Bush Laments Spain Pullout
President Bush expressed regret Monday at what he called Spain's "abrupt" announcement of withdrawal of troops from Iraq and cautioned its new prime minister to avoid actions that give "false comfort to terrorists or enemies of freedom in Iraq."
Mr. Bush expressed his views in a five-minute telephone call with Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who on Sunday ordered the 1,300 Spanish troops to return home as soon as possible. CBS News Senior White House Correspondent John Roberts says Zapatero initiated the call.
Expressing regret at the announcement, Mr. Bush urged that the withdrawal "take place in a coordinated manner that does not put at risk other coalition forces in Iraq," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.
"The president stressed the importance of carefully considering future actions to avoid giving false comfort to terrorists or enemies of freedom in Iraq," McClellan said.
The Spanish contingent is a small part of the overall U.S.-led coalition. But peacekeeping troops like Spain's are needed so U.S. soldiers, the bulk of the force, can concentrate on offensive operations against insurgents. The withdrawal could also have symbolic significance, eroding the image of a united front in Iraq that the White House has projected.
A spokesman for Poland, which commands the 9,500-member international contingent of which Spain's soldiers were part, says there are no plans to increase the Polish contingent.
NATO said Monday it had no plans to help fill the gap left by Spanish troops.
"This is not something that is foreseen at this present moment," Alessandro Minuto Rizzo, NATO's deputy secretary general, told reporters.
In other developments:
That unusually blunt assessment from L. Paul Bremer appears aimed at defending a continued heavy presence of U.S. troops in Iraq even after an Iraqi government takes over.
"Iraq's democratic future is challenged by violent minorities. Groups old and new such as the Republican Guard, the Mukhabarat, the Fedayeen Saddam and the so-called Mahdi Army are trying to stop the process that leads to elections, to a government that respects the rights of all. They want to shoot their way to power," said Bremer.
"They must be dealt with," Bremer continued. "And they will be dealt with in a manner that reduces the loss of innocent blood to the minimum possible."
At the same time, Bremer said he believes "Iraq has a future of hope" - one of democracy, freedom of religion and "the nation's riches equitably shared among all Iraq's people."
U.S. officials have been rebuilding the Iraqi military from scratch, arranging the training of recruits. But the recent violence has shown the weaknesses and conflicted feelings of the armed forces.
An army battalion refused to join the Marines in the siege of Fallujah, saying they did not intend to fight fellow Iraqis. During the Shiite militia uprising in the south, many police abandoned their stations, realizing they were badly outgunned or sympathizing with the militia's cause.
The news from Fallujah on Monday was the first concrete statement to come out of direct negotiations between U.S. officials and a group of civic leaders and professionals from the city.
The Fallujah representatives are not directly connected with Sunni insurgents who have been battling U.S. troops in the city, but are thought to have influence with them.
The joint statement also outlines promises to improve the humanitarian situation in the besieged city and try to take the first steps to restore control by Iraqi security forces, said U.S. spokesman Dan Senor.
Maj. Gen. Mark Kimmitt warned that if the deal falls apart, Marines are prepared to attack and take the city quickly.
"It would appear there is an agreed political track," he told reporters. "There is also a very clear understanding: that should this agreement not go through Marine forces are more than prepared to carry through with military operations" and could sieze Fallujah "in fairly short order."
The Army, meanwhile, said it was in no hurry to take the southern city of Najaf from Shiite followers of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The Army was beginning to rotate 2,500 soldiers from their position outside Najaf, replacing them with 2,000 seasoned troops from the force that has been occupying Baghdad for nearly a year.
Al-Sadr on Sunday called a two-day cease-fire to mark the anniversary of the death of the Prophet Muhammad. He also ordered a halt in all attacks on Spanish troops based in Najaf after Spain's prime minister decided to withdraw his country's forces.
Al-Sadr's office called on Iraqis to "maintain the safety of the Spanish forces until their return home" and urged "the governments of the other armies taking part in Iraq's occupation to follow the Spanish government's example."