Aznar encourages Trump to go all the way in Iran

MadridAlthough José María Aznar says he doesn't like Donald Trump, he does agree with some of his most controversial decisions. The attack on Iran, for example. The former Spanish president, who 23 years ago involved Spain in the Iraq War, has defended the new military action in the Middle East, even though he doesn't have the same rapport with the current US president as he did with George W. Bush back then. "I don't like populists on the right or on the left," he stated this Wednesday at a geostrategy conference in Valencia, referring to both Trump and Pedro Sánchez, whom he lumped together. However, while the former leader of the People's Party criticized the position of the head of the Socialist government, in the case of the US president he considered it "more than justified to try to change a regime [the Iranian one] that completely alters international rules" and that "constitutes a threat to stability, peace, and global security." Now, unlike in 2003, he doesn't need the excuse of weapons of mass destruction.

Who took the famous Azores photo? prelude to the attack on IraqAlongside his counterparts from the US, George Bush, and the UK, Tony Blair, Aznar reaffirmed "the value of alliances," "friendship" with the US, and the need "to end" operations once they have begun. "A country like Spain should stand with its allies and not with our enemies and adversaries," Aznar stressed regarding Sánchez's direct confrontation with Trump over the "No to War" slogan. This is precisely the slogan the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) used against Aznar, which foreshadowed the People's Party's electoral defeat in the March 14, 2004 elections, three days after the 11-M jihadist attacks. Aznar made these statements on the anniversary of the massacre on the Madrid commuter rail network. Given this new context of war, the 11-M Victims of Terrorism Association has called for "not repeating history."

"Each escalation of violence can have devastating consequences," the victims' organization warned. the most critical of the Aznar government's actionsDuring the tribute held at Atocha station, the most explicit connection between Aznar's decision to participate in the "illegal war" in Iraq and the attack was made by the First Vice President of the Spanish Government, María Jesús Montero, speaking from the Senate. The ministers of the Sumar coalition also echoed this sentiment, condemning the "lies" of the former Popular Party president and lamenting that the "consequences" of entering that conflict were the 193 deaths and more than 2,000 injuries of the March 11 attacks. Podemos went even further, lamenting that Aznar "has still not been tried for his war crimes."

The telephone round

While the Spanish government is embroiled in a series of foreign policy controversies—not only with Trump but also in the wake of statements by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission—the Minister of the Presidency and Justice, Félix Bolaños, has concluded a round of talks with parliamentary groups in Congress to approve a response to the economic and social consequences of the Iran-Contra affair. The talks were conducted by telephone between Tuesday and Wednesday, and Bolaños spoke with all parties except Vox. "They neither respond nor are they expected to," he said at a press conference regarding the far-right party, Trump's main ally in Spain. Bolaños has asked the groups to submit proposals throughout this week so that the respective ministries can evaluate the possibility of including them in the plan the government is working on. This Thursday, he will meet with the major labor unions and the Spanish employers' association. The minister emphasized that the proposal will be "more ambitious" than simply implementing the tax cuts demanded by the right wing.