Spain....Political Terrorism's First Victim

.......Or Posterchild?

Published on March 16, 2004 By couchman In Current Events

Recently, the Spainish city of Madrid was rocketed by a seris of well times & coordinated explosions that tore through several train stations this past Thursday. In the wake of the bombings, 200 innocent civilians lay dead & over 1,400 more lay wounded. They were perhaps the worst acts of violence in Spain's recent history and a wake-up call for the world.
While the blame for the bombings was initially laid at the doorstep of ETA ( Basque Separatists ) by the Aznar government, analysts and observers the world over.....including inside Spain itself...have begun looking not at ETA but rather Al-Queda for several reasons.
Why it's not ETA
First off, the level of the destruction and the amount of casualties inflicted as a result of the bombings doesn't fit in with the normal patterns ( as if one could call anything terrorists do with a straight face normal?) of previous ETA operations. Second, the lack of any prior warning of an upcoming attack by the perpetraitors doesn't fit into the ETA scenario either (ETA has a reputation for making public warnings prior to their attacks). Third, the Basque Separatists are more known for bombing police stations, goverment buildings and politcal assaination as their primary tool and as such it wouldn't be exactly be in their intrests to inflict mass casulties of their possible future neighbors ( in the advent that they somehow were granted a seperate homeland). Finally, at least twice ETA has announced publicly that they had in no way any connection to the recent attacks. In effect ETA had nothing to gain and everything to lose (i.e. increased goverment crackdowns on them.)
Why it might be Al-Queda
First, in the past several years, Al-Queda websites and their supporters in the media (if one could call certain arab media or their european clones media) have defined Spain in the realm of "Muslim area's conquered by the infidels" (Spain was invaded and conquered in 715 by muslim armies.) Second, the scope of the act itself is plainly out of Al-Queda's tactical manuals (spectacular act/large body count.) Third, it is well known that Al-Queda's numerous cells inside Spain have been active for several years now (links between certain 9-11 terrorists and the Spainish cells have been discovered.) Fourth, documents, a video tape and several statements have been made that either link/or take credit for the attacks. And finally, following the assasination of several Spainish intelligence officers inside Iraq, an Al-Queda statement was released which included the phrase "Spain, once a Muslim nation, is now the agressor" ( funny but isnt it 2004 not 754?).
Ramifications of these attacks
With the fallout over the bombings and the hard push to blame ETA for it, the Popular Party lost control of the Spainish goverment as ellections were held on Sunday with the memory of the attacks still clear in the average Spainish voters mind...one must keep in mind that just prior to the bombings..days even...polls showed that Aznar's Popular Party was predicted to win majority of seats. In the end though, the average Spainard didnt vote rationally but emotionally which signals a dangerous precident with regards to the European Coalition members....If they support the US-led global War on Terror and more specifficly the occupation and reconstruction of Iraq, they may lose political power! Selective outrage never solved anything!

As the Socialist Party celebrates their ellection victory (one has to remember that they ran on a platform that the Iraqi war was in "error" which is debatable and that they would remove the Spainsish military deployed in Iraq) their plans to remove the Spainish contingent inside Iraq shows a severe crack in the Coalition, and not for the best. While Spains troops in Iraq are a small number when compared to the US &UK deployments....that 1,300 troops are worth far more in symbolic terms (that while nations like Spain can't match the deployment size of countries like the US, they would contribute what they could just the same). In the end there were only two groups who truly benefited out of this whole mtter...the Socialist Party (appeasures of the world unite) and Al-Queda and a victory it is for both ...could that same situation happen in the US during the Presidential elections? Who knows.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: information compiled by the Norwegian Defense Research Institute have uncovered a 42-page strategy document from several Islamic sites where it describes the use of the "domino" effect to be used to pressure Coalition nations and that "Spain is a very convenient target".

Bjorn Staerk's Blog
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Frontpagemagazine.com

Comments

Solitair

on Mar 16, 2004

You need to be clear that Spain is NOT reducing it's commitment against the war on terror, only it's commitment to the war in iraq. Seprate these two issues and Al Qaeda is not a winner. Spain will spend more resources over the coming months cracking down on terrorism than before. Also, Spain have said that they may leave their troops IF it becomes a UN mission. Added to France, and Russia also saying that they would support a UN mission with troops maybe this is the oppertunity for the US to turn a bad looking situation into a positive increase in troop strength and world focus on Iraq.

paul.

couchman

on Mar 17, 2004

Granted true..but I wrote this prior to the announcement that Spain would stay if a UN led mission in Iraq became a reality...as a note bout the a possible Russian contingent deployed into Iraq...well that would be not only the stupidest move in recorded history...it would also be the most naive....and would make the controversy over the possible deployment of Turkish troops a number of months back look like a school yard taunt...i.e. that would drive the Islamo-fascist terrorist into a friggin frenzy...but as to your point that Al-queda isnt a winner...I might disagree with you...if you clicked the Bjorn Steark Link there is a link to the Noregian Defense Research Institute. of which i made reference to...although it isnt in english...you might have noted the strategy documents they uncovered from various Al-Queda cites...clearly Al-Queda may not have predicted the true scope of the bombings impact on the Spainish elections..but the fact that the predicted winner in it lost...due in part to its own mishadling of information as well as bombings themselves...led to the Socialist Party to victory...which only benefited Al-queda in the first place.....i.e. they did run on the platform of removal of Spainish troops from Iraq...which may happen if the US decides not to try the UN route again...the UN did run out of Iraq after their compound was bombed...and the responsibility was their own..not the coalitions fault..let me know what ya think

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