The former US governor of Iraq has condemned Spanish troops for their 'idiotic' conduct in Iraq. Paul Bremer claimed they "did nothing" as a battle between Shi'ite militia forces and coalition troops went on around them in the Iraqi city of Najaf in 2004. In his memoirs, Bremer wrote: "They are sitting in tanks doing nothing", quoting from notes he made at the time. "It is a perfect outrage – I call it the 'coalition of the not-at-all- willing'."Bremer's book, 'My year in Iraq: The struggle to build a future of hope', challenges the version given by the Spanish military of the Najaf uprising in April 2004. The rebellion took place just days before Spanish troops were due to be withdrawn from Iraq by the newly-elected Socialist government which won a general election weeks earlier. Bremer claims Spanish troops deployed five kilometres from Najaf refused to help US marines and troops from Latin American countries who were fighting insurgents. The defence ministry of the present Socialist government and the Popular Party, which first deployed Spanish troops when it was in power, defended Spanish troops. "There is no reason to doubt their work," a defence ministry spokesman told the Spanish daily El Pais.