WASHINGTON, April 19 (UPI) -- President George W. Bush urged Spain's new prime minister Monday not to withdraw troops from Iraq in a way that endangers other forces, the White House said.
Pulling out the 1,300 Spaniards should be done in a coordinated manner, Bush said, and stressed "the importance of carefully considering future actions to avoid giving false comfort to terrorists or enemies of freedom in Iraq."
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush made the remarks, as well as expressions of regret, to Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in a telephone call initiated by the Spaniard.
Zapatero, an ardent opponent of the war in Iraq and a U.S.-led occupation, announced Sunday he would pull Spanish troops from Iraq as soon as possible. Prior to and just after his election last month, in the wake of apparent reprisal bombings in Madrid last month, there were indications he would wait until the June 30 sovereignty handover to an interim Iraqi government before withdrawing.
Spain, under the previous conservative government, was one of the first to join Bush's "coaltion of the willing" and is one of more than 20 countries contributing forces in Iraq and now the first to bolt amid spiraling violence and terrorist threats against those participating in the occupation.
McClellan declined comment on the prime minister's response to Bush's urging.
