The Real Zapatero [UPDATED]

David Frum takes us through what new Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has said concerning the war on terror, and gives us his take on what it means. And what it means is not pleasant.

Note...that Zapatero did not limit his condemnation of "bombs" to Iraq alone. He was endorsing the emerging Euro leftist thesis that the very idea of fighting terrorism is an error. Romano Prodi, the chief of the European Commission, gave utterance to the new doctrine at the beginning of the week: "It is clear that using force is not the answer to resolving the conflict with terrorists." Not "force alone." "Force." Zapatero and those like him are ready to paint their hands white and raise them in the air everywhere, and not just the Sunni Triangle.

Not only is Spain in full on 'surrender mode' - their choice, if a wrong one - but now our 'allies' are hoping to influence our elections:

[O]ne more thing Zapatero said in his radio interview. "I said during the campaign I hoped Spain and the Spaniards would be ahead of the Americans for once. First we win here, we change this government, and then the Americans will do it, if things continue as they are in Kerry's favor."

Isn't this amazing? And doesn't it cast a new light on all those European complaints about American "arrogance" and "unilateralism"? Has any official of the United States ever expressed a preference for one party over another in a Spanish election - or indeed an election anywhere else in democratic Europe?

Zapatero helps us to understand what is really dividing the US from Europe. The problem is not that the two continents disagree - they have often disagreed before, without lasting harm to the trans-Atlantic alliance. The problem is much deeper.

Yes it is (go read the rest). But it is also rather clear to me that refering to Spain as an ally is a bit shaky, especially in light of my earlier thoughts. Yeah, they are in a Parliament, and yeah, there are still treaties; but this new government is acting like anything but an ally. Aren't there guidelines for this sort of thing? What does an ally have to do to lose its status?

Mader Blog has more questions.

As I mentioned before, this has got to be way out of bounds by more or less anyone's standards. What kind of treatment does Zapatero expect from a second Bush administration? The President knows well how to isolate an antagonistic 'friend', as Canadians know well.

Or is that the point? Is Zapatero so convinced of American error that he's willing to wreck Spanish-American relations in order to advance his career as champion of European anti-Americanism?

-- posted by Austin @ 12:26 PM (PermaLink/Comment) ¶