- WASHINGTON -- U.S. President
George W. Bush urged the allies in the "coalition of the willing"
Tuesday to stand fast in their commitment to Iraq despite growing public
disenchantment in many countries about ongoing military deployments.
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- "It's essential that we remain side-by-side with
the Iraqi people as they begin the process of self-government," Mr.
Bush said, a day after the first crack appeared in the coalition's unity,
with incoming Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero threatening
to bring his country's 1,300 troops home.
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- "It is essential that the free world remain strong
and resolute and determined," Mr. Bush said, emphasizing that the
goal of terrorists is "to try to get the world to cower... to try
to shake our will."
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- Tuesday, Honduras announced it would pull its contingent
of 300 soldiers, which are part of the Spanish-led brigade, out of Iraq
in July, although it said the move had already been planned and was not
a result of Madrid's decision.
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- An international poll released Tuesday by the Washington-based
Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found a strong anti-U.S.
sentiment spreading across Europe and the Muslim world.
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- The survey of nearly 8,000 people in nine countries found
overwhelming opposition to Mr. Bush outside the United States, ranging
from a high of 96 per cent in Jordan to a low of 57 per cent in Britain.
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- While Mr. Bush avoided any direct criticism of Spain,
which suffered train bombings last week that killed more than 200 people,
the White House warned governments against buckling in the face of terrorism.
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- "It is a terrible message to send," said White
House spokesman Scott McClellan. "We must send a message of unity,
of strength and of resolve in the war on terrorism... Terrorists cannot
think they can influence elections or influence policy."
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- But in Spain, exactly that may have happened. Voters
apparently changed their minds in the wake of the Madrid bombings, turning
against the Conservative government of Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar,
a staunch ally of Mr. Bush.
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- It is unclear, however, whether voters were angry over
Mr. Aznar's backing of the war in Iraq, or at his government's initial
attempts to blame Basque militants for the attacks.
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- Other coalition allies appear shaky about their commitment
in Iraq. Mr. Bush met Tuesday with Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende,
who pointedly declined to say how long 1,300 Dutch troops would stay there.
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- In the Netherlands, as in Spain, opinion surveys show
that most people want their soldiers brought home.
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- Many countries, including the United States and Britain,
have been reducing their numbers of troops in Iraq. But a rapid, wholesale
pullout by many of the 30-plus countries that have contributed soldiers
would undermine the U.S. effort to have the occupation appear a broad,
multinational endeavour.
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- Tuesday, Washington again signalled its willingness to
consider a United Nations Security Council mandate for foreign forces in
Iraq, once power is handed to a transitional government in Baghdad on June
30. A UN mandate could persuade Spain, and other wavering countries, to
stay.
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- The Bush administration also seemed determined to put
the best possible face on Madrid's shifting stance.
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- It lauded Spain as a valuable ally and a staunch foe
of terrorism.
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- "I don't accept the suggestion that, after the greatest
terrorist attack in its history, that Spain, its government or its people
are going to lessen their resolve or their commitment or the energy that
they devote to pursuing terrorists," U.S. State Department spokesman
Adam Ereli said.
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- Prime Minister Paul Martin too has said Spain isn't caving
in to terrorists in promising to pull its soldiers out of Iraq. Withdrawing
troops from any one location "does not mean that they are backing
away from the fight against terrorism," he said on Monday.
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- A day earlier, Mr. Martin reiterated his support for
Canada's decision not to send troops to Iraq as part of the U.S.-led coalition.
"I think all countries are partners and in solidarity with Spain and
the United States and with Britain," he said. "I think the decision
we took on Iraq was a good decision, but at the same time we share values
with Spain, the United States and Britain, and we support them."
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- While the White House continued to insist yesterday that
"Iraq is the central front now in the war on terrorism," the
Bush administration made an effort to say nations could be reliable allies
in the broader war while dissenting on Iraq.
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- "Countries are contributing in many different ways
in the war on terrorism," Mr. McClellan said.
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