A new revelation from the WikiLeaks Cablegate releases comes from 2007, as Spain’s government was preparing to fight for reelection. The Bush-era State Department reacted with outrage that Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero’s Socialist Party was criticizing the former government’s involvement in the Iraq War, and concern that they were associating with “pacifists.”
Zapatero’s first term in office was won largely on opposition to the Iraq War, and he withdrew all the Spanish troops from Iraq shortly thereafter. Faced with criticism over his handling of the internal ETA conflict, the prime minister re-raised the issue of the Iraq War, condemning the invasion as “illegal.”
This was of serious concern to the Bush Administration which warned him that they were “running out of patience” with his public criticisms of the war, even though this is nearly three years after Spain had ended its participation in it. Then-ambassador Eduardo Aguirre is said to have accused Zapatero of being unfair in bringing the US and Britain into his criticism of the invasion of Iraq, saying Zapatero should focus exclusively on internal political rivals.
The cable ends with a warning to Zapatero to “tone down” his criticism of US foreign policy, and a note that Deputy Envoy Hugo Llorens (now ambassador to Honduras) intended to warn other top members of Spain’s ruling party not to publicly criticize the US invasion of Iraq in their campaigns.
Viva Wikileaks!
With US bullying revealed, it will become more politically feasible to resist it.
well said hypewaders!!!
Assange: Courage – Integrity – Brilliance – Morality – Calmness – Technical Capability – Vision
Spain: A Government that responds democratically to mood of nation
USA: Lying – Bullying – Dissembling – Dishonest – Paranoid – Fearful – Dangerous – Sneaky – Ridiculed – Thin Skinned – Self aggrandizing
So he was to confine himself to internal politics! Sending such a note PROVES it was relevant to discuss it, if you are a normal human being.
A great empire! History's gretest distortionists!
As if Zapatero would be anxious to endorse, or associate himself or his government with massive criminality….
This is politics, sooner or letter every EU member will be against this war as there is no justification only for oil to kill millions of Muslims with false allegation will bear no fruits.
Germans questioned even on 9/11 is it not the americans themself and there is no change in the public opinion.
Germans are not like americans hanalolia but they read and think. God bless america.
Dale! I hope that we will learn more about the techniques being used by the U.S. to threaten, bully, and cajole peaceful countries in Latin America too. The cadre of slime who control U.S. foreign policy are a blight on the face of the earth.
Ann
Or else what would happen to Spain, exactly? American Killbots in Spanish skies?
Yea I never understand how the US government exerts such a pressure that other nations just roll over like beaten dogs. Look what happened when Ecuador offered Julian Assange a refuge, it only took one day for them to backtrack. How does the US government do that?
Threaten Spain. That worked really well.
It was that idiot Bush who should have confined himself to internal politics instead of invading Iraq.