Spain Pulls Troops out of Iraq

I think that Spain's withdrawal of troops from Iraq will show other coalition countries that they can stand up to the U.S. and get their troops out of there. From the time the Saddam statue was pulled down last year, the U.S. and its "coalition" have not had control of the country. When the looters were running rampant last spring, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld said that freedom could be "untidy." What an understatement. The U.S. copies Israel's actions in many ways and you hear constant reports of the Iraqi civilians saying one thing and the U.S. military another. Why can't we learn from Israel's mistakes that you cannot humiliate and oppress an occupied people without provoking them into more action against the occupiers. It turns even the most nonpartisian into reactionaries. Spain should get out while it can as should the other countries--especially those who went to be "peacekeepers" and not active combatants. -- Jane

It is unfortunate that the terrorists have won in Spain. You can rest assured that the terrorists will not stop their activities in Spain until they are in complete control of the country, no matter how long it takes. -- James L. Reid

Sure, the coalition forces will pull out, and they must because the presure from home demands it, especially Italy. The United Nations must take charge or Bush and Blair will be left to clean up the mess they've caused. -- Vitasious Alexander, Alexander, Ghana

Spain has become an ally of Germany and France, in favor of United Nations' authority to legitimize the presence of military personnel. I hope that Spain's pull-out will eventually lead to more countries bringing back soldiers, but the most important point is that this will put more pressure on the U.S. to compromise. The UN can only take command if the U.S. allows rapid elections and handover of power to the Iraqi people. So far, the US has been finding ways to prolong their occupation. -- Atilla A. Iftikhar