Last Spanish Troops
Leave Iraq, Snubbing Bush
By Emma Ross-Thomas and Marta Ruiz-Castillo
5-21-4
MADRID (Reuters) -- The last Spanish troops left Iraq on Friday in
what was seen as a snub to President Bush but a popular move among
Spaniards.
The last of the Spanish troops, who once numbered 1,400, crossed into
Kuwait and would fly to Spain by next Monday, the Defense Ministry
said.
A Spanish radio reporter reporting on the pullout, Fran Sevilla, was
freed unharmed on Friday after being held in the Iraqi city of Najaf
for a few hours by Shi'ite militiamen loyal to rebel cleric Moqtada
al-Sadr, state radio said.
The pullout fulfils an election pledge by new Socialist Prime Minister
Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who opposed the Iraq war and branded the
occupation "a fiasco."
The pledge became more controversial following Zapatero's surprise
victory three days after train bombings in Madrid killed 191 people in
attacks linked to al Qaeda.
Zapatero ignored pleas to reconsider the decision from the United
States. Honduras and the Dominican Republic followed Spain's lead to
quit the country as they were part of a Spanish-led brigade.
U.S. forces have taken over former Spanish bases at Najaf and
Diwaniya.
Zapatero's decision has gone down well at home, where the state
polling agency said last week 76.8 of those surveyed supported the
withdrawal.
RELEASE
Sevilla, a veteran war correspondent, broke the news on Friday that
the last Spanish troops had left their base in Diwaniya, southern
Iraq, and were heading out of the country.
Soon afterwards, Sevilla became the news when he was detained by
militiamen loyal to Sadr, whose forces have launched an uprising
across Iraq against the U.S.-led occupation.
Zapatero's government quickly moved to obtain Sevilla's release,
contacting Paul Bremer, head of the Coalition Provisional Authority,
and other officials.
The pullout has been portrayed by some American politicians, as well
as Aznar, as appeasement to terrorism following the Madrid bombings.
The government rejected the charge.
At least 10 Spanish military personnel have been killed in Iraq since
August, including seven intelligence agents killed by guerrillas last
November.
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http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=5222568
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