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Monday, March 15, 2004
Spaniards turned out in droves (to the tune of 77 percent) to vote against the Popular Party of Jose Maria Anzar, apparently in response to the shocking subway attacks in Madrid last week. The new PM, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, has vowed to pull Spain's 1300 troops out of Iraq as early as July, unless the UN has taken control of the Iraqi situation by then.
Can this be viewed as political opportunism? Perhaps. Americans are a bit jaded towards politicians and their motives. Zapatero is plainly taking this victory as a mandate toward moving away from the US position in Iraq. Indeed, with these election results, it is the right of his government to do so. Spaniards are fearful, just as Americans were 2 1/2 years ago.
But what does this mean for the coalition in Iraq? Not much really. Anzar is a staunch ally of the US, and losing him will be detrimental. But 1300 troops is a small percentage of the military burden, and Spain was more of a symbolic participant anyway. The greater danger comes in the symbolism of the move by Spain. While it could be argued that, perhaps, Zapatero is reallocating the country's military resources to better combat domestic terrorism, this is not evident in his speeches.
More likely, this move by the Spanish will embolden purveyors of terrorism, who now have been given reason to believe their tactics will pay dividends. If attacking Spain will cost America an ally, which country will be next? Spaniards, and Zapatero, will hopefully realize that this is a global problem that will not go away by ignoring it, or by blaming those who choose to combat it before it gets out of control. In the meantime, we should reserve judgment, and see exactly how Zapatero and his government respond in the coming months.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
9:29 AM
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