Spain’s former prime minister José María Aznar has defended his decision to back the war in Iraq, arguing in a recently released letter that his country emerged “a winner”.



“In terms of influence and international support for our goals, Spain came out a winner,” Aznar wrote in a letter in August. The letter came to light this week after it was published in a book by the country’s current foreign minister, José Manuel García-Margallo.

Spain’s backing of the Iraq war was in line with other countries in Europe, said Aznar, who governed Spain from 1996 to 2004. “We did what the majority of other European countries did, but our visibility was heightened because we had a non-permanent seat on the UN security council.” In the run-up to the war, Aznar was a key international ally of the then-US president, George W Bush.

Last week, Tony Blair, another Bush ally, made a qualified apology for the use of misleading intelligence and the failure to prepare for the aftermath of the invasion, but declined to apologise for the war itself.

In 2003, Aznar and his conservative government staunchly threw their support behind the war, despite polls that showed more than 90% of Spaniards were opposed.

The decision to ignore widespread domestic opposition was politically motivated. “Since taking office, the strengthening of relations with the United States was a priority,” said Aznar. “It was strategically good for Spain and stemmed from a basic sense of political reciprocity – you cannot ask a friend for help and then later, when that same friend asks you for something, say no.”

Aznar’s People’s party was ousted in 2004 by the Socialists, in general elections held just days after train bombings in Madrid that killed 191 people and injured nearly 1,800 people. The bombings, carried out by a cell affiliated with al-Qaida, were pointed to by many as fuelling the resounding Socialist victory.

José Luis Rodriguéz Zapatero, the newly elected prime minister, had vowed throughout the campaign to reverse his predecessor’s stance and pull Spanish troops out of Iraq. “The war has been a disaster and the occupation continues to be a disaster. It has only generated violence,” he told Spanish media the day after his electoral victory.