Spain Mourns Loss of 7 Agents in Iraq, Weighs Sacrifices of Its Role

Like other key American allies, Spain was forced into national mourning Sunday, grieving for losses in Iraq and questioning whether this country is paying too high a price for its participation in what one leading newspaper called a death trap.

The government quickly said the killing Saturday of seven Spanish intelligence agents by Iraqi insurgents would not discourage Spain from fulfilling its role in the reconstruction of Iraq. Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar promised to stay the course.

Although most politicians said sorrow and solidarity must rule the day for now, there were signs, as coffins bearing the seven bodies arrived here Sunday, that the political fallout will be severe. Several opposition leaders called for the defense minister to be fired and all Spanish personnel removed from Iraq.

“Withdrawal is the worst possible course of action,” Aznar said Sunday in a televised speech, as Defense Minister Federico Trillo journeyed to Kuwait and was accompanying the bodies home.

Aznar wore a black suit and tie as a sign of mourning as he read the name of each fallen agent. “The fanatic hatred that accompanied this new atrocity has given us inconceivable images that we will never forget,” he said somberly. “It is against this fanaticism that we have no choice but to show our face.”

A number of Iraqis were seen celebrating over the bodies of the men, who were slain in an ambush on a busy highway south of Baghdad. Photographs of the macabre scene were splayed across the front pages of most Spanish newspapers Sunday.

The ABC newspaper reported that the dead included the head of Spain’s intelligence operations in Iraq.

Like his British counterpart, Tony Blair, and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Aznar has enthusiastically supported President Bush and Washington’s war in Iraq despite enormous domestic opposition. The slaughter of 19 Italians by a suicide bomber in southern Iraq last month revived debate in Italy over whether its troops should retreat.

Spain will have national elections early next year. Aznar’s Popular Party has led all polls until now, but analysts said a mounting death toll in Iraq could erode the ruling party’s support. Aznar is not standing for reelection but has chosen a successor.

The Iraqi insurgents, whether by deliberate targeting or exploiting opportunity, have killed nationals from Washington’s most important allies in Iraq in the apparent hope of forcing a retreat and further isolating the Bush administration. In addition to the Spanish, two Japanese diplomats were killed Saturday, and two South Korean electricians and a Colombian contractor were slain Sunday.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said the violence would not influence his nation’s policies. Japan has pledged to help the U.S. by sending troops to “noncombat zones” in Iraq, but after last month’s bombing targeting the Italians, the government said it would delay any deployment until 2004.

“Japan has a responsibility to provide humanitarian and reconstruction aid in Iraq,” Koizumi said. “There is no change to our policy of not giving in to terrorism.”

In South Korea, President Roh Moo Hyun convened an emergency meeting of the national security council to discuss the electricians’ deaths. South Korea has 464 medics and engineers in Nasiriyah as well as about 30 civilians and diplomats in various places in Iraq.

The Pentagon initially had hoped that South Korea, which has one of the largest militaries among U.S. allies, would pledge more than 10,000 troops, including highly trained special forces. But the number promised has dwindled to 3,000 with the South Korean government still deciding whether they will be combat or noncombat troops.

Madrid had already pulled out much of its diplomatic staff after the October execution of a military attache in Baghdad. About 1,300 Spanish troops are stationed in central Iraq.

Aznar, like Bush, has sought to cast Spain’s efforts as part of a global war on terror.

“We have experience in terrorism,” he said in Sunday’s speech. “There are no borders in the fight against terrorism, because the fanatics do not want there to be. There is no alternative to the defense of liberty, democracy and the values that define our way of life....

“Our freedom, that of each and every one of us, is threatened by terrorists who act where they want and when they want.”

Political opposition was generally muted, but several leaders called for Trillo’s resignation.

Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, secretary-general of the Socialist Workers Party, said that despite his well-known stance against the war, it was time to show solidarity with the families of the dead and the armed forces.

“Today is a day of mourning for everyone. It is a day of pain for everyone. I would only add that I hope that our troops can come home as soon as possible.”

Gaspar Llamazares, head of the opposition United Left party, demanded that Aznar be held accountable for sending Spanish soldiers into a “lion’s den.”

“This shows that our government has ... deceived the Spanish people with a supposed humanitarian role of our forces, which the facts prove is not the case,” he said.

Saturday’s deaths, said the leading El Pais newspaper, were inevitable in “the death trap that Iraq has become, where selective attacks against occupation forces are multiplying in number and efficiency.

“Maybe London or Washington have political-economic reasons for paying the price with dead soldiers, but that’s not the case for Spain,” continued El Pais, which opposed the war. “[Spain] never should have been dragged into Iraq, where our forces play a supporting role. And that makes the sacrifice doubly tragic.”

King Juan Carlos I offered condolences to the families, and Bush telephoned Aznar from his Texas ranch.

A survey taken in November by the Royal Elcano Institute showed opposition to the war persisting, measured at 85%. But Spaniards were more evenly divided about whether their troops should remain in Iraq as part of a humanitarian mission.

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Times staff writer Wilkinson reported from Rome and special correspondent Mateo-Yanguas reported from Madrid. Staff writer Barbara Demick in Seoul contributed to this report.