Kristof: A Spanish Lesson

[kskiska]

MADRID — A crowd is gathered under a drizzle outside the U.S. Embassy here in the capital of a country that has been one of America's closest allies. Perhaps the crowd has come to express solidarity with the American troops being shot at (along with Spanish troops) in the alleys of cities like Falluja?

Try again.

"Murderers," the crowd shouts at the embassy. "Murderers! Murderers!" That kind of anti-Americanism is now widespread around the globe, and it will be one of President Bush's most important legacies.

It's not just that the Bush administration's arrogance and unilateralism have led Pakistanis to give Osama bin Laden a 65 percent favorable rating, compared with 7 percent for President Bush (the latest international polls from the Pew Research Center make you want to cry). Even in traditional allies like Spain, which we now need to fix the mess in Iraq, the good will after 9/11 has dissolved into suspicion and hostility.

Mr. Bush is now recognizing what critics of the Iraq war pointed out from the beginning: We could win the initial invasion on our own, but to win the peace we need allies. The administration's ham-handed diplomacy has left the American troops in Falluja dangerously alone and exposed.

Spain's incoming prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, will almost certainly be pulling the 1,300 Spanish troops out of Iraq over the next few months. Ninety percent of Spaniards are against the Iraq war, and U.S. pronouncements about progress in Iraq have the same credibility as the cheery bombast of Saddam's last information minister.

more…
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/10/opinion/10KRIS.html

[pippin]

1. . . . and the US takes revenge on the Spanish royals . . .

"A diplomatic spat has erupted between Spanish and US officials after staff at Miami airport insisted on screening Spain's Crown Prince and his fiancee. . . .Crown Prince Felipe and Letizia Ortiz, and four bodyguards, were due to catch a connecting flight at Miami when they had to undergo security checks. . .They were taken to an American Airlines lounge, where they were searched by three "top-notch screeners with VIP experience", said Lauren Stover, Transportation and Security Administration spokeswoman."

Spanish Consul General Javier Vallaure said:"We don't consider this the proper way to treat our future king."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3616393.stm

Maybe they thought the crown prince was about to hijack the plane?

[kskiska]

2. The Spanish Royals are good friends of the Bush family.

Poppy and his pals go hunting with the King. Poppy and Baker were doing just that during the Florida recount, when Baker was called to Florida.