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If
Zapatero had cajones
By
Sam Selvaggio
RAW STORY COLUMNIST
Spain’s new prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez
Zapatero, confirmed early last week that he will withdraw
his country’s 1,300 troops stationed in Iraq.
This move was not a surprise; however, the missed opportunity
to make a statement about the growing distorted morality
of the war on terror was a major disappointment.
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If Zapatero had a decent
speechwriter, he could have done the proper amount of
ass-kissing, and at the same time made a balanced and
articulate statement that would have gained enough world
approval that the scorn he’s since received from
the neo-conservatives in the United States and Israel
would have been meaningless. (Something that both Powell
and Blair at one time seemed to want to do as well …
but failed.)
In my dream, it would have gone just a little something
like this…
“As the elected leader of a democracy, it is
my duty and responsibility to represent the will of
the people. It seems inevitable that the transfer of
power in Iraq to the United Nations will not happen
by the June 30 deadline, and thus I must withdraw my
country’s troops from the conflict.
“This move does not come easy, but the fact that
the international community continues to oppose this
occupation, and that the coalition, due to its increasing
lack of moral clarity, has been unable to stabilize
the country, makes me confident that I am making the
right decision.
We in Europe, the United States, Israel, Japan and other
“First World countries” like to feel that
we are the most advanced, that we have learned from
our history, and that we have a great deal to offer
by reaching out to other countries. Yet since the tragic
events of Sept. 11, our actions only have increased
the militancy that leads to terrorism, and any recognition
or understanding of this militancy we refer to as “cowardly.”
Many countries consider global warming to be a form
of terrorism. We constantly fail to hold ourselves to
the same standards that we expect of the Third World.
Why were only U.S. companies allowed to bid on the
reconstruction of Iraq, and of those, only companies
that have strong ties to the current administration?
Why was Al Jazeera’s communication from Baghdad
deliberately knocked out in the early part of the war?
Why was Iraq’s declaration before the United Nations
ignored, and why were the inspectors not allowed to
continue their work? Why have we still found no weapons
of mass destruction?
These are all questions having to do with “truth,”
something quintessential to the health of democracy.
By ignoring these questions, we are losing credibility
in the world and paving the way for another world war.
The United States of America has a noble history that
it can be proud of, and I and the people of Spain pray
for its soldiers still embedded in the conflict. We
will continue to aid in the fight against terror, but
hope to do so with the weapons that have made America
great: religious freedom, truth and democracy.”
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