US President George W. Bush told Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero on Monday that he regretted Madrid's decision to pull its 1,300 troops from Iraq, said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.
In a diplomatically worded but unmistakable rebuke, Bush "stressed the importance of carefully considering future actions to avoid giving false comfort to terrorists or enemies of freedom in Iraq," the spokesman said.
Zapatero telephoned Bush to discuss his Sunday announcement that Spain's forces would depart Iraq over the next 50 days - the first major defection from the US-led coalition occupying that war-ravaged country.
In the five-minute call, Bush "expressed his regret to president Zapatero about the decision to abruptly announce the pullout of Spanish troops from Iraq," said spokesman Scott McClellan.
"The president urged that the Spanish withdrawal take place in a co-ordinated manner that does not put at risk other coalition forces in Iraq," McClellan told reporters.
The Spanish troops are assigned to the 9,000-strong Polish-led division patrolling south-central Iraq. That force's commander has said the Spanish withdrawal will have no effect on its operations.
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