Spain's prime minister-elect, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, says he will withdraw Spanish troops from Iraq unless they and other coalition forces are put under United Nations control.
Mr. Zapatero told Spanish radio Monday the US-led war in Iraq and the current occupation of the country are a "disaster." He said he plans to bring the 13-hundred Spanish troops home if coalition forces are not placed under U-N control by June 30th -- when an Iraqi provisional government is set to take power.
But Mr. Zapatero is vowing not to back down in the fight against terrorism.
Mr. Zapatero and his Socialists defeated the ruling conservative Popular Party in Sunday's general election, 43 to 38 percent. The vote came just three days after terrorists bombed commuter trains in Madrid, killing 200 people.
Many stunned and angry Spanish voters said they believe the government's support for the war in Iraq may have prompted the attack.
Meanwhile, US Undersecretary for Homeland Security, Asa Hutchinson, told US television Monday he is satisfied there is an al-Qaida link to the Madrid bombings.
The Washington Post newspaper reported Monday that investigators believe the attack was the work of a multi-national cell of al-Qaida who entered Spain specifically to bomb the trains. Three Moroccan and two Indian suspects have been arrested in connection with the attack.