Spain said today it intended to pull its more than 600 troops out of Kosovo by the end of summer -- and drew immediate criticism from NATO, according to Reuters. Spanish troops have been in Kosovo as part of the NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping mission since it was launched in 1999 after the end of the war between Serbian security forces and ethnic Albanian guerrillas. "Mission accomplished. It's time to go home," Defence Minister Carmen Chacon said in a statement published by the Defence Ministry after her visit to a Spanish base in Kosovo. Chacon said the withdrawal would be in coordination with other allied countries. But her decision was met with criticism from NATO secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer for not having been previously agreed within the alliance.
