The U.S.-led coalition in Iraq is continuing to break apart. On Sunday Spain’s new Socialist government announced it would withdraw Spanish troops by the end of June without a UN mandate. Honduras announced Tuesday it too would pull its troops. The Los Angeles Times reports El Salvador and Guatemala might follow suit. And the Netherlands has refused to commit to keeping its troops in Iraq beyond June. To confront this crisis, President Bush has called a meeting at the White House on Friday with ambassadors from 60 nations that have supported U.S. action in Iraq and Afghanistan. Meanwhile in Australia, Prime Minister John Howard acknowledged Tuesday that he may face an anti-war backlash when Australian voters go to the polls.

Probe To Begin Over Medicare Cost Coverup
The Department of Health and Human Services inspector general has begun investigating whether Bush administration officials committed any wrongdoing last year by lying to Congress about the actual cost of a Medicare bill being considered. The controversy exploded late last week when the Medicare program’s longtime actuary, Richard Foster, said he was warned not to disclose that the actual cost of the bill was $130 billion higher than announced. Foster said he was threatened with being fired if he revealed the true estimates. The former head of the Medicare program, Thomas Scully, has admitted he threatened to fire Foster but claims he did so only in jest.