Explaining 'Old Europe'.(Jose Maria Aznar)(Interview)

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar is routinely described as a shy former tax inspector. But in recent weeks he has been anything but timid in supporting President George W. Bush's approach on Iraq. He has done so at considerable political risk to his Popular Party and to himself, even though he promised in 1996 that he would not serve beyond a second term, which ends next year. The latest polls show that more than 80 percent of Spaniards oppose a war, even one backed by the United Nations. Close to both Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Aznar shares their concern that Iraqi weapons of mass destruction could fall into the hands of terrorist groups. NEWSWEEK's Stryker McGuire spoke to Aznar last week at Moncloa Palace in Madrid. Excerpts:

MCGUIRE: You haven't been able to convince Spaniards of the justice of going to war against Saddam Hussein. Why?

AZNAR: People don't want war. If you ask people whether they're for war or for peace, it's a question that doesn't make sense.

But Spaniards were more supportive of the war in Kosovo, the war in Afghanistan. Why is there so much more resistance now?

I think people perceive the risks differently this time. But the risks are there. Weapons of mass destruction are a risk.

And you think the risks are greater now than, say, when you came to office in 1996?

Yes, and what happened on September 11, 2001, demonstrated that. Were the victims at the Twin Towers aware of the threat? Were the victims in Bali aware of what could happen? If terrorism and weapons of mass destruction are ever brought together--which is the great threat of Iraq--I sincerely don't want to be living in a future that is on its knees, powerless, before terrorists. We have a responsibility to make sure that doesn't happen. I would never forgive myself for doing nothing. Spain knows what terrorism is and what it means to fight terrorism.