was invested president a long time ago, it was one of his campaign promises. I truly hopes he keeps that promise.

This links to some commentaries made by U.S. analysts in many mainstream media which I´m hearing (I watch CNN, Fox News and NBC by sattelite). Besides Fox News, which is always nauseating, I have seen that in the interviews some called "experts" are saying that the Spaniards voted for the socialist party due to the attacks and that the "terrorists have won". They were saying that it´s wrong to vote having that in mind. They say that the spanish troops will be withdrawn because Spain has "bent its knees" to the terrorist threat.

Well, I think it´s the other way around. Surely the spanish peole took in consideration the attacks, but not as a cause, but as a consecuence. Many in Spain knew that those winds (bombing innocent people in Iraq for oil) would bring these storms (the train attacks) and that this had NOTHING to do with the war on terror. As they say here, "the bombs that were thrown in Iraq have begun to land in Spain". An it gets me even more angry to hear those comments on how wrong we are as to let the terrorists decide who would be the president. Well, I must say to those people that the only terrorist has been Aznar, and only he has been guilty of his defeat.

We are not stupid. We have been dealing with terrorists long before the U.S. We know that no terrorism can decide for us. But this has nothing to do with it. This is the punishment for the support of Aznar to Bush, to the war and for trying to lie and spin the truth of who bombed us before the election. Our people and our press did not shut up, they denounced it immediately. I hope that people like DU do the same in your country because most of us know that Bush does not represent the american people.

And one last thing. These fascists in your country want to make you believe that we elected the Socialist party instead of Bush´s friends (Popular Party) moved only by the train attacks and that is regrettable. Funny enough, I have seen that those same assholes are trying to do whatever it takes to capture Usama Bin Laden before the election so they gain support and win in November. That is nice. If they do it it´s OK, but if others do it(especially the devil "reds" or "liberals") , then it´s regrettable. A pity.


Guscano
Madrid, Spain
Part of the "Old Europe" again

[HydroAddict]

9. Guscano, Thanks for the setting the record straight.

And welcome to DU! :toast:

[Jacobin]

11. Thanks for the post and a link for you

There is a blogger here who understands better than our mainstream "press".

I think you are saying very much the same thing, and it is very good to hear it from a Spaniard.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com

[buycitgo]

12. most excellent statement, guscano!

welcome to DU

I particularly empathize with this part:

We are not stupid. We have been dealing with terrorists long before the U.S. We know that no terrorism can decide for us. But this has nothing to do with it. This is the punishment for the support of Aznar to Bush, to the war and for trying to lie and spin the truth of who bombed us before the election. Our people and our press did not shut up, they denounced it immediately. I hope that people like DU do the same in your country because most of us know that Bush does not represent the american people.

amen and saludos, hermano

you look marvelous!

PS....my niece spent a year studying in Avila, and want to go back to LIVE in Spain!

me, too

[Andy_Stephenson]

15. Welcome to DU

thanks for your input...and for the courage your country has shown. If only in America.

[Lisa]

18. welcome to DU, Guscano ...

I am very sorry for the loss suffered by your country. Even worse, is your having to read such nonsense coming out of the press. Not even a week has gone by, before the right-wing pundits start carrying on about Spain being cowardly. True allies wouldn't say such things. They didn't even have the decency to allow for a mourning period ... but then again, expecting sensitivity from that lot is a lost cause! It floors me that they would lecture Spain about dealing with violent attacks. Evidently they haven't read any modern European history.

When they bring up their refrain of "if you do that, the terrorists have won" -- as you say, it's very opportunistic of them to label your electoral choice in that way. I suppose that they would also criticize the vote that ousted Bush's hero Sir Winston Churchill. Democratic countries can change governments at the ballot box even in times of crisis, and it's absurd to call it "blackmail".

[LeahMira]

20. How nice...

... to hear from someone in Spain. Thank you so much for posting. Maybe you will think this is strange, but we in the U.S. seldom hear much about the politics of other nations unless they are somehow tied in with ours. It's most helpful to read the thoughts of an average Spaniard.


First of all I think that at this moment there is little uncertainty as who perpetrated the coward attacks of Madrid.

Well, just now it's more important to care for the survivors and comfort those who mourn. The rest will come in time, I'm sure.

I just want you to know that I'm so sorry for what happened in your country. Such a terrible loss for all of you. Please know that many on this side of the Atlantic do care, and that you all are in our thoughts and prayers.