Spain’s new Minister of Defense, Jose Bono, has revealed that in early April the U.S. ordered Spanish troops to take Sadr “Dead or alive.” At the time Spanish troops were responsible for patrolling the holy city of Najaf. Spain refused the order saying it went beyond their mission as peacekeeping troops. Spanish officials also said the U.S. did not consult them before they arrested a top aide of Sadr’s sparking the Shiite uprising and attacks on Spanish troops. These two events led Spain to quickly pull out of Iraq.