Coalition of the Absolutely Unwilling

spainherald: Former American governor of Iraq Paul Bremer criticized the behavior of Spanish troops in Iraq in his book My Year in Iraq, recently published in the United States. "It's unworthy. They're sitting on their tanks...without doing anything. This is what I call the 'Coalition of the Absolutely Unwilling,'" said Bremer regarding the Spanish troops. Sources close to former defense minister Federico Trillo responded to Bremer saying that the Spanish mission in Iraq was one of peace. PP president Mariano Rajoy wondered yesterday why Bremer made his complaints public now "and not at that time."
Bremer was the head of the provisional authority in Iraq from May 2003 to July 2004 when he turned over power to the Iraqi interim government. In his book, which is a detailed and extensive (400 pages) account of his difficult time in Iraq, Bremer refers several times to the Spanish troops. According to Bremer's book, the moment of truth for Spanish troops was during the rebellion of forces loyal to the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Nayab. Bremer says that Spanish troops refused to help American forces that were under fire from Al-Sadr's militia. "They were sitting on the tanks...without doing anything," said Bremer. Read more