Friday, 4 January 2008

COALITION OF THE DEFEATED



Since the Iraq war began in 2003, several countries have joined the “Coalition of the Willing.” But in backing President Bush’s failed policies in Iraq, many of those leaders have been ousted by their voters as the war has become increasingly unpopular and unsuccessful.

ThinkProgress has compiled a list of several major leaders in Bush’s coalition who supported the invasion with troops and did not redeploy those troops from Iraq. Of 14 major partners in the Coalition, eight leaders were defeated in elections, two stepped down, two were term limited, and two remained in office.

COUNTRY LEADER ELECTORAL STATUS
Albania PM Fatos Nano Defeated, July 2005
Australia Pres. John Howard Defeated, Nov. 2007
Britain PM Tony Blair Stepped down, June 2007
Denmark PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen In office ( pledged withdrawal in Feb. 2007)
Dominican Republic Pres. Hipolito Mejia Defeated, May 2004
El Salvador Pres. Francisco Flores Perez Term Limited, March 2004
Hungary PM Peter Medgyessy Defeated, Aug. 2004
Italy PM Silvio Berlusconi Defeated, April 2006
Japan PM Junichiro Koizumi Stepped down, Sept. 2006
Norway PM Kjell Magne Bondevik Defeated, Sept. 2005
Poland Pres. Aleksander Kwaśniewski Term Limited, Dec. 2005
Romania PM Adrian Năstase Defeated, Nov. 2004
South Korea Pres. Roh Moo-hyun In office
Spain PM Jose Maria Aznar Defeated, March 2004

Some of the strongest supporters of President Bush were the leaders of Spain, Britain, Italy, and Australia, who contributed tens of thousands of combat troops to the war. As the war unfolded, each leader lost popularity at home and was eventually voted out of office. Currently, their successors either have or are in the process of withdrawing their nations’ troops from Iraq.

JOSE MARIA AZNAR

bushaznar25.jpg
Description: Prime Minister of Spain

Electoral Status: Defeated in 2004

Bush on Aznar: “Aznar is a strong fighter in the war against terror, and I value his advice. I respect and appreciate his leadership.” [2/22/03]

SILVIO BERLUSCONI

bushberlusconi.jpg
Description: Prime Minster of Italy

Electoral Status: Defeated in 2006

Bush on Berlusconi: “He understands the history and the values that our two countries share. The people of the United States and Italy love freedom. And we know that freedom must be defended.” [7/21/03]

TONY BLAIR

bushblair7.jpg
Description: Prime Minister of Britain

Electoral Status: Succeeded by Gordon Brown in 2007

Bush on Blair: “Yeah! This guy is a very strong, respected leader. He’s absolutely the right guy for me to be dealing with.” [5/17/07]

JOHN HOWARD

bushoward2.jpg
Description: Prime Minister of Australia

Electoral Status: Defeated in 2007

Bush on Howard: “I can’t think of a country more like — a place more like Texas than Australia. … I really enjoy my relationship with the Prime Minister.” [5/16/06]

Think Progress

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