Spain will never again turn back on UN, says new defence minister: "MADRID (AFP) - Spain's new defence minister said that his country would never again "turn its back" on the UN or the Spanish people, an allusion to the sending of troops to Iraq (news - web sites) last year by the ousted conservative government.
'We will never again turn our back on the United Nations,' said Jose Bono.
'Nor will we turn our backs on Spaniards -- be they rightwing or leftwing -- who neither understand nor accept the presence of Spanish troops in Iraq,' he said.
'One cannot act against the Spanish people,' said Bono, alluding to the decision by former conservative prime minister Jose Maria Aznar to send Spanish forces to Iraq in the teeth of massive popular opposition last August.
New Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero on Sunday vowed to pull the troops out, thereby fulfilling a key election pledge.
Bono dubbed the Iraq war and the subsequent US-led occupation 'illegitimate' as well as based on 'a cause that the (war's) promotors have themselves had to recognise as false,' namely Iraq's alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction. "

The message that the Spanish decision sends is that a democracy abides by the will of it's people. That should hearten "lovers of freedom" everywhere. For Spain to continue to support the occupation of Iraq by the US would be an affront to democracy. And if the purpose of occupying Iraq was to establish democracy and freedom, as Bush claims, he ought to support the will of the Spanish people.
The fact that the chicken hawks are squawking about sending messages to the terrorists just shows how bankrupt their policies are. Sadly, they are not paying the bills for those policies. We are. And more fool on us if we re-elect these bozo's who are undermining democracy all over the world, in the name of freedom.
Friends, we have entered fully into Orwellian times. It's time to wake up. Regime change in DC is what lovers of freedom and supporters of democracy need now.
- posted by geoff @ #