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Posted on 04/14/2003 5:21:39 AM PDT by kattracks
Spain expels Iraqi envoys after arms cache find
MADRID, April 14 (Reuters) - Spain has ordered the expulsion of six Iraqi diplomats after Iraq's top envoy confessed there was a cache of weapons and ammunition at the embassy, diplomatic sources said on Monday.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman said six diplomats and one other member of embassy staff had received their expulsion orders on Sunday and had 72 hours to leave the country.
"Six diplomats have been declared 'persona non grata'," the ministry spokesman said.
No official reason was given for the expulsions. The charge d'affaires, Iraq's most senior diplomat in Spain, was allowed to stay in the country, along with the consular chief.
Diplomatic sources told Reuters the decision was taken after the charge d'affaires telephoned the Foreign Ministry on Friday to confess to the weapons hoard. Police confiscated the weapons, the sources said.
Local newspaper ABC said the cache included six pistols, eight revolvers, five shotguns, a rifle and a carbine, along with some 800 cartridges.
The United States, which launched a war in Iraq to topple President Saddam Hussein, asked 60 countries, including Spain, to expel Iraqi diplomats engaged in what it called espionage. Spain did not comply at the time.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar has been a staunch supporter of the U.S-led war effort, despite opposition to the war from the overwhelming majority of Spaniards.
04/14/03 08:01 ET
oopsie.
Sounds about the same as what you'd find if you raided the homes on a typical suburban block here in the Midwest, and that is as it should be.
Now if they had RPG's, a dozen heat seeking SAM's, and a T72 tank parked in the embassy basement that would be a bit more cause for concern. But if this is what the Spanish government has to use to close out an Iraqi spy den, so be it.
That's true, but it's not usual in Spain. It seems like a self-defensive type of arsenal; but I can't imagine that the good diplomats thought they were going to have to shoot their way out of Madrid!
Weird. But then, everything about Iraq was weird. And, as you say, it's a good excuse to get rid of these guys. I imagine they're headed for Paris even as we speak.
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