José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero a "New York Times" reporter off the record that he had a "certain consideration" for Bush, because "I recognise that my electoral success has been influenced by his governing style", i.e., that Bush was so unpopular in Spain that he helped Zapatero win in 2004 and 2008. In March 2009, Spain announced that it would withdraw its forces from Kosovo. US State Department spokesman Robert Wood issued unusually strong criticism by stating that the United States was "deeply disappointed" by the decision. He said that Washington only learned of the move shortly before Spain announced it publicly. Spanish Defense Minister
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero 1,300 Spanish troops in Iraq. The decision aroused international support worldwide, though the Bush administration claimed that terrorists could perceive it as "a victory obtained due to the 2004 Madrid train bombings". John Kerry, then Democratic party candidate for the U.S. Presidency, asked Zapatero not to withdraw the Spanish soldiers. Some months after withdrawing the troops, the Zapatero government agreed to increase the number of Spanish soldiers in Afghanistan and to send troops to Haiti to show the Spanish Government's willingness to spend resources on international missions approved by the United Nations. On 8 June 2004, with the withdrawal already