SPAIN: U.S. flag back in parade as Spanish relations thaw

The U.S. flag returned to Spain's national day military parade on Thursday (October 12) after being absent for the last two years, in a sign prickly relations between Washington and Madrid are improving. The stars and stripes had been missing from the parade through Madrid since 2003, when Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, then leader of the opposition, refused to stand when it passed by in what was seen as a public slight. On Thursday, television images showed Zapatero standing as the U.S. flag passed by the podium from where he attended the event. "I totally agree that the United States is an ally of Spain and we have to agree with them participating in our parades," said Pepe Cortez.. "I think when they (politicians) are part of the opposition see things in one way. Then, when they are part of the government and are powerful, they start looking at things in another way. And I think this is a demonstration of that," said Jose Lopez, who took his family to watch the parade. Zapatero, a Socialist, was a fervent opponent of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq which had taken place earlier that year. He pulled Spanish troops out of Iraq when he won office in March 2004. But his government has recently been trying to improve relations with the United States, and Defence Minister Jose Antonio Alonso is due to see U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in Washington in two weeks' time. U.S. Ambassador Eduardo Aguirre was also attended parade, which was snubbed by the U.S. diplomatic representative last year.

ITN Source | October 13, 2006

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